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.