The opportunity for AI to boost economic growth, provide jobs for the future and improve people’s everyday lives is huge, as outlined in the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology’s (DSIT) AI Opportunities Action Plan. At Capita, we do however, recognise the challenge for government of becoming a major user and customer of AI.
As both an experienced outsourcing partner to the public sector and delivery partner to major technology providers, we believe that DSIT’s “Scan > Pilot > Scale” approach to the adoption of AI offers the public sector a useful roadmap to realising the opportunities on offer. Getting the “scan” stage right will enable the public sector to move from small-scale scale siloed adoption, to realise the government’s ambition to shape the AI revolution rather than wait to see how it shapes us.
Joining the dots – understanding AI capabilities, challenges and opportunities
Understanding AI capabilities and use cases, and identifying the opportunities for scaling and reapplication, cannot happen in isolation. As DSIT acknowledges, successful scanning requires a cross-government approach and two-way partnerships with AI vendors and startups to anticipate future AI developments and signal public sector demand.
That’s easy to say, but how can you, as civil service leaders, successfully navigate the bold claims and promises to understand what works and what could work for you?
Firstly, be pragmatic and practical, not theoretical. Ask yourself, what problem are we solving and what are the commonalities of this problem – where could we reapply solutions already used elsewhere? Speak to people who have done it to themselves and for their clients and have tangible examples they can show you.
Next, find use cases where you can make early wins to build internal momentum and belief in what you are doing. Take those examples of automation from within yours and other departments and apply them to your area to avoid the high proof of failure rate that exists.
It’s worth noting that even the briefest of citizen interactions with public services can require a myriad of related services to deliver. Contact centres, for example, are part of a vertically integrated service model, which may also rely on mail fulfilment, document scanning and assessment services. When thinking about your immediate need, it’s useful to think about any related services and how a holistic approach to how AI can transform your overall service can deliver broader benefits.
Finally, prepare your teams for change and educate them – change management is key in adopting new technologies, especially realising value from them.
Don’t be shy. Leverage some of our experience
There are too many people who will talk a good game about AI strategy but there isn’t enough execution, so the need to identify experts – both vendors and clients – who can share their experience is vital. The most important advice I can give is to start by identifying and talking to your colleagues who are ahead of you on the AI journey, whether they’re in another department, or perhaps in a separate public sector organisation altogether.
As Capita have extensive experience supporting various government departments in this space and has successfully delivered numerous use cases, we are always available to discuss these with you.
On the recent CSW Changemakers podcast interview, I discussed numerous user cases in detail, including our recent AI and automation projects with TfL and HMRC. I also highlighted the innovative work delivered through our own Catalyst Lab, which we think you will find really interesting.
Above all, though, we have been delivering interconnected, complex back-office processes at scale for many years, so we’re perfectly placed to understand the challenges you face and the opportunities that exist to meet them.