Government's AI fund aims to boost public sector reform

The UK government's new Transformation Fund aims to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools within public sector operations, highlighting the importance of digital reform efforts.

According to Imran Akhtar of mthree, the success of these initiatives will depend on having skilled personnel in place who can manage and deploy AI responsibly and effectively. "The newly announced Transformation Fund, which will support investment in AI tools to modernise operations in the public sector, signals a bold commitment to digital reform. However, the success of such initiatives will depend not only on the technology itself, but on having skilled people in government who understand how to manage and deploy AI responsibly and effectively," he stated.

Akhtar's remarks coincide with the recent report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which underscores existing gaps in skills and systemic challenges that could hinder the public sector's AI adoption efforts. "This is where the findings of the Public Accounts Committee report released earlier today are particularly pertinent," Akhtar noted. "The report highlights the evident skills gaps and systemic challenges that risk holding back AI adoption in the public sector. Addressing these challenges will require investing in the in-house talent needed to drive and sustain meaningful change."

The proposed solution involves the reskilling of current government employees across all levels and disciplines to increase AI literacy throughout the organisation. "Reskilling existing employees across all levels and disciplines can support the success of government AI rollout. This approach promotes cross-organisational AI literacy so everyone reads from the same script - ensuring everyone, including non-technical leaders, can engage confidently and effectively with new technologies," Akhtar explained.

This workforce-wide approach is expected to mitigate resistance to technological changes, support compliance with regulations, and enable public bodies to become more agile and responsive as they navigate the evolving technological landscape. "Taking a workforce-wide approach to governmental AI rollout can help reduce resistance to change, supports compliance in a regulated environment, and enable public bodies to become more agile and responsive as technology continues to evolve," stated Akhtar.