GEA Pathfinder

Background and Objectives of the Pathfinder Project:

The Public Sector AI (PSAI) Directorate within the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) exists to help the government make brilliant public services that empower people in the UK. We work at the very centre of government to drive digital transformation focused on user needs and to reimagine how government uses AI to deliver public services and initiatives.

The newly established Government Efficiency Accelerator (GEA) programme is a flagship initiative aimed at driving operational efficiencies across some of the government's key enabling functions (Finance, Policy, HR) through the safe and responsible adoption of AI. The GEA is working in collaboration with the GCF Commercial Innovation Hub (CIH) to better understand the availability of AI based solutions that can be used by teams across government departments to drive efficiency and increase productivity.

The goal of this Pathfinder Project is to engage with the market to understand current capabilities, initially focusing on three core business areas: Finance, HR and policy (more details on a specific problem area below).

Applicants should note that this engagement is not intended to lead to the procurement of a particular solution for DSIT or any other UK Government Department. Rather, we are looking to build a catalogue of tested and "kitemarked" products that will be made available to public sector organisations to consider procuring them in the knowledge that they have been tested and will meet requirements such as security, usability, transparency etc.

We are interested in hearing from all types of suppliers and would particularly encourage SMEs and VCSEs to submit proposals.

Challenge Summary:

As noted above, the GEA and CIH are engaging with the market to build a deeper understanding of how AI based solutions and products can help make government departments more efficient and productive. We appreciate there are a multitude of potential use cases so for this initial engagement we have chosen to focus on problems relating to budgeting and workforce forecasting.

We are inviting suppliers to submit proposals outlining how their products could be used by finance teams across UK government departments in a safe, transparent and unbiased way. We are keen to explore solutions which can reduce the level of repetitive tasks required specifically when budgeting and conducting workforce forecasting. Submissions should demonstrate how the solution can streamline tasks, improve accuracy, and shorten time spent on repetitive work in order to free colleagues up to complete higher-value work.

There is no fixed scope, as we aim for platform-agnostic, AI driven and innovative tools that adapt to various organisational needs. Solution should be accessible to organisations of all sizes and is not dependent on any specific ERP platform.