Progress on embedding data analytics and AI in project delivery

As a project delivery person, I love it when a plan comes together – and achieving this in the exciting world of government project data is special.

When the Project Data Analytics and AI framework was launched in March 2024, the ambition was clear. Innovation in data analytics and artificial intelligence(AI) could be transformative for project delivery, and together we aim to put the UK at the forefront of this discipline.

15 months on, that ambition is becoming a reality.

The programme board and delivery team have made immense progress. It’s been great over the past few weeks to hear about progress make on various fronts, and I want to highlight a few of them.

Giving our people confidence

We have published a refreshed Project Delivery Capability Framework, which sets out the data skills and competencies needed for different roles across the profession. This will enable all project delivery professionals across government to build and apply their data skills with confidence and intent.

Alongside this we have refreshed the content of our leadership programmes, the Project Leadership Programme and the Major Projects Leadership Academy, to equip our most senior project leaders with these essential skills.

Reimagining the way we oversee delivery

Scout, our new AI tool, is now being tested with selected teams. Working with colleagues in No10, i.AI and Cabinet Office, our fantastic team in the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) have created and tested Scout to enhance project assurance reviews.

The tool has been tested with multiple assurance teams and projects across government, and we can now say with confidence that Scout helps review teams halve their preparation time, and is over 90% accurate in mimicking human judgement to establish lines of enquiry.

Alongside Scout, we have identified 3 other pilots that we can see having significant potential to improve the way we do project delivery. The next step is to explore whether, and how, these can be scaled to have the greatest impact for all projects.

New AI tools that show potential for project delivery are showcased in our Decoding Delivery series of webinars, with explanatory blogs or articles, so keep an eye on our website.

Creating better data

The first ever Project Data Standard has been shared and is being piloted with 10 projects across the UK. The standard sets clear requirements for core project data – common definitions, formats – to help improve data quality across government.

We’ve seen great interest from suppliers and colleagues to adopt this and improve the quality of our data, making it easier to join up and use AI to create trustworthy insights to make evidence-based decisions.

This work directly supports our aim to improve data availability and quality.

Joining it up

We are really pleased to see more and more data being gathered through the Government Reporting Integration Platform(GRIP) reporting system, with some departments are now also using it for their own portfolio-level reporting.

GRIP users will soon receive access to several exciting new AI tools, like an early warning tool, which uses historical data to predict when projects might need to course correct.

This reflects our commitment to enabling evidence-based decision making.

Looking forward

It has been brilliant to see all the progress that has been made over the past 15 months. We have much more planned for the next year, including:

• enhancing GRIP with department and programme facing dashboards, so that you can compare your programme to others
• rolling out AI tools to make assurance and risk management more effective
• creating a consistent and easy to access data and AI learning curriculum.

My sincere thanks to the hundreds of colleagues across government who working with us to create and embed this new way of working.

I’d love to hear how you’re using data and AI in your projects — share your thoughts in the comments below.