Civil Service AI & Data Challenge finalists revealed
Four teams have been selected to go through to the Civil Service AI & Data Challenge finals, in which they will compete for £50,000 worth of digital product development to bring their ideas for improving government through the use of data and artificial intelligence to life.
The Civil Service AI & Data Challenge is an innovation programme run by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the Cabinet Office, Global Government Forum, and NTT DATA – a global provider of AI, digital business and IT services.
Following pitches to the judging panel in front of a live audience at Global Government Forum’s Innovation conference in London last week, the eight semi-finalists have been whittled down to the final four.
The finalists and their ideas
Casework compliance assistant
AI guidance and support with data analysis, verification and processing, plus guidance for Department for Work and Pensions benefits teams. Idea submitted by Marlon Woodley, CFCD verification assurance officer, Department for Work and Pensions.
Fraudulent document detection
AI verification service to identify documentation that has been tampered with or falsified. Idea submitted by Eric Edward, trainee tax specialist, HM Revenue & Customs.
FOI request assistant
Multi-agent AI to aid triage, costing, data-gathering, and response drafting for Freedom of Information requests. Idea submitted by Matthew Pickering, stakeholder engagement lead, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero.
Virtual personas for policy testing
Creation of AI personalities to explore the views and reactions of various demographics. Idea submitted by Amish Sarpotdar, economic adviser, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero; Kiyoshi Bhuiyan, principal social researcher, social and behavioural energy research, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero; and George Griffiths, a data scientist at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Visit the Civil Service AI & Data Challenge website for more information
Building new public services in real time
Last year, UK civil servants were invited to send in their ideas for how government could make better use of AI and data technologies following an appeal from the programme ‘champions’ – who include the permanent secretaries of the Cabinet Office and DSIT – and 252 people did so, revealing huge interest in the potential of AI in particular.
Working with senior data leaders across government, the programme partners then organised 15 workshops, attracting more than 350 civil servants, to explore around 60 of the most promising ideas. Those workshops produced dozens of submissions to a judging panel of departmental CIOs, who selected a longlist of eight.
On the mornings of 24 and 25 March at Innovation 2026, those eight idea originators met with teams of civil service volunteers in person for the first time and with NTT DATA experts and used AI-powered software engineering techniques to create working models illustrating their ideas in just a few hours.
In the afternoons, they pitched these ideas to the judging panel – breaking for a visit from digital government and data minister Ian Murray – and on 27 March, David Filmer, head of public sector at NTT DATA UK and Ireland and judging panel chair, met with each team to provide the results.
The challenge finalists now have until 20 May to prepare for the grand finale, at which they will make their concluding bids to the judges – and learn which team will secure the prize of £50,000 worth of digital project development.
The goal is to catalyse a number of digital reforms and service improvements – accelerating progress on the government’s ambition to improve public services and save resources through the use of digital, data and AI technologies.
After the semi-finals, minister for data and modern digital government Ian Murray said that the ideas put forward “show how AI and data can help government work smarter – cutting paperwork, reducing delays and freeing staff to focus on people – making services more innovative and efficient, and delivering the value for money that taxpayers expect”.
Aimee Smith, the government’s chief data officer and a champion of the programme, said that the challenge shows “both the breadth and depth of opportunities to apply AI and data in government, and the remarkable level of support for action across the civil service”.
NTT DATA UK’s David Filmer said the quality of the submissions were “really excellent” and demonstrated civil servants’ “extraordinary inventiveness, expertise and commitment”.
“The submissions also revealed civil servants’ enthusiasm and ambition about the potential of AI technologies: the emergence of large language models has opened up huge opportunities to improve public services, save taxpayers’ money and strengthen public servants’ tools across a wide variety of roles, activities and agendas.”
Read more: UK government roadmap outlines next steps for digital transformation
About Mia Hunt
Mia has been editor of globalgovernmentforum.com since 2019. She has 15 years’ experience as a journalist and editor and specialises in writing for civil and public servants worldwide, including covering sustainability policy and related issues. She has led the Global Government Women’s Network since it launched in 2023. Previously, she covered commercial property having been market reports and supplements editor at Property Week and deputy editor at Retail Destination. She graduated from Kingston University London with a first-class honours degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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