A visual map and database of published payment data from English councils categorized by supplier and year.

Building the BICS eligibility checker taught us that testable delivery can actually help shape policy decisions, not just implement them. Here's what we learned.

An evaluation of the Redbox@DBT trial by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), which took place from December 2024 to March 2025.

Take five minutes to not destroy civilization

What if analysts could query graph databases using plain English? This experiment tested AI-assisted querying, uncovering practical benefits, challenges and considerations for future adoption across g...

Read about how our new Business Finder tool makes valuable data useable so that advisers can effectively find and support potential exporters more consistently.

It has been about 5 months since I last blogged on AI and so much has happened, there is a lot to ponder and learn. In my specific context, which is relatively low volume but high complexity work (…

A chance to teach agile became an opportunity for personal growth. Through support, training and practical experience, I discovered new strengths and gained confidence to explore future career possibi...

How we built a tool that gives colleagues from across DBT a way to ask questions in plain English and get clear, trusted answers drawn entirely from intranet content.

Read about what DBT's AI teams learned as they ran rapid AI experiments to improve ways of working across the department.

The DBT Assist team shares how they safely connected DBT’s AI tools to live customer relationship management data, overcoming a common challenge faced across government. By leveraging existing single ...

We Padded the World And Nobody Can Feel Anything Anymore

How DBT colleagues with all levels of experience turned simple ideas into working prototypes within a week, demonstrating the energy and creativity within Digital, Data and Technology.

How might a clearer, more joined‑up digital experience help attract and reassure global talent choosing the UK?

The Global Supply Chains Intelligence Programme (GSCIP) team has won the Analysis in Government Impact Award for informing major policy decisions, improving operational outcomes and driving analytical...

At the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), we are proactively building a content lifecycle that guards against AI providing the public with incorrect government information.

Find out what we have learned as we take a more strategic view of user research insights to improve decision making and support businesses more meaningfully.

How our Digital, Data and Technology team's first Co-Lab collaborated with policy and Local Business Support teams across DBT to make policy and services more user-centred and effective.

The global pop superstar chats with legendary author and fellow marathoner Haruki Murakami on the sublime simplicity of running—and how it nourishes the creative life.

A blog about software craft and quality

We reviewed a number of Department for Business and Trade (DBT) tagged pages flagged for review to confirm ownership and decide next action: update or retire. Without clear ownership and ongoing stewa...

“Anyone who tries to tell us they know the future is simply trying to own it.” — Margaret Heffernan in her introduction to Uncharted Take a deep breath. Nobody knows what is going to happen with AI…

Quantifying the capability-reliability gap

Digital adoption is about people. Our work on Data Hub shows that change is a process, and through collaboration and support teams can embrace tools that help improve workflows, strengthen business en...

The most complete portable pocket audio cassette player database. WML is a tribute to the Walkmans.

Discover the new Digital Evaluator role! Learn how it ensures accountability, value for money, and continuous improvement in UK government digital projects.

Every 3 months, DBT Digital, Data and Technology colleagues are free to pause routine work to test fresh ideas. They gain insight, build skills and deliver improvements for colleagues, the public and ...

When I.AI closed their Redbox product in December 2025, DBT had already diverged substantially from that original platform. Two years of user research and iteration created something distinct, shaped ...

“Diversity in Digital and Data leads to better outcomes for all of DBT and the businesses we support in the UK and beyond.”

How DBT's Employee Experience team combined user research, design and delivery expertise to improve the department's intranet.

How DBT's Export Support Chatbot will supply small businesses with the knowledge they need to export.

I haven’t shared any fiction writing for a long while now. But the creative streams are flowing again for me. I’ve just finished off an idea which began when I saw a little door numbere…

As use of generative AI grows, so does the opportunity to meet businesses’ quests for information. Only if DBT’s online content is designed to meet users’ needs.

How DBT created it's first public-facing online tool to help businesses find funding opportunities.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT)’s Data Scientists have built Matchbox, an open-source platform that allows them to deduplicate and link datasets in a way that is measurable, iterative and ...

What started as a formal requirement has evolved into a more collaborative, human, and forward-thinking process. It is about helping teams build better services, not just pass a test.

How a DBT data team created an AI fact-checking tool during the Paris Hackathon.

Find out how and why DDaT has taken the important step of self-hosting LLMs within a secure, internal environment.

Noticing and appreciating efforts – is known by social scientists as the "effort heuristic." The quality or worth of an object is determined from the perceived amount of effort that went into producin...

How quality usage of our products and services can support the productive and agile state agenda.

Building connections and sharing insights across the public sector at DBT's second AI conference.

Learn how matrix working has helped DBT's Digital, Data and Technology directorate form supportive communities of profession and become more flexible to change.

Find out how Co-Pilot is fostering inclusivity in DBT and helping neurodiverse colleagues to harness their strengths.

Transition between Gov.UK PaaS and a next-generation internal platform – how we built a resilient, developer-focused foundation for modern digital services at DBT.

How a Department for Business and Trade (DBT) digital service team found a service assessment to be a positive learning experience.