The CivTech 4.0 Demo Day event, now in its fourth year, is an annual showcase of the Scottish Government’s CivTech innovation programme which encourages councils and government agencies to use technology to solve problems.

More than 600 delegates will gather in Edinburgh today to see demonstrations of technology sponsored by the public sector and designed by start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Public finance minister Ben Macpherson said: “CivTech is a new way of approaching procurement by pairing public service teams with Scotland’s digital entrepreneurial talent.

“The programme provides ways of exploring responses to the most difficult issues we face as a nation, including how we respond to the climate crisis and improve wellbeing for all our citizens.

“CivTech Demo Day is a culmination of months of hard work from our innovative public service challenge sponsors and the companies and entrepreneurs who responded. It is also a platform for companies to showcase their work and encourage other public organisations to consider how they can use technology to solve problems.”

CivTech 4.0 involves ten public sector challenges. In total, 14 companies were selected to join the digital accelerator programme.

The challenges include:

• a Forestry and Land Scotland challenge to use technology to maximise the supply of tree seed
• a Glasgow City Council challenge to harness data to help people reduce their carbon footprint
• a City of Edinburgh Council challenge to use technology to manage the condition of communal areas in tenements.

To date, it has helped to create 141 jobs and has led to participants winning more than £11.6 million in contracts.

Public sector organisations, including councils and government agencies, set challenges and invite proposals with the aim of attracting new ideas from tech companies. Many of the businesses who apply have never taken part in a public procurement process before.