Record STMT-WA13103Advisory

Guidelines for AI procurement

Guidelines State lawNorthern Europe · GBadopted

These guidelines are aimed at central government departments considering AI technology to improve existing services or support future service transformation. They provide a set of guiding principles and practical insights on how to buy AI technology and tackle challenges during procurement. Developed by the Office for AI in collaboration with the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and other government functions, the document covers stages from preparation and planning to contract implementation and ongoing management.

Summary and content fields are drawn from the document text and are pending editorial review.

Who issued it

Office for Artificial IntelligenceGovernment

Lead issuer

World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial RevolutionMultistakeholder · US

Co-issuer

Government Digital ServiceGovernment (executive) · GB

Co-issuer

Government Commercial FunctionGovernment (executive) · GB

Co-issuer

Crown Commercial ServiceGovernment (executive) · GB

Co-issuer

Legal forceAdvisory

Under whose authorityState law

Judged fromfull text

Who it governs

National governmentRegulatorsPublic sector bodiesCompaniesAI developers and providersAI deployers and users

Central government procurement practitioners, data officers, and digital delivery teams looking to procure and deploy AI technologies responsibly.

Sectors

Public administration · central government public servicesCross-sector

What the document contains

What's covered

The document covers ten guiding principles for AI procurement in the public sector, detailing specific considerations across the preparation, publication, evaluation, and contract implementation phases. It addresses data assessment, multidisciplinary teams, market engagement, avoiding vendor lock-in, and managing ongoing lifecycle testing and knowledge transfer.

What's missing

The guidelines assume the reader has a sound working knowledge of standard public procurement legislation and do not provide a comprehensive standalone legal manual for general procurement rules.

Key takeaways

Public procurement can be an enabler for the adoption of AI and improve public service delivery while driving innovation.
Procurement teams should include diverse multidisciplinary teams encompassing domain, commercial, data engineering, and ethics expertise.
Conducting data assessments and impact assessments before starting the procurement process helps identify risks and public benefits early.
Focusing on clear problem statements rather than detailed technical specifications allows suppliers to propose innovative solutions.
Avoiding black-box algorithms and vendor lock-in through explainable AI approaches ensures long-term service maintainability and auditability.

Principles it states

Be transparent about your AI project and the tools, data and algorithms you will be using, working in the open where possible.Public benefit goals must be relevant to what you are procuring and comply with non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality.Allocate risk to the parties best able to manage it.

Outline

· Introduction
· What is AI and how can it be used in government?
· What is the aim of the guidelines?
· How should the guidelines be used?
· Ten Guidelines for AI Procurement
· AI specific considerations within the procurement process
  - Preparation and Planning
  - Publication
  - Selection, Evaluation and Award
  - Contract Implementation and Ongoing management
· Further reading

Issued1 June 2020

Length6,116 words

FormatNot recorded

Scopenational

How it scores

Pending review

Each score is backed by a quote verified against the document text. Editorial review has not yet confirmed them.

Accountability

4/5

Clear responsibility for AI outcomes

Processes to ensure accountability over outputs of algorithms.

Selection, Evaluation and Award

screening score · 2026-10-23

Fairness

4/5

Non-discrimination and equitable treatment

Public benefit goals must be relevant to what you are procuring (and not generic in nature) and must comply with the principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality.

Ten Guidelines for AI Procurement

screening score · 2026-10-23

Human Dignity

0/5

Respect for the inherent worth of persons

screening score · 2026-10-23

Human Oversight

4/5

Humans remain in control of consequential decisions

You must establish appropriate oversight mechanisms to allow scrutiny of AI systems throughout their lifecycle.

Ten Guidelines for AI Procurement

screening score · 2026-10-23

Privacy

4/5

Protection of personal data and private life

Consider the use of anonymisation techniques to help safeguard data privacy, including data aggregation, masking, and synthetic data.

Preparation and planning

screening score · 2026-10-23

Transparency

4/5

Openness about how AI systems work and are used

As a guiding principle, be transparent about your AI project and the tools, data and algorithms you will be using, working in the open where possible.

How should the guidelines be used?

screening score · 2026-10-23

Enforcement

1/5

Consequences and compliance mechanisms with real force

Highlight the need to comply with existing laws and regulations and support the standardisation of norms through your procurement documentation.

Ten Guidelines for AI Procurement

screening score · 2026-10-23

Impact Assessment

4/5

Required assessment of an AI system's risks/impacts before or during use

Conduct initial AI impact assessments at the start of the procurement process, and ensure that your interim findings inform the procurement.

Ten Guidelines for AI Procurement

screening score · 2026-10-23

Topics

Physical AI Governancecontext

artificial_intelligence public_procurement machine_learning data_ethics algorithmic_governance