07 August 2024

A total of 98 projects have been awarded a share of the funding, supporting 200 businesses and research organisations across the UK, aiming to enhance productivity and deliver excellent public service improvements.

The projects span across the UK, and the funding is part of the UKRI Technology Missions Fund and the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, emphasising the government’s commitment to positioning AI at the forefront of productivity improvements.

“AI will deliver real change for working people across the UK – not only growing our economy but improving our public services,” said minister for digital government and AI Feryal Clark. “That’s why our support for initiatives like this will be so crucial – backing a range of projects which could reduce train delays, give us new ways of maintaining our vital infrastructure, and improve experiences for patients by making it easier to get their prescriptions to them. We want technology to boost growth and deliver change right across the board, and I’m confident projects like these will help us realise that ambition.”

“Investment in public services is crucial to driving efficiency and economic growth, whether it’s AI, policy or people. We’ve seen the beginning of the dominance of AI in private sector process automation, so it’s time to see similar investment into the public sector to improve areas such as scheduling and data analysis to deliver better public services,” said Michael Thornton, director of public services for Investigo. “A large portion of public sector work is carried out on a project basis, such as the 98 being funded, so it’s important that the government prioritises investment in staff who have specialised skillsets in AI, while also training and upskilling current staff to ensure smooth delivery. Taking a smart approach to interim versus consultancy staff can allow departments to streamline the skills within their teams for each project, streamlining the delivery of services while keeping costs down.”

The funding announced will specifically support solutions in ‘high growth’ industries, ensuring AI is at the heart of driving forward greater productivity and efficiency across key areas of the economy.