Earlier this year, the Government Digital Service (GDS) launched the AI Playbook for the UK government and alongside this published the AI Insights series, a collection of articles designed to help government departments and public sector organisations implement AI solutions safely, securely, and effectively. As AI continues to play a central role in the UK Government's agenda for economic growth and improved public services, it is crucial to address both the opportunities and the practical challenges of AI implementation in government (AI Opportunities Action Plan 2025).This new series builds on the AI Playbook for the UK Government by diving deeper into the more technical aspects of a wide range of AI technologies, with a focus on practical implementation in government settings. ### **Who the AI Insights are for** The AI Insights series equips public servants across government with practical knowledge for effectively implementing AI in their work. Whether you're leading digital transformation, advising on technology projects, or simply interested in how AI can improve your team's operations, these resources will help you navigate this rapidly evolving field. Each article begins with an accessible overview before exploring deeper technical concepts, making the content valuable for both specialists and non-specialists alike. While no advanced expertise is required, familiarity with basic digital and data concepts will enhance your understanding. Our goal is to build collective capability across the public sector, ensuring everyone can contribute to responsible, effective AI adoption that improves services for citizens. ### **AI Insights topics** The AI Insights series delves into technical concepts that complement and extend the foundational knowledge provided in the AI Playbook. Published bi-monthly, these articles are crafted by experienced government technologists and undergo rigorous peer review by leading academic and industry experts. Current publications explore crucial areas including: * Generative AI capabilities and applications * Synthetic data creation and responsible use * Prompt engineering techniques for effective AI interaction * Managing and mitigating prompt-related risks Upcoming topics will feature: * Evaluation metrics for AI system performance * Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) implementation Each article combines clear explanations of complex concepts with practical, actionable guidance specifically designed for public sector implementation. By demystifying these emerging technologies, we aim to build confidence and capability across government for responsible AI adoption. ### **What’s next** AI continues to evolve rapidly, and the AI Insights series will keep pace with emerging technologies and practices through bimonthly publications and six months reviews. To stay updated, join the AI Community, attend monthly meetups, and explore the free AI e-learning courses on Civil Service Learning. To get the most from the AI Insights series, we recommend reading them alongside the AI Playbook and GDS’ AI resources for the public sector.

The energy was electric last week in Leeds as we welcomed over 150 bright sparks to hack the planning system – digital dynamos, planning pioneers, and policy pros – hailing from 35 local authorities, central government, and industry! GDS and i.AI hosted this dynamic two-day Local Government Hackathon in partnership with colleagues from MHCLG Digital Planning and Open Digital Planning. The mission? To tackle real-world planning challenges head-on, armed with cutting-edge digital tools and the power of AI: channelling the dynamic, problem-solving ethos set out in the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government. One of our core ambitions is to catalyse change and join-up across the wider public sector - and this event showed exactly how that can happen in practice. Fifteen cross-disciplinary teams tackled planning system challenges, leveraging real data and open APIs to rapidly prototype innovative digital solutions. The winning team’s creation, Clio, transforms raw data from planning decision notices into usable insight about a site’s planning history. As their prize, the Clio team will present their work to the Minister for AI and Digital Government, Feryal Clark MP, and will also take part in a follow-up workshop to further develop their prototype with i.AI engineers. The hackathon was energised by contributions from digital leaders across government. Theo Blackwell, on secondment to GDS from his role as Chief Digital Officer at the Greater London Authority, opened the event and highlighted the importance of local government collaboration in driving digital transformation. Emily Middleton, Director General for Digital Centre Design in GDS, welcomed attendees and shared the vision for the new GDS and its role in enabling modern, user-centred public services. Feryal Clark MP, Minister for AI and Digital Government, joined via video message, encouraging participants to be bold: _“If you have an idea that will make a difference, don’t wait for permission. Test it. Take it forward.”_ Events like this powerfully demonstrate what’s possible when we unite together technological expertise, service and delivery know-how and policy in one room, working together with our local partners to innovate. This hackathon is just one example of how the government is putting the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government into action - working with local authorities to design smarter, simpler, more joined-up public services. We’re proud to have hosted such exceptional practitioners at this hackathon and look forward to continuing to collaborate with local government innovators across the country to drive transformation for our citizens and those who serve them. ### **The judges’ choices of prototypes** * Winner: Clio took the top spot, a solution deriving the insights into a site’s planning history: the innovation on display at Leeds was truly impressive across the board. * Runner-up: Zoe presented a compelling prototype AI solution to automate the extraction of relevant policies for planning applications. * Third place: Planalyse offered a smart, AI-powered idea to streamline the validation of floor plans, using computer vision to catch crucial missing details.

11/02/2025 Women and Girls in Science Picture by Alecsandra Dragoi / DSIT The Blueprint for modern digital government highlights the importance of creating public services that work for all citizens. As the next generation of both service users and potential digital and data leaders, these students offered invaluable perspectives. **Opening doors for women and girls in digital** Women remain underrepresented in digital and technology roles across both public and private sectors. This representation gap begins early, with assumptions about who "belongs" in STEM fields often forming during school years. Minister Clark, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government, who studied Bioinformatics at the University of Exeter has committed to tackling this issue within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). To address this challenge, Government Digital Service (GDS), the digital centre for government within DSIT, is taking proactive steps to ensure women and girls know there is a space for them in government digital roles. One significant initiative is our partnership with Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise working to inspire and support young women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. ### International Day of Women and Girls in Science On 11 February, GDS and Stemettes co-hosted an engagement day celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science with 20 students from Greig City Academy in London. Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, CEO and co-founder of Stemettes, shared the day reflected: > _“What’s important to young people across government provisions, to how well received transparency is – especially for something like the Career Framework tool that GOV.UK have released._ > > _It was also lovely to understand_ _more about the varied routes that civil servants have taken to be a part of DSIT & GDS. One role model was an ex-teacher and another an apprentice!”_ Emily Middleton, Director General of Digital Centre Design in GDS, shared with students the value and importance of young perspectives in shaping the future of digital government. She emphasised how their creativity and fresh thinking could help transform how people interact with public services. Claire Wraith, Head of Workforce Strategy and Transformation, led an interactive session on the various roles and opportunities across government digital and data functions. In a memorable demonstration, students discovered how Squishmallow stickers, dinosaur figures and onions could represent different aspects of the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework – making complex career paths tangible and accessible to them. One student thanked the organisers at the end for having such an interactive session, even though she was the one who ended up with an onion. Dr Imafidon reflected that: > _“Having an environment where they know they'll be able to continually make a difference and be valued in the contributions they make. Getting to have agency in the shape their career takes as well as the skills they develop along the way._ > > _Being confident in the knowledge that they are being paid fairly and working on important & transformational projects.”_ ### Shaping the future of government services Sarah Crandall, Engagement Lead for GDS, organised small group planning sessions focused on potential improvements to the new GOV.UK Chat tool. Students broke into discussion groups, each supported by a GDS mentor, to brainstorm ideas and collaborate on themes for development, including: “booking appointments”, “asking questions about real life things”, “learning real life things simplified (like taxes)”, “next steps in education”, and “reading age (making language in the service accessible for all reading ages)”. The student-led prioritisation revealed their most pressing concerns, with Dr Imafidon concluding: > _“I’m always impressed with the perspectives we get from our young people versus the work being done by our partners across industry._ > > _On this occasion they highlighted the availability of additional languages, accessibility and the need to protect personal data. When we set a brief we never know what we’re going to get.”_ ### Looking forward This collaboration between GDS and Stemettes represents just the beginning of our commitment to fostering a diverse digital workforce. By engaging young women early and demonstrating the real-world impact of government digital roles, we're working to ensure that the future of public services reflects the diversity of the public they serve. Would you like to learn more about career opportunities in government digital and data roles? Visit https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/ to explore the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework and discover how your skills could help build a more inclusive digital future.

Ever wondered what user researchers do? Curious about why we do it in government? Here’s your chance to learn more! Created in collaboration with user research colleagues from across government, the Government Digital Service (GDS) is  thrilled to announce that our new Introduction to User Research course is now live! This course is the latest instalment in our “Introduction to” series. As outlined in the blueprint for modern digital government, there is a need for investment in talent and opportunities for learning, development and upskilling. GDS is at the forefront of providing these opportunities so that we can contribute to the government’s goal of doubling the size of the Government Digital and Data profession and equipping civil servants with the skills and knowledge they need to work effectively in a modern digital government. ### **Who is the course for?** Whether you work as a user researcher already and would like to develop some skills, are simply curious about the field, or are maybe even considering a government user research career, this course is for you! ### **What will you learn?** On this three-week, self-led, introductory course, you will learn the basics: * what is a user, what is user research, and what are user needs? * a brief history of agile service design in government and the government service and design standards * user research within agile and research across the different phases of service development * how to scope, plan, and conduct ethical research * how to analyse data and produce insight This course is free to access and open to everyone! It is structured over three weeks with a recommended learning time of three hours per week, but it is self-directed and you can learn at your own pace. You can join and start learning at any time. ### **Why user research?** Before 2020, GDS Academy launched and ran a two-day classroom version of the Introduction to User Research in Government course. The course was designed to equip new researchers and career changers with essential user research skills and clarify how user research works in government. This was paused in 2020 due to COVID-19, so GDS created a version that could be delivered remotely. A cross-government facilitator group now runs the course both online and in person. Following the success of our other FutureLearn courses (Introduction to Content Design and Introduction to Product Management), we decided to adapt this content into a course we could share across government and with the wider public. We also collaborated with colleagues on the Digital Fast Stream who were in need of a tailored learning package introducing learners to user research in government. This provided us with the opportunity to meet an internal need for learning while also promoting user research as a discipline more widely. ### **How does it work?** The topics covered in the course will also be useful for anyone who would like to: * identify and develop skills and knowledge relevant to their current role * decide whether they would like to work towards a role in user research * collaborate effectively with user researchers in multidisciplinary teams This is an awareness level course. It is aimed at people who are new to user research or for those who have some knowledge but would like to learn more about user research in government. The course content was produced by a cross-government team of user researchers from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, NHS England, the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural affairs, Government Property Agency, HM Revenue and Customs and the Centre for Digital Public Services, adapting material from existing training and other sources, such as the Government Digital and Data user researcher pages on GOV.UK You will learn through a mix of reading, completing tasks and watching educational videos produced by user researchers working in government. You can keep track of your progress by taking quizzes and end-of-week tests, and by completing the learner tasks throughout the course. The course is free to access, but for an optional fee you can gain permanent access to the course material, get a chance to take the course assessments, and receive a signed certificate of completion at the end of the course as a record of your learning. ### **Social learning** FutureLearn is a social learning platform and interaction between learners is fundamental to the experience. On every step of the course, you will have the opportunity to chat to other learners about the subjects and activities covered. You can comment as much or as little as you would like, but we encourage you to join in and learn collaboratively. Register on FutureLearn now – the course is now permanently live! You can join the course at any time and learn at your own pace each week. **What’s next?** Keep an eye out for our upcoming courses on more digital and data roles, including Business Analyst, Delivery Manager and Service Designer. If you have any queries or would like to collaborate with the team on our next courses, you can contact the Learning Design team by emailing thomas.munley@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk.

Collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation were the focus of 2025’s Cross Government Software Engineering Conference, which was held in-person for the first time since the pandemic. The conference took place on 29 January 2025 at the Whitechapel building in London, and was organised by the Cross Government Software Engineering Community. The aim of our group is to create a strong and representative network for everyone who works in government software engineering, so this event marked a major milestone for all those involved. With 14 speakers and over 80 participants from across the public sector and its partnered organisations, attendees were able to take part in talks, discuss their work and to celebrate past successes. However, this conference also fulfilled a greater aim by meeting the new initiative for digital government. ### **The power of community** Earlier this year, the Blueprint for modern digital government was published to lay out the vision for the future state of digital services. Several parts of its core six-point plan depend on building and maintaining strong communities of digital practitioners across government departments. From lessons learned within our own groups, this will introduce a range of clear benefits, including: * **Knowledge sharing:** facilitating the exchange of ideas, best practices and lessons learned prevents constant reinvention and helps to accelerate progress. * **Collaboration:** by connecting with peers, software engineers can find partners and mentors. This leads to more robust, well-rounded solutions. * **Support:** supportive environments where engineers can ask questions, seek advice and overcome challenges together reduces isolation and boosts morale in individuals. * **Innovation:** bringing together diverse perspectives sparks new ideas and innovative solutions, which is why these groups are breeding grounds for creative problem-solving. * **Driving change:** strong communities can be powerful advocates for positive change within government. They can identify areas for improvement, propose solutions and drive the adoption of new practices. ### Designing an event for the community An important part of any community are the bonds between its individuals. That’s why events like the Cross Government Software Engineering Conference are so vital - they provide a space for people to meet and create those bonds. While our conferences were previously held virtually or with smaller teams, we organised this event to allow the wider software engineering network to engage at a much larger scale. The event would also tackle big challenges, such as how to build software that lasts, how to improve services over time, and how to boost public trust. That’s why we wanted to use this event to bring together developers from across government to share best practices and highlight what works and what still needs to be improved. Important to this was making sure we could drive home the message to senior leaders - that supporting digital delivery should be a top priority, and that this can be accelerated by supporting industry best practice and ways of working for software engineering. The day was only made possible by our generous sponsors: GovCamp and Government Digital Service (GDS). In the spirit of sustainability and accessibility, we made sure that the conference was a low-budget event with topics crowd-sourced from community coordinators. As a result of everyone’s efforts, the conference was met with such incredible enthusiasm that tickets sold out. We structured the day of the event itself to allow time for detailed subject talks and case study presentations. We also made sure that there would be vital networking time, because informal connections are often just as important as the more formal sessions. ### **Key subjects for software engineers** The conference featured a rich range of in-depth sessions by subject matter experts on critical government initiatives. These included: * ‘GOV.UK One Login: What, Why and How’, presented by Phil Fordham and Paul Dougan * ‘Applying AI to the Legislative Process’, presented by Liam Wilkinson * ‘Evolving GOV.UK Chat from Prototype to Production AI System’, presented by Alessia Tosi, Kevin Dew and Rich Eveson Specialist talks from community members tackled important issues, such as: * Transforming API management to improve open source practices * Solving common problems in software engineering with hackathons * Green software and sustainability * The importance of sharing skills between software engineering and data engineering and data science The highlight of the conference were our two keynote speakers. Asim Hussain, Executor Director of the Green Software Foundation, presented ‘Tipping the Scales’. This was a detailed introduction to the Green Software Foundation and its goal, which is to help create a future where software processes and AI have zero harmful environmental impacts. Terence Eden, Principal Privacy Architect of Our Future Health UK, presented ‘Lessons Learned Open Sourcing the UK’s Covid Tracing App’. This presentation covered the history of the famous contact-tracing app and the impact of the decision to make it open source. ### **What we learned and why it matters** The momentum of this conference far outstripped expectations, so we will definitely be ensuring that future events can accommodate everyone who wants to take part. With attendees from 36 different departments and agencies, we saw an exciting range of discussions and connections made between people who might otherwise not meet. It was clear that being able to share best practices, challenges and opportunities in person is vital. The success of this conference has illustrated the need for similar future events, which we will be planning for soon. It has also allowed us to show senior leaders the importance and impact of providing these spaces for the community. ### **Join the community** The Cross Government Software Engineering Community is always keen to welcome new members. If you work in government software engineering and would like to get involved, join the Cross Government Software Engineering Community.

Earlier this year, the AI Opportunities Action Plan was published, outlining that effective AI adoption across the UK will boost economic growth, provide jobs for the future and improve people's everyday lives. To help ramp up AI adoption within government and the wider public sector, we’ve done some user research to understand what colleagues need to use AI safely, confidently and effectively. We explored their current behaviour, attitudes, fears and activities. We used what we’ve learnt from this user research to inform the Generative AI Framework, the new AI Playbook for the UK Government, new learning resources on AI, as well as to understand if there are skills and roles missing from the Capability Framework that we need to add to support the use of AI. ### What we did We ran two surveys and several rounds of interviews, across the public sector, over a six month period between 2023 and 2024. These involved over 150 participants from more than 20 government departments. Running the survey twice helped us to understand how things were changing. To get a deeper understanding we interviewed colleagues in a variety of roles and departments including people already working on or leading AI and machine learning projects. When developing our findings we brought together our research data with industry analysis and conversations with subject matter experts from different parts of government. ### What we learned People want to understand what AI is, what it can and cannot achieve, how it can be applied in government and how they can gain the skills and knowledge necessary to use AI safely, managing the associated risks. #### **People have misconceptions of what AI is and what it might achieve** Understanding of AI technology in government is evolving. Over the six month period dividing our user research studies, the civil servants’ awareness of AI has increased and people have become more familiar with tools like chatbots. However, the way they conceptualise AI has been shaped by the prominence of generative AI tools, with some participants associating AI primarily with generative AI. The misconception that AI means large language models and chatbots can make managing stakeholders’ expectations complicated. Generative AI tools are not the solution to every problem and present issues of accuracy, potential bias, and, in some cases, sustainability. It is important that people implementing AI services demystify AI for their stakeholders, making sure that they understand the potential and limitations of different AI technologies when considering if AI is the right tool for the job. A partial understanding of AI can lead someone to think that AI can be successfully applied to most use cases, or, conversely, to worry about risks and block usage of AI tools. Both these attitudes may impact civil servants who want the opportunity to experiment and learn what AI can do for them safely, with guardrails in place. While AI is not new, there’s still work to be done to help people get a realistic understanding of AI, its capabilities, applications and limitations. User research suggests that, in addition to training and guidance, sometimes a single example or case study can help demystify AI and change people’s attitude. During interviews several people mentioned a specific presentation, conversation, or case study that got them excited about AI and prompted them to learn more. #### **The emergence of AI provides government with an opportunity to rethink its approach to governing services** Survey respondents showed a good understanding of potential risks of AI. Their concerns broadly mirrored conversations about AI outside of government. Respondents were keen to understand how they should deal with things like privacy, bias, ethics, concerns around plagiarism, security, and potential for misuse. Civil servants are aware that there are additional complications and responsibilities when using AI in government, due to the nature of the data used and the reach and impact of government services. Departments are implementing guidelines and the Government Digital Service (GDS) regularly reviews guidance on AI. However, teams who work on live AI services acknowledge that they need to regularly be kept informed on new guidance and good practice to build, test and monitor AI solutions. Currently, to make sure that AI services operate as expected, teams rely on existing frameworks and governance processes for assessing and monitoring data products. Across government, we are still learning what the impact of AI models is for service governance processes. With many teams exploring ways to validate, monitor and measure AI services, there's an opportunity to combine cross-government lessons learned into guidance that would be useful for anyone working in AI. #### **How might we enable more public servants to make the most of AI   ** AI changes the way we interact with technology, and the way we build digital products. This change can be scary: it might change how frontline staff deliver their services, what digital and data roles do or how they collaborate. A big part of change management is providing relevant, real examples, and opportunities to experiment with AI: * leaders want to be inspired and want to understand what the real capabilities of AI are * civil servants working on digital and data need opportunities to upskill, including ways to build AI solutions and learning with and from others * civil servants working outside the digital and data space need clear, consistent guidance to be able to use AI in a safe and responsible way In our research we uncovered a need for relevant examples and opportunities to share knowledge. Evolving capability, changes in attitude and more mature AI services are making this possible. Showcasing government use cases can help build awareness and inform good practice. Participants also expressed a need to connect with others who are doing innovative work with AI to be inspired, avoid duplicating work and learn from each other. Networks such as the Artificial intelligence community of practice play a key role in this process, offering opportunities to share knowledge and make connections. ### What’s next There’s work going on to address what we’ve learnt in our user research. GDS has just published the AI Playbook for UK Government. The Playbook offers an introduction to AI technologies for government, an exploration of their capabilities and limitations, and guidance on how to buy, implement and use AI safely and responsibly. This also includes sections on governance, quality assurance of AI products and how to build AI teams. This Playbook will be regularly reviewed and updated. If you are interested in gaining AI skills, you can also take free e-learning courses on Civil Service Learning and access off-the-shelf training on Government Campus via the learning frameworks. These courses range from short introductions to AI topics to detailed online courses on technical aspects of AI technologies and products. To understand how other departments are using AI and connect with the relevant teams, you can attend the monthly events organised by the AI Community of Practice. Moreover, you can review the projects presented in the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standards (ATRS), which lists all the algorithmic tools deployed in decision making processes by public sector bodies.

The UK Government is embarking on an ambitious digital transformation of public services as outlined in the blueprint for a modern digital government released earlier this year. TechTrack, our innovative digital apprenticeship programme, is at its heart. This programme will bring in 2,000 talented apprentices into Whitehall departments by 2030, creating a powerful pipeline of digital expertise across government and comes alongside a wider announcement to nearly double the number of civil servants working in digital and data roles. Alongside the reskilling of thousands of existing civil servants, TechTrack represents a bold commitment to ensuring we have the critical skills needed to revolutionise public services through technology - generating opportunities nationwide and delivering tangible benefits to citizens. In February, we proudly welcomed our first cohort of 50 TechTrack apprentices who have begun their digital apprenticeship journey. We celebrated these pioneers during National Apprenticeship Week with a special welcome event on Monday 10 February at Whitehall led by Minister Feryal Clark, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The programme opened in Summer 2024 and we were delighted to see that the applications we’ve received for the first cohort, which included the first two apprenticeship roles of Software Developers and DevOps Engineers demonstrated a diverse pool. This included 70% of applicants coming from minority backgrounds and over 60% based outside of London. Some of TechTrack's first cohort of apprentices joined us for a celebration event in Whitehall. Front row from left to right:  Sophie Metcalf, Ziaur Rahman, Iana Bezrodnykh. At the back, from left to right: Hannah Hargreaves, Amritpal Chahal, John Rothera and  Sorcha O'Sullivan ## Why digital matters in government From accessing healthcare to filing taxes, and from applying for passports to checking their state pension, behind these services are talented digital professionals who transform complex policy into user-friendly solutions that work for everyone. TechTrack isn't just another apprenticeship programme – it's a ground-breaking initiative designed to address the most critical digital skills gaps in government and a unique opportunity to join the growing Government Digital and Data community of experts transforming lives through technology. Apprentices earn a competitive salary while gaining valuable qualifications and real-world experience. Each role offers clear progression opportunities within government, with many apprentices going on to secure permanent positions and build rewarding careers. Our initial focus is on the four most in demand roles: * Software Developer * DevOps Engineer * Business Analyst * Cyber Security Technologist - Risk ## Be part of something special We're excited to see the first cohort starting in roles right now and making their mark across nine government departments, including the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Education. One of our new apprentices, Hannah Hargreaves, who joined HMRC as a DevOps Engineer, reflects on what drew her to the programme: "Technology has interested me for years but I hadn't known what path to take or what role would suit me best. This apprenticeship programme has the structure and the learning community I want, and paves a pathway in tech with the security I need." ## What makes TechTrack different? What sets TechTrack apart is how apprentices develop the skills needed to lead digital transformation projects, learning how to guide teams, influence decisions, and shape the future of government services. Our apprentices won't just be learning theory - they’ll be putting skills into practice from day one. From developing AI-powered features that make services more responsive to user needs to analysing data to improve service design and implementing smart security measures to protect sensitive information, or collaborating with policy experts to turn innovative ideas into reality.  You can read more in our previous blog. ## Your digital journey starts here It's an exciting time to be part of the programme, so join us. Whether you're passionate about coding, problem-solving, or protecting digital services, TechTrack offers a unique pathway into a meaningful tech career. We're looking for curious minds, problem solvers, and people who want to make government services work better for everyone. If you're ready to earn while you learn, tackle complex challenges, and develop in-demand skills - whether you're already a civil servant or looking to start your government career - join us in building a modern digital government. Ready to start your digital journey? Discover our tech career opportunities and be the first to know when applications open for our next cohort. ## Secure your department's digital future Is your department looking to build its digital capability? Join the growing number of departments already benefiting from TechTrack's pool of diverse, talented apprentices ready to make an impact. Departments can get involved and talk to our apprenticeship providers about how to bid for TechTrack talent on our dedicated platforms: * Find out about hiring Software Developers and DevOps Engineers with Makers. * Find out about hiring Business Analysts with BPP and registering your interest in Cyber Security Analysts in Risk. > **Find out more about TechTrack****.** TechTrack is led by the Government Digital Service (GDS), the digital centre of government and part of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. As the digital heart of government, GDS exists to serve the public, departments and the wider public sector, ensuring digital services work better for everyone.

The role of our data communities is fundamental to helping the government achieve the aims and aspirations for use of technologies such as AI, as set out in the government response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan. Community Connect was the first in-person meeting of data communities from across government on 10 February. 130 data architects, data governance leads, programme directors, and heads of knowledge and information management came together from across government, along with members from a range of groups including AI for Government Knowledge and Information Management (GKIM) Cross-government Data Sharing Practitioners Community, and Data Sharing Network of Experts. Jenny Brooker, GDS Chief Data Architect welcomed attendees by setting out the collaborative aim: “Today is about bringing us together, strengthening our collective voice, and hopefully starting to shape the future of government.” She also acknowledged: “We are in a pivotal place for data, and there hasn’t been such a big movement behind it across government, since the launch of open data. AI is coming, and therefore data is more important than ever. We have a manifesto commitment to the National Data Library, and even having the word ‘data’ in the manifesto feels monumental. “Communities need to get ready for these innovations, and through collective thought members can help navigate issues, shape good practice, and agree how your organisation will adopt AI.” ### **Getting ourselves ready for the future** We need to nurture civil service talent and encourage cross-government training to implement ‘cross-economy AI adoption’ and encourage the public sector to ‘pilot and scale AI products and services and encourage the private sector to do the same’ and with this in mind we hosted a panel session to discuss with our communities what we can all do for us and our data to be ready for these opportunities. Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, recently launched the blueprint for modern digital government. This tactical plan sets out the vision for the future of digital government over the next ten years. It emphasises the need to build communities of practice, and outlines how we must create ~~ ~~ centres of expertise involving practitioners across government, in particular in AI, risk and resilience, service delivery and data. The power of communities and collective thinking can’t be underestimated, and these hubs for specialists will help deliver a modern digital government. ### **Common themes in community meetings** Communities of practice ran individual breakout meetings. These provided a forum to reflect on improving data practices across government departments. Some of main themes raised were: ### **Cross departmental collaboration** Matt Thompson, Head of Data Strategy at the UK Health Security Agency, stated: “The Data Maturity Community shared success stories around business areas taking ownership of their data maturity action plans, linking data challenges to risks and operational delivery, and funding training programmes. “The public sector is an enormous, data-rich world full of talented people working hard to solve very similar problems, however we are all siloed. We all need to be better at breaking out of our bubbles, building our networks, sharing and learning, not just from colleagues in our own specialisms, but from other expert communities as well.” ### **Training and guidelines** Firoze Salim, Head of Frameworks and Standards at the GDS, discussed the ongoing struggle to align departmental objectives with available resources. He remarked: "The Data Sharing Practitioners Community discussed how aligning departmental objectives with available resources is a constant challenge. Training for effective data usage is crucial for progress. Members agreed that they all need clear guidance on AI integration, consistent data language, and recognition of data’s strategic value by senior leadership." ### **Risks of AI** Alex Smith, Head of Data Security at GDS, highlighted the need to recognise the risks associated with AI technologies and the importance of sharing best practices across departments, so that risks can be mitigated, and we can unlock the full potential of AI in a safe and secure way. ### **Challenges in data sharing** Murat Soncul, Head of Privacy and Data Protection at GDS, pointed out the challenges related to data sharing, including issues of funding, resource allocation, and the need for common data models. ### **Save the date for future events** Community members from across~~-~~ government are invited to attend upcoming in person and virtual events to upskill, share best practice, showcase innovation, and debate challenges. Future diary dates to note are: ### **Community Connect North** Calling all public sector data professionals~~~~ who struggled to attend Community Connect in London, you are now invited to register for Community Connect North. The northern version of the all data communities meet-up will be held in Manchester city centre, during June. The venue and agenda are being finalised.The afternoon event will follow a similar agenda to Community Connect. It will offer the same in person networking opportunities and opportunity to hear from a panel of senior guests. To register your interest for Community Connect North please complete this form on Hopin. ### DataConnect25 Now in its fourth year, DataConnect25, government’s largest virtual data conference, will move from September to November. To attend DataConnect, please register on Hopin. In September, we will launch this year’s themes, and open up submissions for civil servants to propose a session or panel discussion.

The UK government’s recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan underlines the importance of safe and responsible AI adoption to drive innovation, boost economic growth, and improve public services - crucial drivers of the government’s Plan for Change. As the Data Ethics team here in GDS, we play a vital role in supporting responsible innovation across the public sector. Our role involves convening expertise on topics such as fairness, accountability, legal obligations, and ethical risks in the development of data and technology products and policies. We provide frameworks, tools and guidance to promote the ethical and trustworthy use of data and data-driven technologies across the public sector. One of our key products, the Data Ethics Framework, helps public sector teams deliver data projects in responsible, fair, and transparent ways. To make sure the framework remains relevant and useful, we’re updating it - and we need your help! ### **What’s the Data Ethics Framework?** The Data Ethics Framework is designed to help anyone working with data in the public sector to consider the ethical dimensions that may arise during their projects. It follows three key principles - transparency, accountability and fairness - and provides five specific actions that teams should follow throughout their projects: * Define public benefit and user need * Involve diverse expertise * Comply with the law * Check the quality and limitations of the data * Evaluate and consider wider policy implications The framework was first published in 2016, and updated in 2018 and 2020 following user testing and consultation with public sector teams. ### **We’re refreshing the Data Ethics Framework** Since the framework’s last update in 2020, we’ve seen rapid advancements in areas such as AI. We want to make sure the framework reflects these changes, remains relevant and practical, and continues to support public trust in government’s use of data and data-driven technologies. After engaging with teams across government, we found that the volume and variety of guidance, and lack of clear signposting make it difficult for people to find the right resources and know which ones to follow for their projects. We’re reviewing and updating the Data Ethics Framework with the goal to: * Provide the latest, comprehensive central government guidance on data and AI ethics, aligning across and merging existing documents where possible * Align the framework with the latest advice and best practice * Make it easier for teams to apply to real projects * Provide clearer guidance on emerging issues such as AI ### **We need your feedback** Whether you’re a civil servant, researcher, or working in the wider public sector on data and technology projects, your insights are invaluable. We’ve launched a short survey to gather your views. Your feedback will help us shape the next version of the framework so that it better meets user needs, and reliably identifies ethical risks. Please get in touch with us if you can share case studies of how you’ve used the framework in your project. ### **Making guidance more accessible** Having spoken to teams across government, we've learned that the landscape of guidance can be complex and hard to navigate. We understand that teams need accessible guidance to be able to confidently address emerging challenges. To support this, we’ve created a Guidance Hub, which brings together key documents and makes it easier for public sector teams to find the right resources.