CENSIS and the Scottish Government’s CivTech programme are teaming up to support the development of tech in public services to help tackle major challenges.

The CivTech 6 event will see the innovation centre collaborate with the Scottish Government’s digital directorate to define the biggest challenges facing critical public services.

Challenges include climate change and Scotland’s transition to net zero, healthcare in the post-Covid world, supporting rural communities, and managing educational estates for the benefit of pupils, teachers and the wider community.

Following the programme’s launch, successful applicants will be taken forward to the exploration stage to identify technological solutions. After four weeks, participants will then move to the accelerator stage. The companies will develop their proposition into early-stage prototypes, with the first likely to be delivered in early 2021.

CENSIS says it will support the selected companies throughout the different stages of CivTech, helping them to “develop their technology, mature their offering, and potentially accelerate their business growth” through access to the innovation centre’s facilities and capabilities.

The partnership “recognises the growing importance of IoT technologies that have emerged during previous CivTech challenges,” CENSIS said. In the first programme, just one of the challenges required IoT support, but by last year this had risen to six out of the 10 in total.

Commenting on the collaboration, Paul Winstanley, CEO of CENSIS, said: “Our partnership with CivTech is about bringing together specialisms and skills in a way that will deliver real change for public services.

“CENSIS and CivTech have a range of common objectives, including supporting the drive towards net-zero by 2045, and through collaboration, we believe we can collectively achieve greater impact while helping to develop and scale more technology-focused businesses in Scotland.”

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Earlier in June, the CivTech 6 programme announced that it will be posing 12 challenges to Scotland’s tech companies for innovative solutions. These challenges have been set by public sector bodies, including parts of the Scottish Government, local councils, and national charities. The aim is for tech companies to bring their expertise to help solve them.

Ivan McKee, Trade Minister at the Scottish Government, added: “The partnership with CENSIS is the first time CivTech has worked in this way. It will help the public sector bring challenges forward and create new ways of working with companies to deliver technology that has a positive impact.

“We would encourage anyone – whether you work for a large business, an SME, or are an individual – with an idea that addresses the challenges to apply. Whatever your background is, we can help you develop a product or even a business during the programme.”

To find out more about CivTech 6.0 and to apply visit: CivTech 6 — The CivTech Alliance