AI Investment Plan and Strategy - Planning for Long-Term AI Investment in an Australian Federal Government Agency
Developed a 20-year investment framework and cross department collaboration model to accelerate AI adoption within an Australian Federal Government Agency.
The Challenge
An Australian Federal Government Agency required a robust investment framework and plan to support AI research, innovation, development, and deployment over 20 years. This needed to reconcile Federal Government funding and investment approval cycles with AI requirements and development cycles, while engaging multiple stakeholder communities across government and research agencies, in both classified and unclassified domains.
The Approach
Bringing together voices from across different departments, operations, research, finance, technology, policy and governance, the process created space for collaboration that had not existed before. Through structured discussions with over 40 representatives across the Department, a long-term funding and investment framework was shaped that could keep pace with the speed of AI while fitting into established government cycles. The framework balanced immediate pilots with major long-horizon projects and set up secure ways for industry, academia, and government to innovate together.
A 20-year investment framework was shaped to keep pace with rapid AI while fitting established funding cycles.
The Outcome
Reconciled and developed an integrated vision and strategy for AI development across the department
Established a clear, actionable 20-year funding and investment plan and framework that enabled small scale innovation to live alongside whole department projects
Enabled cross-force and industry collaboration, bridging research, policy and industry to build capability, technical development, business adoption within an innovation ecosystem
Positioned the Australian Federal Government Agency to accelerate AI adoption within the government landscape, maintaining compliance, security and cyber protocols and funding mechanisms that safeguard Australian sovereign capabilities and infrastructure
Enabled an AI innovation ecosystem with government, academia, research and industry to co-exist and collaborate within a secure co-working space and environment
The Future
With the long-term business case and framework drafted, the next step was to ensure the roll out of the program and ensure the sustained investment enables the acceleration of AI development and innovation. Harnessing and nurturing continued collaboration between research, industry and government will be key to continue to build trust and increase momentum on the adoption of AI.