CivTech

What CivTech does

CivTech is a Scottish Government innovation programme, operating since 2016 under the legal authority of the Scottish Ministers through the CivTech® Project Team and headquartered at CodeBase in Edinburgh. It runs the world's first government-run accelerator for public sector technology innovation, using a structured "Innovation Flow" methodology that comprises a 3-week Exploration Stage (£5,000 per team, up to 3 teams per Challenge), a 15-week Accelerator (£35,000 per team, 1 team selected per Challenge), and a Demo Day showcase, with checkgate reviews and a Business Workshop System covering lean startup, agile methodology, sales, investment, and public sector procurement. Public sector organisations including the Scottish Government Digital Directorate, Forestry and Land Scotland, SEPA, Stirling Council, NatureScot, and Citizens Advice Scotland act as Challenge Sponsors, posing real-world problems as open challenges; the programme does not take equity, and Challenge Sponsors receive royalty-free perpetual licences to developed MVPs.

The portfolio includes 90 companies across 9 cohorts (as of March 2024), with nearly 80% of developed products still in use and over £110m raised by alumni from third-party investors. CivTech is funded by the Scottish Government (£6m grant announced February 2022) and Challenge Sponsor co-investment, with maximum per-Challenge contract values of £350k–£1.3m and potential pre-commercial agreements up to £7.7m cumulatively. The programme has expanded its ecosystem through the Scottish GovTech Cluster (launched 2022), a partnership with Techscaler (July 2023), and corporate sponsorships from AWS, Sopra Steria, and others, with AI-curated challenges emerging in Round 11 (February 2025). Operationally, CivTech is led by Programme Director Mark Elliott and Deputy Programme Director Barbara Mills, with additional leadership from Rui Cardoso (Head, Challenge Sponsors), Barbara Mills (Challenge Sponsor Manager), and Katy McNeil (Head, Intrapreneurial Leadership Programme).

Name

CivTech

Legal name

Scottish Ministers acting through the CivTech® Project Team

Website

https://civtech.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CivTech is the Scottish Government's public sector technology accelerator, running an Innovation Flow that matches real government challenges with startups, funding teams through a 15-week accelerator and Demo Day showcase since 2016.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Innovation Accelerator

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools) (EDABAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

Keywords

• Public sector innovation
• Government tech accelerator
• Civic technology programmes
• Innovation challenges
• Public service design

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Scottish Government funding: CivTech is a Scottish Government-funded innovation programme. It receives public investment to fund the Innovation Flow, including payments to challenge sponsors, exploration stage teams (£5,000 per team), accelerator stage teams (up to £35,000 per team), and potential pre-commercial agreements (up to £7.7 million total across the programme).
2. Challenge Sponsor contributions: Public sector Challenge Sponsors co-invest in the Innovation Flow. The total outlay for Exploration and Accelerator stages is £50,000 (+ VAT) assuming 3 teams on Exploration and 1 on Accelerator. Maximum contract values per challenge range from £350,000 to £1.3 million, funding exploration, accelerator, and pre-commercial agreement phases.
3. Pre-commercial Agreements (PCA): After the Accelerator, successful teams may negotiate pre-commercial agreements with Challenge Sponsors for further product development. The cumulative PCA value cannot exceed the maximum contract value minus amounts already spent during Exploration and Accelerator.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CivTech is a Scottish Government-run innovation accelerator programme that runs challenge-based cohorts to develop technology solutions for public sector problems. Innovator teams are paid through staged funding (Exploration Stage £5,000 per team for 3 weeks, then 15-week Accelerator with £35,000 per team), and cohorts culminate in a Demo Day where solutions are showcased to Challenge Sponsors. The programme is operated as the world's first Government-run accelerator for public sector tech innovation.

Product overview

CivTech is a Scottish Government innovation accelerator programme that operates as a platform connecting public sector challenges with innovative technology solution providers. The programme features the Innovation Flow process comprising Exploration, Accelerator, and Demo Day stages, supported by a Business Workshop System. CivTech's portfolio includes over a dozen companies across diverse sectors: SignPort (BSL interpreter matching), DeepMiner/Data Spine (business data integration), Homelync (IoT building management), DigiFlec (road infrastructure management), PortF (impact measurement), Rethink Carbon (carbon calculation), RiverTrack (flood monitoring), Silvibio (seed technology), SkillSeeder (training marketplace), The Routing Company (transport routing), Tape4Trees (tree production), Volunteero (volunteer management), and Futr AI PathFinder (public services access). The portfolio companies collectively offer solutions spanning environmental monitoring, data analytics, transport, healthcare, social services, and public sector efficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CivTech Innovation Flow The structured accelerator programme comprising an Exploration Stage (3 weeks, £5,000 per team) and a 15-week Accelerator stage (£35,000 per team), ending in a Demo Day where solutions are presented to public sector Challenge Sponsors.
• Business Workshop System A workshop programme for Challenge Sponsors and other public sector bodies covering the innovation method underpinning CivTech, including how to write challenges and how to use the CivTech approach to solve public sector problems.
• Demo Day The showcase event at the end of each CivTech cohort where completed solutions developed by innovator teams are presented to Challenge Sponsors, the public sector, and other stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 80% of products developed through CivTech Accelerator are still in use (vs. ~20% industry average for standard accelerators)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Scottish EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScottish Enterprise partners with CivTech to provide drop-in sessions during Exploration and Accelerator stages, offering additional support on finance, business planning, and market research. The SE Research Service provides free secondary market research support to Scottish CivTech companies.
• Public Contracts ScotlandcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic Contracts Scotland (PCS) is the Scottish Government's single point of entry for public sector contracts. CivTech Challenges are published on PCS, and all applications are submitted through this portal, making it the primary procurement and distribution channel.
• Community EnterpriseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Enterprise is developing a portal to gather Gaelic language data for digital technology as a CivTech project, visited by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and the University of Edinburgh as part of the CivTech 11 programme.
• TechscalerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechscaler partnered with CivTech in a tie-up announced in July 2023, designed to drive Scotland's GovTech sector by connecting CivTech alumni with the Techscaler startup ecosystem.
• CodeBasecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCivTech is headquartered at CodeBase, a key Scottish tech hub that provides office space and connects the CivTech team with the startup ecosystem. CodeBase's physical space serves as the programme's Edinburgh headquarters.
• Scottish GovTech ClustercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched by CivTech in 2022, the Scottish GovTech Cluster is a network connecting companies working on GovTech products and services, universities, research institutes, CivTech alumni, the Scottish Government, and public sector bodies. It aims to make Scotland the go-to destination for GovTech and support international expansion.
• South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOSE is a keynote speaker and supporter of CivTech Demo Day events, representing economic development interests in the south of Scotland. Jane Morrison-Ross, CEO of SOSE, participated as a keynote speaker at Demo Day 11.
• NatureScotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNatureScot partnered with CivTech to launch 'Innovate for Nature', a joint initiative identifying innovation projects addressing the biodiversity and climate crisis. The partnership uses outcomes from the Environment Strategy for Scotland as themes for CivTech Challenges, with the first workshops launching in June 2022.
• MBM CommercialminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMBM Commercial is listed as a corporate sponsor and partner of CivTech Demo Day 6, providing legal and commercial advisory services.
• AzetsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAzets is listed as a corporate sponsor and partner of CivTech Demo Day 6, providing accounting and business advisory services.
• InterfaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterface is listed as a corporate sponsor and partner of CivTech Demo Day 6, connecting businesses with academic expertise.
• CENSISminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENSIS (Scotland's innovation centre for sensing, imaging, and Internet of Things technologies) is listed as a corporate sponsor and partner of CivTech Demo Day 6 and has collaborated on a blog post about partnership and collaboration.
• Scottish Business NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerScottish Business Network participated in a fireside chat at Demo Day 6 alongside CivTech and AWS representatives, discussing GovTech perceptions and public sector innovation opportunities.
• LantraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLantra partnered with the Scottish Government to pose Challenge 10.3 on developing a skills sharing system for rural and remote locations, resulting in the SkillSeeder training marketplace solution.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PUBLIC: PUBLIC is a UK- and Europe-based GovTech-focused venture firm that invests in and supports startups selling technology to government. It is directly comparable to CivTech as both operate in the GovTech acceleration/investment space targeting public sector buyers.
• Code for America: Code for America is a US nonprofit that builds and supports technology services for government. Like CivTech, it works to bring startup-style innovation into the public sector, providing structured programmes that connect technologists with government problem owners.
• GovTech Agency (Singapore): Singapore's GovTech agency develops and procures technology for the Singapore government, including running innovation pipelines and challenge-based procurement. It is a direct international analogue to CivTech's government-led public sector innovation model.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the world's largest startup accelerator. It is comparable to CivTech as a broad incumbent in the accelerator space but operates across all sectors with an equity-based model rather than government procurement.
• Techstars: Techstars is a global accelerator network with equity-based programmes across multiple verticals. It is comparable to CivTech as a broad incumbent accelerator but operates at greater scale and takes equity, unlike CivTech's no-equity model.
• Digital Catapult: Digital Catapult is a UK innovation hub focused on advanced digital technologies, running accelerator and venture programmes. It is comparable to CivTech as a UK-based innovation hub supporting startups but addresses broader digital sectors rather than being government-only.
• Antler: Antler is a global early-stage accelerator that invests in and supports founders from day one across multiple geographies. It is comparable to CivTech as a broad incumbent accelerator but operates globally and takes equity.
• Wayra: Wayra is Telefónica's global corporate accelerator, investing in and supporting startups across multiple verticals. It is comparable to CivTech as a corporate/strategic-backed accelerator but operates commercially with equity stakes rather than as a government procurement channel.

Regional players

• MaRS Discovery District: MaRS is a large Canadian innovation hub supporting startups and commercialisation. It is comparable to CivTech as a regional innovation hub that runs structured programmes connecting innovators with enterprise and government buyers, but operates in a different geography.

Emerging players

• GovLaunch: GovLaunch is a US-based platform connecting government needs with technology solutions. It is comparable to CivTech as an emerging GovTech-focused player with overlapping mission of accelerating public sector technology adoption, though smaller in scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CivTechScotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/civtech
• Instagraminstagram.com/civtechscotland
• Facebookfacebook.com/atlassiansoftware

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments13 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CivTech