Project Set Up & Sharing – Axum

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How to create projects in ChatGPT, add the right context for Axum work, and share them safely with your team

📍Step 1: Watch the video walkthrough (Loom)

📍Step 2: Create your first project (Axum‑ready setup)

Open ChatGPT

Go to Projects

On the left‑hand sidebar, click Projects.

Create a new project

Click New project in the sidebar.

In the popup:

Name: Use a clear, searchable convention, e.g.

[Client] – [Country/Region] – [Theme] – [YYYY]

Example: UNICEF – Tanzania – Early Childhood Systems – 2026

Icon & color: Pick something easy to spot in your sidebar.

Choose memory mode (recommended)

When prompted, choose:

Project‑only memory (recommended for client work): ChatGPT only uses chats and files inside this project.

For anything with client, partner, or internal sensitive data, prefer project‑only memory so context stays contained.

Click Create

You now have a dedicated workspace for that engagement or initiative.

✅ Tip: Default rule of thumb — create one project per client engagement or major internal initiative.

Demo Image Below

📍Step 3: Add project instructions (tell ChatGPT how to behave)

Project instructions set how ChatGPT should work inside this project only. They override your global custom instructions and keep the project consistent for everyone.

Open your project.

In the top‑right of the project, click the ⋯ (three dots) menu.

Select Project instructions.

Paste or write clear instructions that cover:

Axum’s role and context (Afrocentric, systems‑thinking, management consulting)

The type of work (e.g., proposal drafting, system mapping, MEL design, policy analysis)

Tone and format expectations

Example project instructions (template)

“You are supporting Axum, an Afrocentric impact consulting firm working on climate, inclusive growth, and innovation across Africa and the Middle East. Focus on clear, structured consulting outputs (headings, bullet points, tables). Use a pragmatic, systems‑thinking lens: identify actors, incentives, bottlenecks, and leverage points. Avoid inventing facts; when unsure, list ‘Data Gaps’ and clarify questions. Do not include client names or identifying details unless they are already in the files I’ve uploaded or explicitly provided in the prompt.”

Where to access the Project Setting and Instructions

📍Step 4: Add files and sources (your project’s knowledge base)

Files are how you give ChatGPT the raw material it needs to work with your real context — while staying within Axum’s data policies.

Inside your project, click Add files or the paperclip / upload button.

Upload approved, non‑restricted materials, such as:

Public RFPs or TORs

Cleaned, anonymized datasets

Axum templates (proposal templates, sector frameworks, theory of change examples)

Public reports from AfDB, World Bank, UN, AU, etc.

Avoid:

Personal data (names, phone numbers, IDs)

Confidential client documents not cleared for AI tools

Anything forbidden by Axum’s Responsible AI guidelines

If you hit file limits:

Prioritize core context (RFP, key frameworks, cleaned datasets).

Move secondary/background PDFs into a separate project or summarize them first.

✅ Tip: Add a short “README” chat in the project summarizing what each file is and how teammates should use it.

Where to add files

📍Step 5: Move existing chats into your project

If you’ve already been using ChatGPT for this work, you don’t have to start from scratch. You can move your best chats into the new project so they inherit the project’s instructions and file context.

You have two options:

Drag‑and‑drop from the chat list

In the main ChatGPT sidebar, drag a chat onto your project name.

The chat will now live inside the project and use its instructions/files.

Use the chat menu

Open the chat you want to move.

Click the ⋯ (three dots) menu for the chat.

Select Move to project and choose the right project.

⚠️ Note: Once a chat is moved into a project, it no longer appears outside the project. You can remove it later via the chat menu if needed.

📍Step 6: Share your project with teammates

Now the core part: turning your project into a shared workspace so the whole Axum team can build on the same context.

Within Axum’s enterprise workspace, project sharing works consistently across web, iOS, and Android.

6.1 Open the sharing panel

Open your project.

In the top‑right, click Share to open the sharing pane.

You’ll see options to:

Invite people by email

(Depending on workspace settings) share via link

Set access levels (Chat or Edit)

How to move a chat into a project

6.2 Choose the right access level (Chat vs Edit)

When you invite teammates, you must pick an access level:

Chat access

Can see and interact with chats, files, and instructions

Can ask ChatGPT questions using the project’s context

Cannot change instructions, upload/remove files, or invite others

Edit access

Can update project instructions

Can upload and remove files

Can invite others

Recommended Axum pattern

Edit: PM, SPM, Partner / TL, and one designated “AI lead” on the project

Chat: Core team members (associates, analysts, ops, etc.)

✅ Tip: When in doubt, start with Chat access and upgrade specific teammates to Edit if they’re co‑owning instructions/files.

6.3 Invite teammates by Axum email

In the share pane, set visibility to Only those invited (recommended default for client‑related work).

In the invite box, type your teammate’s Axum email or name (from the workspace directory).

Choose Chat or Edit from the dropdown.

Click Invite.

They’ll:

Receive an email notification

See the project appear in their Projects sidebar once they accept

6.4 Share via link (internal use only)

Depending on Axum’s workspace settings, you may also see options to share by link:

Only those invited

Only explicitly invited users can join.

Anyone with a link

Any Axum user in our workspace with the link can request or gain access (based on how admins configure it).

Axum guidance

For client or sensitive work:

Use Only those invited.

For internal, low‑risk content (e.g., general prompt libraries, internal training examples):

You may use Anyone with a link, but only share links in secure Axum channels (no forwarding outside Axum).

⚠️ If you’re ever unsure whether a project should be shared, check with your PM/SPM or Partner before inviting people.

📍Step 7: Work together inside a shared project

Once teammates join, the project becomes your shared AI workspace for that initiative.

In a shared project:

Everyone can create chats that use the same files and instructions.

People can move their existing chats into the project, so others can build on them.

ChatGPT uses project‑scoped memory for shared projects, so it remembers details within the project but doesn’t pull from unrelated chats or memories.

Members can “branch” a colleague’s chat to explore a new idea without overwriting the original conversation.

Axum use‑case patterns

Proposal teams:

Upload the RFP, Axum templates, and sector packs.

Use chats for: storyline, compliance matrix, budget tables, staffing, and risks.

Strategy / systems work:

Upload context reports, stakeholder maps, and previous deliverables.

Use chats for: systems mapping, leverage point analysis, scenarios, and draft slides.

MEL & research:

Upload ToCs, logframes, survey tools.

Use chats for: indicator refinement, synthesis of KIIs, and report drafting.

✅ Tip: Use chat titles like “01 – Problem Framing”, “02 – Systems Map”, “03 – Workplan Draft” so teammates can quickly find and reuse the right conversations.

✨ Quick Summary

✅ Projects keep chats, files, and instructions together for one engagement or initiative.

✅ Create a new project for each major client engagement or internal AI workflow.

✅ Add project instructions and files so ChatGPT works in an Axum‑specific, Afrocentric, systems‑thinking way.

✅ Move existing chats into the project to reuse your best work with the new context.

✅ Share projects with teammates via the Share button, using Chat vs Edit access wisely.

✅ Use “Only those invited” for client‑related work and follow Axum’s Responsible AI and data‑handling rules.

✅ Shared projects become your team’s shared AI workspace for that engagement.

What’s Next?

You can link to or create these related articles in the Help Center:

Why Axum Uses AI – for context on our AI strategy and principles.

Responsible AI guidelines – required reading for data, privacy, and safety guardrails.

Prompts for Axum Proposal GPT – to see how projects can host reusable prompt libraries for proposals.