Issue 8 · Governance, Risk & Compliance

What to Ask Before Signing the Next AI Contract

Many consequential AI decisions arrive through vendor contracts or embedded features in systems the institution already owns. Readiness starts before procurement, not after.

August 5, 2026 D18 Vendor Management

Essay coming August 5, 2026

This issue is part of the published series calendar. The full essay lands here on its ship date — and in the LinkedIn newsletter the same week. Until then, here's what it covers:

Many consequential AI decisions arrive through vendor contracts or embedded features in systems the institution already owns. Readiness starts before procurement, not after.

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The framework underneath

Where the Field Guide comes from

The Field Guide is built from Eleved's Higher Ed AI Readiness Framework: five pillars and 23 domains for helping institutions move from scattered AI activity to practical institutional readiness. Compass is the assessment and planning tool in the works from eleved.ai to support and build on that framework — a way to turn these questions into a current-state picture and a plan an institution can actually run.

Compass is in early development. Join the early-access list to help shape it and be first in line when it opens.