From Ideas to Action. Next Steps for the Futurescot AI Challenge
Applications for the Futurescot AI Challenge 2025 officially closed on Friday, 22 August and the response has been nothing short of inspiring.
Right up until the deadline, we saw creative and ambitious submissions from across Scotland’s public sector. Local councils, NHS boards, and non-departmental public bodies have all been exploring how AI could help them address pressing challenges and deliver better services and outcomes for citizens.
The ideas submitted show that conversations about the role of AI in public service are not only happening, they are maturing into tangible, practical proposals.
The judging process
With applications now closed, the next step is evaluation. A panel of experts from government, academia, industry and digital transformation will review the submissions against criteria including:
- Social impact
- Responsibility and ethics
- Scalability
- Innovation
- Feasibility
- Sustainability
The judging panel brings together:
- Victoria Bew Deputy Director, Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- Professor Michael Rovatsos Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh
- Sean Harkin Data Science & AI Lead, Lloyds Banking Group
- Paul McGinness Co-founder and Chair, Storm ID
Together, their role is to identify three ideas with the greatest potential to be developed into working proofs of concept.
Shortlisted organisations will be contacted in early September and invited to work closely with Storm ID to shape their ideas into prototypes. These will be presented at the Futurescot Digital Scotland 2025 event on 19 November in Edinburgh at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
More details on the process can be found on aichallenge.scot.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting up with the other members of the judging panel and reviewing the applications. The breadth of ideas already shows how Scotland’s public sector is thinking creatively about the opportunities of AI, and I’m excited to see which ones we’ll help bring forward into prototypes over the coming months.”
Storm ID’s role
As delivery partner for the Futurescot AI Challenge, Storm ID brings over two decades of experience helping the public sector adopt new technologies responsibly and effectively. Our teams have supported digital transformation across health, social care, government and regulated industries, applying AI to real-world challenges in ways that are practical, ethical and sustainable.
From supporting organisations to identify compelling AI use cases to exploring how agentic AI can transform workflows, we combine technical expertise with human-centred design to ensure innovation works in practice.
Our role in this challenge is to guide shortlisted teams through a structured process, supporting them to refine their ideas, collaborate with them to develop prototypes, and test how AI can make a meaningful difference to service delivery in their organisations.
Looking ahead
Closing applications is just the beginning. Over the next few months, the Futurescot AI Challenge will bring forward a showcase of what is possible when Scotland’s public sector combines creativity, collaboration and emerging technology.
By November, we will see not just ideas on paper but proofs of concept of how AI could be used to address real challenges across the sector. And for the wider public sector community, these prototypes will provide inspiration, lessons and pathways for future adoption.
Keep an eye on aichallenge.scot as well as Futurescot and Storm ID’s channels for updates as the shortlist is announced and the journey towards the Futurescot Digital Scotland 2025 event unfolds.
Missed the deadline? Let’s talk.
Even if you didn’t submit this time, don’t worry, the conversation doesn’t have to stop here. Storm ID is always happy to catch up, explore your ideas, and discuss how AI could help your organisation tackle its challenges.
Get in touch with us any time to start the conversation.