Scope
Description
AISI hosts the Secretariat for the AI Safety Report (the Report). The Interim (May 2024) and First (January 2025) Reports were successfully delivered with Yoshua Bengio as Chair and Mila.
To deliver the Report, AISI needs to contract an external organisation who are able to source, onboard, contract, employ and pay the individuals required to deliver the report - technical specialists to write content and other personnel (graphic designers, language reviewers, proof readers, copyeditor etc.).
Contract 1
Supplier
Contract value
- £720,000 excluding VAT
- £720,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Earliest date the contract will be signed
1 May 2025
Contract dates (estimated)
- 15 May 2025 to 31 March 2026
- 10 months, 17 days
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 73110000 - Research services
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Direct award justification
- Single supplier - technical reasons
- Additional or repeat goods, services or works - extension or partial replacement
Yoshua Bengio's role as Chair:
- Yoshua Bengio was a direct Ministerial Appointment as Chair of the Report for 2024/2025. Secretary of State has agreed to his appointment being extended for a further 12 months to deliver the 2025/2026 Report.
- Yoshua's role as Chair is to oversee the report's delivery, determine its final scope, select members of the writing group, select senior advisors, manage the drafting process, review the Report, and convene members of the Expert Advisory Panel. He will also lead in promoting the report directly with policymakers, at Summits/Conferences and with the media.
Justification for a Direct Award:
The unique relationship with Yoshua Bengio as chair of the Report. Yoshua Bengio is a direct Ministerial Appointment. It is essential that the writing group (and others involved in Report delivery) are accountable to him as Chair. Contracting these individuals through Mila (Yoshua's organisation) creates a direct link between them and the Report's chair. This is essential to deliver the Report and cannot be achieved through a different organisation.
Technical specialist organisation able to identify, source and recruit the experts needed to deliver the Report. Given the specific nature of the work, we need an organisation with the required technical specialisation. MILA is a global leader in AI safety research and has the largest concentration of deep learning academic researchers. Yoshua Bengio (Director and report chair) has tailored the organisation to best complement his research.
Supplier
Mila Quebec AI Institute (Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms)
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PRNQ-4865-PWQT
6666 Rue Saint Urbain
Montreal
H2S 3H1
Canada
Email: info@mila.quebec
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1
Contracting authority
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVWZ-3216-PVQL
22 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EG
United Kingdom
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Organisation type: Public authority - central government