Exeter researcher helps launch AI training for UK civil service social researchers
A new Government Social Research (GSR) AI Accelerator Programme is equipping social researchers across No. 10, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury with practical AI skills. The 12-month initiative has been co-created by Professor Oliver Hauser, Deputy Director of the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) and Professor of Economics at the University of Exeter Business School.
Professor Hauser is working with Dr Siobhan Dickens and Miriam Light, Co-Heads of the GSR Profession across No. 10, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. The programme focuses on responsible, effective use of AI to improve evidence generation, evaluation, and delivery across Whitehall.
What the programme covers
The workshop series blends hands-on methods training with governance and ethics. Hauser leads many of the sessions and brings in subject-matter experts from leading institutions to co-teach.
- AI in Quantitative Research - Professor Iavor Bojinov (Harvard Business School)
- AI in Qualitative Research - Professor Henri Schildt (Aalto University)
- AI in Literature Review and Evidence Synthesis - Professor James Thomas (UCL)
- AI for Commissioned Research and Managing People - Dr Ben Walker (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
- AI and ethics - panel with Professor Mariarosaria Taddeo (Oxford), Dr Carissa Véliz (Oxford) and Elliott Jones (AI Security Institute)
The format is practical: real research tasks, clear guardrails, and repeatable workflows. With IDSAI's support, the cohort benefits from global expertise and peer learning across departments.
Why it matters for researchers
For government analysts, the value is concrete: faster evidence reviews, better sampling and analysis plans, stronger qualitative coding, and clearer standards for responsible use. The programme also addresses procurement and team management questions researchers face when AI tools enter day-to-day work.
The outcome is a more capable research community able to test ideas quickly, document decisions, and deliver findings that stand up to scrutiny. That increases the impact of research on policy without adding unnecessary process.
Leadership and governance
Alongside his role at IDSAI, Professor Hauser serves as a senior advisor in the Cabinet Office's Evaluation Task Force. He also sits on advisory boards focused on the use and evaluation of AI across the UK government, helping align practice with public standards.
If you're building similar capability
- Start with priority use cases (e.g., literature review, survey design, qualitative coding, forecasting) and set clear decision rights.
- Combine methods training with policy application and ethics. Treat governance as part of the workflow, not an add-on.
- Standardize toolchains and documentation to improve reproducibility and auditability.
- Bring in external experts for focused modules and case reviews; rotate internal champions to sustain momentum.
- Measure impact with simple metrics: time saved, evidence quality checks, and decision timeliness.
Learn more about the Government Social Research (GSR) Profession, and explore IDSAI's work at Exeter here.
If you're mapping skills to roles in your own research team, you can browse curated AI training by job function at Complete AI Training.
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