Meta is funding a new £775,000 programme to help the UK government make better use of AI. Through a partnership with the Alan Turing Institute, the Open Source AI Fellowship will place some of the country’s top AI experts into public departments for a year, starting in January 2026.
This new project will be building tools using open source models, such as Meta’s Llama 3.5. The idea is to reduce costs, improve services, and give the UK more overall control over its own digital infrastructure. Fellows will work on specific tasks like speeding up the approval of housing projects, improving customer service systems, and supporting national security with better language translation tools.
The fellowship was developed in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and applications have now opened…
Peter Kyle, Technology Secretary, said, “This Fellowship is the best of AI in action – open, practical, and built for public good. It’s about delivery, not just ideas – creating real tools that help government work better for people.”
What Kind Of Tools Will Be Built?
The fellows will look at AI tools that serve real public needs. These include work in planning and housing, civil service admin, and national security. One example is helping to expand “Humphrey”, an existing AI tool that supports civil servants by taking notes, summarising long documents, and helping prepare for meetings.
They could also build tools to analyse planning data to help local authorities speed up the construction approval process. This may allow homes to be built faster, supporting the government’s housing goals. Another area of work is helping departments handle sensitive translation work in national security contexts, using models developed and owned by the government.
All tools developed through the fellowship will use open source models, meaning they are owned by the government and can be adapted over time. Nothing is tied to private systems, so the UK avoids being locked into expensive contracts or foreign tech providers.
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How Is AI Already Being Used In Public Services?
With this new fellowship, government teams are already experimenting with AI assistants. One example is “Caddy”, an open-source customer service tool originally tested by Citizens Advice. Caddy is now being used by central government teams to help civil servants quickly find expert advice when making grant decisions.
According to early tests on 1,000 calls, Caddy was able to cut response times in half. Around 80% of its suggested answers needed no edits, and advisors using it were twice as confident in their replies. Caddy works by pulling key information from official guidance documents and delivering it instantly during calls.
“We’ve already seen the potential. Caddy – developed with Citizens Advice and now helping Cabinet Office teams – shows how open AI tools can boost productivity, improve decision-making, and support frontline staff,” Peter Kyle added.
“The Fellowship will help scale that kind of impact across government, and develop sovereign capabilities where the UK must lead, like national security and critical infrastructure.”
The government is now growing its use across 6 Citizens Advice centres and in the Cabinet Office. Because the software is open source, other public bodies and even overseas organisations can use and adapt it freely.
The government is also continuing to build out the AI Knowledge Hub, a platform that shares examples, tools, and advice in different departments. This helps avoid repeating work and gives teams more support when trying new digital tools.
Applications for the fellowship are open now, with successful candidates starting their 12-month placements in early 2026. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has described the programme as a way to “deliver the Plan for Change” and make public services faster and more efficient.
Joel Kaplan, Chief Global Affairs Officer at Meta, said, “Open-source AI models are helping researchers and developers make major scientific and medical breakthroughs, and they have the potential to transform the delivery of public services too.
“This partnership with the Alan Turing Institute will help the government access some of the brightest minds and the technology they need to solve big challenges – and to do it openly and in the public interest.”
