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Guest blog post by Angie Forson, Web and Digital Programme Lead, Southwark Council.

The Web and Digital team at Southwark Council, along with our partners at Chicken, is building an AI-powered PDF importer for the LocalGov Drupal Publication Module. Together, we're unlocking a faster, more accessible, and more collaborative future for publishing.

Why this matters

Manual PDF conversion can take hours - sometimes days. With our importer, it happens in minutes - often under one minute. Multiply that across thousands of PDFs, and the time savings are game-changing.

I'm excited about the impact this product will have - not just for our users, but also in transforming how we design, build, and create content internally. We're shaping a future where services start with HTML-first thinking.

Evelyn Francourt, User Experience Lead

Understanding the workflow

We upload a PDF to the module, which will then kick-start the importing process in the background.

The result is the HTML representation of the PDF content, which is then saved into a Drupal Publication. We can then review and publish the Publication.

Each import process is logged so that any errors can be reviewed and fixed.

How the technology works

Each PDF goes through a three-step ETL process, called an "import pipeline" in the module:

1. Extract: A PDF parser pulls content from the PDF. The default is the smalot PDF parser.
2. Transform: The parsed content is AI converts it to properly tagged HTML with logical pagination. Currently the module uses Claude Sonnet.
3. Save: Clean HTML pages ready to publish in Drupal

Built for flexibility

We can build as many import pipelines as needed, each with its own custom AI prompt. Useful for things like handling different types of PDF content or layout.

Furthermore, the pipeline uses a plugin architecture, where each step can be swapped out. Councils can use different extractors, AI models, or output to different Drupal content types to suit their needs.

This project is a great example of AI working alongside and empowering content creators, and Drupal as a platform supports this really well.

Farez Rahman, Drupal Developer

Agile, user-centred delivery

We're delivering this project the way we deliver our best work - agile and user-centred by design.

We have adapted our delivery to meet the challenges of innovation design. Our team has had to continuously refine requirements and acceptance criteria to ensure the tool meets real user needs and delivers meaningful outcomes.

Working on this AI product is an incredible experience - each day comes with new challenges, unexpected turns, and fresh opportunities to innovate. The pace of change made the whole process an absolute adrenaline rush.

Giorgi Bujiashvili, Delivery Manager

What we've achieved so far

As Chicken fast-tracks development, we've been testing and refining prompts across a wide range of PDFs to prove what's possible:

• import images, URLs and linked text
• rebuild tables with correct HTML tags
• apply accurate heading hierarchies (H1, H2, H3)
• remove unwanted hard returns from PDF text

We've also cracked the pagination challenge. Early versions mirrored PDFs page-by-page, causing awkward breaks mid-paragraph or mid-list. Now the importer processes the entire document at once and, with the right AI prompt, inserts page breaks at logical user-friendly points such as topic changes or new sections.

Built with (and for) the community

This project has been co-designed with content designers, developers, and the LocalGov Drupal community.

Together, we're shaping a scalable, open-source tool that other councils can adopt, adapt, and improve.

Angie Forson, Web and Digital Programme Lead

A leap forward in accessible publishing

The AI PDF Importer isn't just a tool - it's a step change in accessible, open-source publishing for local government. Following this release, it will be open and shareable with the LocalGov Drupal community for other councils to adopt and iterate.

If you're interested in supporting or scaling this project, contact Angie Forson - Angie.Forson@southwark.gov.uk. Let's change the game together.

The Women in Drupal Award sponsored by JAKALA, returned this year to honour and celebrate the outstanding achievements of women making remarkable contributions to the global Drupal community. The award, presented during the prestigious DrupalCon Vienna 2025 opening ceremony, recognises women who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact within one of the world's most influential open-source ecosystems.

Created by JAKALA, with the mission of amplifying women's voices in technology, the Women in Drupal Award highlights three core values that reflect the essence of the Drupal community: Inspire, Connect, and Empower. The award has three categories to celebrate women who embody these principles through their work as developers, designers, mentors, advocates, and community builders.

Every story shared through the Women in Drupal Award reminds us why diversity matters-it changes how we think, build, and collaborate. Supporting this initiative is both a privilege and a responsibility, one that aligns deeply with JAKALA's purpose of creating meaningful impact through technology.

- Kitt Ralkov, Managing Director, Experience, HR & Marketing at JAKALA

This year's honourees were recognised for their outstanding contributions to Drupal and the wider tech community:

• Define Award - Emma Horrell
  Honoured for her leadership in shaping digital strategy and defining inclusive, impactful solutions that set the direction for successful Drupal projects.
• Build Award - Sinduri Guntupalli
  Recognised for her hands-on innovation, exceptional technical expertise, and commitment to creating robust and scalable Drupal solutions.
• Scale Award - Jess (xjm)
  Celebrated for her ability to grow teams, communities, and projects-amplifying the reach of Drupal across industries and empowering others along the way.

JAKALA created the Women in Drupal award to ensure that women's stories and successes in technology are visible and celebrated. With Drupal powering millions of websites worldwide, the community's ongoing efforts toward gender inclusion reflect a broader movement across open source: making technology more welcoming and equitable for everyone.

You have to get through the impostor syndrome. The community is super welcoming.

said Emma Horrell, one of this year's recipients.

JAKALA is the official sponsor of the Women in Drupal Award since its inception four years ago. As a long-standing supporter of diversity and inclusion in technology, JAKLA ensured the award could reach a global audience and showcase some of the incredible talent in the Drupal community. Through its commitment to equity and innovation, JAKALA continues to help shape a more inclusive future for open source communities worldwide.

In the end, I mostly wanted to give back to the community.

said Sinduri Guntupalli.

The ceremony has become a highlight of DrupalCon. Beyond the award itself, the wider Women in Drupal initiative fosters mentorship programs, networking opportunities, and global visibility for women working in Drupal and open source.

I was intimidated by core contribution but very friendly members of the community came to me

said Jess (xjm).

The Women in Drupal Award is supported by the Drupal Association and leading organisations across the industry. Together, they aim to build a more inclusive, diverse, and forward-looking community, one that reflects the world it serves.

About Women in Drupal

Women in Drupal is a community-driven initiative dedicated to celebrating, supporting, and empowering women in the Drupal ecosystem. Through events, mentorship, and recognition, the program fosters inclusion and encourages greater participation and leadership in open source.