Framework by Helen McElhinney, Anjali Mazumder, Michael Tjalve, Suzy Madigan, and
Sarah Spencer: “SAFE AI is governance infrastructure for humanitarian AI. It guides organisations through a four-stage Implementation Journey from problem definition to deployment and monitoring, applies a three-tier risk classification with proportionate obligations at each tier, and sets formal Decision Gates at each stage where progression is tested against humanitarian principles, protection requirements, and responsible-refusal conditions.
It does this through a set of named tools deployed at specific points in the lifecycle:
- SAFE AI Onboarding and Readiness Checklist: at problem definition, to establish whether the conditions for responsible AI use exist.
- SAFE AI Impact Assessment: at the first and second Decision Gates, to test whether the use case should proceed.
- SAFE AI Architecture and Procurement Guides: at design and procurement, to secure right-to-audit, model change notification, data ownership, and exit conditions before deployment.
- SAFE AI Technical Assurance: at development and ongoing, to verify performance against documented baselines.
- SAFE AI Transparency Card: the central governance record, documenting decisions, risks, and safeguards across the lifecycle…(More)”.
