Semi-Finalists

At the Semi-Finals, all the teams created working digital models of their ideas, then presented them to the Judging Panel – who ultimately selected four ideas for further development. Here we name each of the ideas and the individual who first proposed it; in six cases, we also name all the team members and present short videos in which the teams explain their ideas and demonstrate their models (the other two could not participate for operational reasons).

For an updated view of the digital solutions, watch the five-minute videos created for the Grand Finale on our Finalists page.

Finalists

Casework compliance assistant, submitted by Marlon Woodley from Department for Work and Pensions

Casework compliance assistant
AI guidance and support with data analysis, verification and processing for DWP benefits teams

Team Members:

Marlon Woodley, CFCD Verification Assurance Officer, Department for Work and Pensions (idea originator)
Mohammed Islam, Appeal Writer, Department for Work and Pensions
Sam Lewis, Lead Data Scientist, Crown Commercial Service
Laura Winstanley, VAT Compliance Caseworker, HM Revenue and Customs
Smriti Jha, CASPO (Case Administrator for Senior Probation Officers), HM Prison and Probation Service
Oliver Critchfield, Head of Data Engineering for HMCTS & Agencies, Ministry of Justice
Richard Morgan, Continual Improvement Practice Manager, HM Revenue and Customs
Melanie Smith, DWP Child Maintenance Group, Applications and Maintenance Caseworker

Fraudulent document detection, Submission by Eric Edward from HM Revenue & Customs

Fraudulent document detection
AI verification service to identify documentation that has been tampered with or falsified

Team members:

Eric Edward, Trainee Tax Specialist, HM Revenue & Customs (idea originator)
Chelsea Scarth, Universal Credit Review, Department for Work and Pensions
Neelam Ahmed, Compliance Officer, HM Revenue & Customs
Charlie Metcalfe, VAT Specialist, HM Revenue & Customs
Ozkan Bahceci, Senior Solutions Architect (Innovation), HM Revenue & Customs
Pete Hewes, Lead Product Manager, HM Revenue & Customs
Iqbal Hamid, Academy Lead, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Gary Garner, Strategic Criminal Analyst, Department for Work and Pensions
Jamie Mann, Head of Data Science & Analytics, British Council
Mehnaz Ahmed, Corporation Tax Specialist, HM Revenue and Customs

FOI request assistant, submission by Matthew Pickering from Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

FOI request assistant
Multi-agent AI to aid triage, costing, data-gathering, and response drafting for Freedom of Information requests

Team Members:

Matthew Pickering, Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (idea originator)
Rachael Geddes, Renewable Electricity, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Alex Routledge, Senior Briefing Lead, Clean Energy Investment, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Curtis Shea, Head of Briefing and Engagement – Clean Power 2030, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

Virtual personas for policy testing, submission by Amish Sarpotdor and Kiyoshi Bhuiyan from Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and George Griffiths from Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Virtual personas for policy testing
Creation of AI personalities to explore the views and reactions of various demographics

Team members:

Dr Kiyoshi Bhuiyan, Behavioural Scientist, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (idea originator)
Dr Amish Sarpotdar, Senior Carbon Budget Analyst, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (idea orginiator)
George Griffiths, Data Scientist, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (idea orginiator)
Victoria Long, Data Scientist, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Sarju Patel, Head of Commercial/Corporate Finance – Greenhouse Gas Removals, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Dr Vanessa Wong, Project Controls and Analysis Manager, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Dr Louis Kinnear, Senior Data Analyst, Rural Payments Agency
Inna Dalton, Product Manager, Department of Health and Social Care
Josephine Peiris, Programme Manager, Government Legal Department

Semi-Finalists

Codified digital solution assurance submitted by Kelcey Swain from Cabinet Office

Codified digital solution assurance
Tackling fragmentation, complexity and duplication in assurance processes with a cross-government rules engine

Kelcey Swain, Data Foundations for AI Lead, Cabinet Office

Offshore wind adaptation to protect wildlife, submission by Sabrina Schalz from Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

Offshore wind adaptation to protect wildlife
Using cameras and AI to safeguard protected birds approaching wind turbine arrays

Team members::

Sabrina Schalz, NSIP Ecologist, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (idea originator)
Mark Kippax, Head of PMO, Livestock Information Transformation Programme, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Govind Konnanat, Data Science Industry Placement, Environment Agency
Dimitrios Michelakis, Data Delivery Lead, Forest Research

Real-time weather event impact intelligence, submission by Robert Cowling from Environment Agency

Real-time weather event impact intelligence
Using data from government and open sources to track flooding and other extreme weather

Team members:

Robert Cowling, Senior Hydrometeorologist, Environment Agency (idea originator)
Elizabeth Allen, Senior Policy Advisor, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Fluke Kasemsubphaisarn, Data Engineer, Environment Agency
Maddie Jewitt, Policy Advisor, Planning & Communities, Onshore Wind, Renewable Electricity Directorate, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Anthony Duke, Hydrometeorologist, Met Office

AI for capability discovery, submission by Mark from Ministry of Defence

AI for capability discovery
Using AI to scale advanced analysis of complex open data for early capability insights

Mark, Ministry of Defence