AI Playbooks for SLTT Cybersecurity Leaders
Developed in collaboration with members of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Playbooks provide a unified, member‑developed approach that empowers U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) government teams to innovate responsibly while protecting the communities they serve.
Adopt Artificial Intelligence with Confidence
The AI Playbooks were created to support U.S. SLTT teams at every stage of their AI journey, empowering them to translate complex concepts into actionable steps they can implement today. Each AI Playbook focuses on a core element of responsible AI adoption to emphasize cybersecurity, governance, and public trust as central priorities throughout this process.
Every playbook includes supporting materials, including templates, worksheets, sample policies, and implementation tools, that U.S. SLTT organizations can immediately adapt to their unique environments. Whether you're evaluating your first AI pilot or expanding a mature AI program, these resources are designed to meet you where you are.
Featured Playbook & Podcast
AI Readiness Playbook
The AI Readiness Playbook is designed to guide organizations through a structured, evidence-driven approach to achieving AI readiness.
Download the AI Readiness Playbook and Supporting Material
A New Way to Learn: The AI Readiness Podcast Series
To help you easily navigate the material in each playbook, we created an educational podcast series that breaks the learning into short, focused episodes; each around 6-10 minutes. The series begins with the AI Readiness Playbook:
- Episode 1: A Structured Program for SLTT Leaders — Built on CIS/MS-ISAC Guidance
- Episode 2: Ensuring Your Environment Can Safely and Reliably Run AI Workloads
- Episode 3: Establishing the Legal Authority and Compliance Posture for AI Use
Ready for the Full Series?
The full six-episode series is an MS-ISAC member benefit. Members can access the full series by visiting the AI Resource Center in the CIS Portal. For more information about membership, check out our MS-ISAC Member Resources.
AI Governance Playbook
The AI Governance Playbook consists of two complementary playbooks: our AI Governance Board Playbook and our AI Governance Policy Playbook.
- The AI Governance Board Playbook is designed to help organizations establish an AI Governance Board to align AI initiatives with organizational values, laws, and risk frameworks; to deliver oversight, accountability, and strategic direction; and to ensure safe, equitable, and compliant outcomes.
- The AI Governance Policy Playbook provides a customizable governance framework interoperable with procurement, risk review, lifecycle, and records programs.
Download the AI Governance Playbooks and Supporting Material
AI Risk Review Playbook
Provide a structured, actionable approach to identify, assess, mitigate, and monitor risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives — including Generative AI, machine learning, and related technologies.
AI Vendor & Procurement Playbook
The AI Vendor & Procurement Playbook will provide a practical framework to evaluate and contract for AI‑enabled products and services with confidence, covering transparency, security, compliance, accessibility, and ethics.
AI Product Development Playbook
The AI Product Development Playbook consists of two complementary playbooks: our AI Model Governance Board Playbook and our AI Product Lifecycle & Cloud RAG Development Framework Playbook.
- The AI Model Governance Playbook defines enterprise-wide model governance for both open-source large language models (LLMs) (weights available under open or restricted licenses) and foundational commercial/general-purpose AI models.
- The AI Product Lifecycle & Cloud RAG Development Framework Playbook provides a unified governance and engineering framework to manage AI systems from ideation through decommissioning as well as to deploy Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and custom Large Language Models (LLMs) across Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Download the AI Product Development Playbooks and Supporting Material
Turn AI Guidance Into Real-World Results
Together, the above AI Playbooks give U.S. SLTT government organizations a trusted foundation for navigating emerging technologies with clarity and consistency. By combining member expertise, practical tools, and proven frameworks, the AI Playbooks help organizations make informed decisions, build sustainable programs, and uphold public trust. No matter where you are in your AI journey, you have a roadmap you can rely on.
