AI-powered tool for rapid evidence synthesis in policymaking

Policy Atlas is an AI-powered tool developed by Nesta (the UK's innovation agency) designed to transform how evidence is used in the public sector.

It aims to condense hundreds and thousands of research papers and policy reports into actionable "blueprints" for social change.

📅 When did it begin? The project officially launched in June 2025. In November 2025, the team released an "alpha" version - a functioning prototype that demonstrates the end-to-end process of evidence retrieval, screening, and synthesis. In 2026 the team is looking to pilot the app with various teams of policymakers.

👤 Who is it for? The tool is primarily built for policymakers and analysts within the UK civil service and local government.

🚀 What impact has it had? While still in the iterative development phase - our aim is to achieve impact by:

Improve evidence rigour in policymaking: The tool will help surface impactful and well-evidence policies

Increase diversity and innovation in policymaking: By pulling from a global index of 250 million research publications and 20 million think tank reports and government publications, it brings diverse, international perspectives to UK policy challenges that might otherwise be overlooked.

Reduce research time: It can produce evidence synthesis in minutes rather than weeks, helping users identify high-impact policy interventions quickly.

🤝 How can people help? The project team is actively looking to collaborate and "work in the open." You can support the project by:

Providing expert validation: Domain experts can help verify AI-generated policy blueprints to ensure they align with real-world expertise.

Collaborative testing: Organisations interested in AI-driven policy innovation can get in touch with the Nesta's Mission Discovery team to share best practices or test the alpha version.

Funding: Nesta is presently incubating this project, but to scale it we'll need to ensure the project's sustainability. We're looking for funders who would be interested in supporting this govtech / public sector innovation initiative.