The Minister for Digitising Government, the Public Service Commissioner and the Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) recognise the potential productivity gains from artificial intelligence (AI) are central to lifting public service performance and helping transform government services for New Zealanders.
The AI Work Programme has drawn from both local and international knowledge to create an action plan that connects agencies’ efforts with resources, guidance, and support, accelerating the adoption of AI technology.
Goals and focus areas
The work programme aims to accelerate the uptake of AI through the public service by modelling best practice in safe and responsible AI use.
The programme builds on mechanisms that have boosted AI use to date, as well as new actions. All initiatives are aligned with the AI Framework and Responsible AI Guidance for the Public Service.
The programme is organised around overarching focus areas that address barriers to AI adoption and use. There are 15 key initiatives and deliverables across 4 focus areas to drive uptake in a safe and responsible way.
This focus speeds up agencies’ AI progression and creates more cost-effective AI use by providing access to consistent, consolidated, repeatable AI resources and tools.
More systematic AI approaches reduce duplication and gaps, efficiently using taxpayer funds.
Central repository of AI registries, patterns and tools
Deliverable: Development of a Public Service AI Hub to drive AI usage.
Impact: Establishing a centralised hub for the efficient sharing of AI resources by agencies. Includes public service AI registries, libraries, standards, patterns and tools orchestrating technology development.
Public service common cases accelerator
Deliverable: Public Service AI Innovation and Accelerator Lab establishment.
Impact: Accelerating the spread of AI use cases by establishing core capability to evaluate, develop and implement AI solutions for wide sharing and reuse of high-value, low-cost, low-risk cases.
Provider engagement for safe spaces to trial AI
Deliverable: Public Service AI Sandbox to enable AI exploration.
Impact: Exploring opportunities to create safe spaces, environments and channels for agencies to safely trial AI.
Public service AI use case measurement
Deliverable: Public Service AI annual survey latest growth and data insights.
Impact: Creating visibility of the latest AI availability for New Zealanders using public services through high-quality AI data forming the knowledge base driving targeted AI action.
Safe and responsible AI
This focus maintains trust in AI by modelling principles for safe, ethical and responsible use, embedding Māori views, transparency, fairness and other considerations into AI services and tools.
Governance processes and technical mechanisms give assurance of the quality and integrity of AI-enabled digital services operating in practice.
Public Service AI assurance model
Deliverable: Public Service AI assurance model and toolkit.
Impact: Enabling active assurance of AI in practice. Establishing clear documentation for agencies supporting principled design, robust risk management and ethical governance practices.
AI safety and security certification
Deliverable: Public service AI safety mechanisms standardisation.
Impact: Ensuring AI safety and security through standardised certification mechanisms supporting the quality and integrity of AI in practice.
Customer and partnerships
This focus creates better customer experiences through AI-improved service delivery.
Faster access will open up to proven and emerging AI technology through a dynamic ecosystem, strategic relationships with trusted AI suppliers and regular international knowledge-sharing. New Zealand will benefit from global best practice in AI.
AI marketplace ecosystem
Deliverable: AI Marketplace boosts safe AI solutions to increase AI use.
Impact: Increasing safe and responsible AI through new AI categories in the Marketplace procurement platform.
Govt.nz AI Assistant for customers
Deliverable: AI search assistant public tool for government information.
Impact: Helping people find government services and information quickly with an AI-enabled tool using a simple conversational interface. Piloted by the GCDO, it will also be available on the Govt.nz app.
AI strategic partnerships
Deliverable: AI suppliers’ strategic agreements developed to boost AI adoption.
Impact: Establishing collaborative relationships with AI suppliers, cultivating partnership and co-development culture for effective AI information, services supply and cost-effective solutions.
AI public service international collaboration
Deliverable: Updates on latest international AI collaboration and developments.
Impact: Strengthening New Zealand’s global role in AI digital government by fostering strategic partnerships, international knowledge exchange, research and collaboration.
AI public service event
Deliverable: AI public service event builds on success.
Impact: Accelerating ambition to drive further AI growth by convening an AI knowledge-sharing forum with expert panellists, dialogue and showcasing of leading agencies’ AI examples (like the AI search assistant tool).
AI workforce
This focus empowers the public service workforce by growing AI fluency and equipping senior leaders to champion AI and culture change.
AI skills training creates uplift in the use of AI technology for work and confidence in AI, increasing both agency and system capability. AI will become a trusted part of everyday government and public services.
Executive AI and innovation training
Deliverable: Refreshed AI training for executives to support innovation in place.
Impact: Building AI expertise with AI masterclasses for tier 1 to 3 leaders as interactive applied learning events. Specialists and system leaders share success enablers and two-way peer learning.
Practitioner AI and innovation training
Deliverable: Refreshed AI training for practitioners to support innovation in place.
Impact: Strengthening AI capability in the public service through refreshed AI training for cross-agency participants with programme design specific to NZ using online resources and peer-to-peer learning.
Marketplace for AI training suppliers
Deliverable: Marketplace of AI training providers to boost access to AI training.
Impact: Growing access to both free and paid training opportunities from accredited suppliers. A new AI training category within the Marketplace procurement platform will provide links for the public service.
Public sector AI community of practice
Deliverable: Public sector community of practice actively collaborating and sharing learnings.
Impact: Enhancing the practitioner and collective learning community that facilitates AI best practice learning and innovation through regular online technical engagement, fostering collaboration across agencies.
