Working with the Open Innovation Team

The Open Innovation Team (OIT) operates as an in-house consultancy, helping departments and public bodies access specialist support from within government.

OIT is the umbrella brand for a growing suite of specialist services, including the Policy Insights Unit, Evaluation Services Unit, Systems Insight Team and AI Adoption Unit.

Depending on your needs, we can help with:

• developing analysis, ideas and advice for policy
• commissioning or delivering high-quality evaluations
• applying systems thinking to complex policy and delivery challenges
• exploring and applying generative AI safely and effectively
• drawing on academic, industry and wider expert insight where useful

Why commission us?

Specialist support from within government

Our work is led by experienced civil servants who understand the policy environment and the practical realities of working in government.

Straightforward commissioning

Because we are part of government, there’s no need for a time-consuming procurement process if you want to commission us. It can be as easy as sending us an email.

Good value

We work on a cost-recovery basis and do not operate to make a profit. This means our support is often more affordable than commissioning external consultants.

Flexible support

We agree bespoke projects to suit the needs of each customer. This can range from short pieces of scoping work to longer projects of up to a year.

How to commission us

To get started, email us with a short outline of the support you need.

It is helpful to include your policy or delivery challenge, the type of support you are looking for, any outputs you need, and your expected timeline.

We will arrange an initial conversation to understand your needs and advise which OIT service is best placed to support you.

If we agree to take the work forward, we will scope the project, confirm the proposed approach, outputs, timetable and costs, and ask you to sign a letter of engagement or memorandum of understanding before work begins.

The scoping and agreement process can often be completed within two weeks, depending on the nature of the work.