A first-of-its-kind digital marketplace is being built to help
shake up how the UK public sector buys technology - hoping to
unlock £1.2 billion in annual savings, save time and give public
servants the power to rate suppliers.
By making it faster and easier to buy the right technology, the
National Digital Exchange (NDX) will aim to drive forward
the government's Plan for
Change - helping to deliver simpler, smarter, and more
responsive public services for the people who rely on them, while
ensuring better value for taxpayers.
In a major shift, the platform hopes to allow teams across the
public sector to access pre-approved tech deals at nationally
negotiated prices, with an AI-powered engine that matches
them with suppliers based on what they actually need - all in a
matter of hours, not months.
The platform is designed to open the market to more UK tech
firms, with a target to boost small business involvement in
government contracts by 40% within 3 years.
It follows the State of Digital
Government report which warned that 209 NHS secondary
care organisations and 320 local councils go it alone when
negotiating tech contracts, despite widely using similar tools –
missing out on essential bargaining power. Only 28% of public
sector leaders said their organisations were able to track and
make sure that their tech suppliers were delivering proper value
for their services.
Users will be able to rate and review what they've bought,
lifting the lid on which tools have delivered, and where promises
haven't matched performance – creating a platform comparable to
an app store for the technology that underpins the British state
and essential public services.
The announcement comes ahead of London Tech Week, where the role
of digital innovation in transforming public services will be in
the spotlight.
Minister for AI and Digital Government,
said:
We've all heard the stories - months of red tape, tech that
doesn't deliver, and money wasted. That's not good enough for the
people we serve.
The National Digital Exchange aims to change that. It will make
it faster, fairer, and focused on what works - with real reviews,
upfront pricing and smart AI to match buyers with the
right suppliers in hours.
It's a clear example of our Plan for Change in action: cutting
waste, boosting innovation, and backing British tech to deliver
better public services.
The platform, which will be created under the revised Procurement
Regulations to help shape a smarter, more open future for digital
procurement, and is being developed alongside a “digital
playbook” to guide officials responsible for buying technology
towards best practice – making sure the long-term impacts of
their decisions, and the social value of contracts are
considered.
Today's news also follows the government announcing plans to test
new ways of funding AI and tech projects,
aiming to bring a start-up mindset to testing the application and
use of AI experiments on small
budgets, and then building on proof of success.
DSIT is
also working closely with organisations like TechUK helping to
ensure the platform reflects the needs of both buyers and
suppliers.
