Best Use of Data, Science, and Technology Award Shortlist

An Innovative Civil Service

National Economic Crime Centre - Data Fusion Pilot

National Crime Agency

A National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) team delivered the ‘data fusion pilot’ – a large-scale data sharing initiative and one of the first of its kind internationally, developed in partnership with public and private sector stakeholders. It aims to test the value of accelerating and increasing the sharing of financial intelligence to disrupt Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) in the UK and protect the integrity of the UK financial system. The NECC hosts a co-located public-private team, consisting of data scientists and intelligence officers, which will use this ‘fused data’ and new analytical tools to deliver joint outputs and whole system benefits.

Prioritising Asylum Customers' Experience (PACE) - Asylum Transformation Programme

Home Office

When the Asylum Initial Decision backlog peaked in 2022 with almost triple the number of cases received since 2020, the Asylum Transformation Programme established the Prioritising Asylum Customers’ Experience (PACE) programme, to meet the former Prime Ministers’ challenge of clearing the asylum backlog by the end of 2023. Embarking upon a programme of huge scale, complexity and sensitivity, the Home Office used machine learning and AI, complex simulation models, centralisation of tasks and implementation of new systems, to drive continuous innovation. Delivering at pace, the legacy Asylum backlog of Initial Decisions was cleared by December 2023, and caseworker productivity tripled. This has delivered improved outcomes for asylum seekers and saved significant sums for the taxpayer.
 

Scottish Government Design System Team

Scottish Government

This nomination is for the team behind the Scottish Government Design System (https://designsystem.gov.scot/), a free online resource that empowers public service teams across Scotland to create accessible and user-friendly digital services. It provides 49 reusable web components and best practice standards for technical build, design, user experience, accessibility, usability and performance. Websites built using the system have 55x fewer accessibility issues.

Since launch in 2020, the system has driven development of many national services, such as ScotAccount and ScotPayments. The strategic approach, promotes reuse, to deliver high-quality services for citizens.