Scotland’s CivTech backs 12 start-ups to develop digital service solutions

Twelve start-up companies have each received £35,000 to develop new digital solutions for public services as part of the latest accelerator round of CivTech, the Scottish Government’s innovation programme.

The funding, totalling £420,000, will support a 15-week accelerator phase in which companies work with public sector sponsors to build minimum viable products. The projects span health, education, the environment, culture, policy making and digital inclusion.

Ocean Intelligence is developing a substrate-independent environmental monitoring system designed to support more sustainable management of fish farms in sensitive marine habitats, helping operators and regulators make better evidence-based decisions.

Community Enterprise is building a digital portal to address the shortage of high-quality Gaelic language data. The platform will enable communities to contribute authentic language data needed to develop speech recognition and translation technologies.

ERS is working on a targeted recovery system for microplastics and mesoplastics at the head of Loch Long, aiming to reduce pollution at source and support cleaner marine environments.

4c Design is developing an anaerobic digestion solution that converts contaminated shoreline waste into renewable energy, while also enabling the recovery of plastics that would otherwise be difficult to process.

Daysix is creating a digital managed pathway that provides personalised support for people with long-term health conditions, helping them to self-manage their health and return to work more confidently.

ODS (Open Data Services Co-operative) is developing a digital impact assessment platform that combines structured workflows, trusted evidence and responsible AI to help policy teams manage complex requirements and make clearer, more confident decisions.

Arcology is designing a workflow assistant aimed at reducing the administrative burden on teachers, particularly around incident recording and reporting.

Zimplex.AI is developing an automation platform that streamlines repeatable administrative tasks in schools, with the goal of freeing up teacher time for teaching and pupil support.

Poteris is building a contextual intelligence tool that provides instant, personalised guidance and resources to support pupils with complex additional support needs, reducing workload for teaching staff.

Smart Data Foundry is developing a new data driven evidence base to inform cultural policy and festival planning, helping address infrastructure, accessibility and sustainability challenges in Scotland’s festivals sector.

The Cyber Scheme is creating what it describes as the world’s first accreditation framework for robotic security testing, designed to support the safe and transparent adoption of robotics.

Futr AI is developing an AI powered digital inclusion companion that guides users step by step through essential online tasks, helping build long term digital confidence and independence.

At the end of the accelerator, companies may secure further contracts and access future public sector investment of up to £7.7 million.