Zühlke × DBT — Bid Response

AI Capability Programme — diagrams

A shared view of the people, delivery phases, operating model, team shape, risks and value measures behind the AI Capability Programme proposal.

1

Stakeholder map

Flowchart

Who backs the programme and who must be won over — grouped by stance, from Champion through Resistant, with the Permanent Secretary as ultimate sponsor and his public April-2027 commitment.

Ultimate sponsor

Watching

Resistant

Sceptic - VFM gatekeeper

Neutral - to be won

Supportive

Champion

win early

earn trust

approach last, proof-first

approach last, proof-first

engage early and often

committed publicly: April 2027

AI Capability Programme

Helen Marsh
Dir Digital Transformation

James Whitfield
Dir Investment

Data and Analysis team
~80 analysts

Sarah Chen
Head of HR

Richard Afolabi
DD Corporate Services

Dr. Priya Singh
Dir Trade Policy

Legal team
AI banned post-2024

PCS and FDA unions

Sir Michael Okafor
Permanent Secretary

2

Phase 1 approach

Flowchart arc42 · 06 Runtime view

The first-90-days logic: Diagnose → Decide → Prove → Plan & Gate, ending in a go / no-go into Phase 2. Each arrow names the evidence that unlocks the next step.

refreshed segmentation,
shadow-AI picture,
baseline metrics

governance v0.1,
first-proof pilots chosen
on the evidence

measured change
in named teams

3-5 use cases,
baselined Phase 2 case,
go/no-go

Diagnose

Decide

Prove

Plan & Gate

Phase 2
or stop

3

Phase 1 schedule — first 90 days

Gantt arc42 · 06 Runtime view

Mobilise, Diagnose, Govern, Prove and Gate laid over June–October 2026, with the 90-day checkpoint and the use-case decision as milestones.

07 Jun14 Jun21 Jun28 Jun05 Jul12 Jul19 Jul26 Jul02 Aug09 Aug16 Aug23 Aug30 Aug06 Sep13 Sep20 Sep27 Sep04 Oct11 Oct18 OctMobilisation & SCS sponsor contracting Stand up measurement baseline HR & union early engagement Refresh 2022 segmentation Directorate discovery (7 directorates) Shadow-AI audit & amnesty Risk & value mapping Governance v0.1 (short usable AUP) First-proof pilot design First-proof pilots (Investment, D&A) 90-day checkpoint (early signal) Use-case decision (proven before/after) MobiliseDiagnoseGovernProveGatePhase 1 schedule — first 90 days to the use-case decision (DBT AI Capability Programme)
4

Operating model

Flowchart arc42 · 05 Building block view Architecture view

The closest thing to a system architecture: embedded squads, a funded community of practice, and governance that matures with use — a self-reinforcing loop feeding a measurement baseline.

proven workflows + reusable patterns

new use cases, real questions

makes AI safe to use, which unlocks use

evidence of persistent adoption

Governance matures with use

Live framework from Phase 1
use cases

Self-service guidance
+ governed sandbox

Cyber Essentials Plus tooling
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE handling

Community of practice — REAL infrastructure

Funded coordinator

Self-selected champions
~10% protected time in objectives

Backlog + budget

Adoption dashboard
built by Henry Russell

Embedded squads — capability transfers by doing real work

hand over

Zühlke + DBT pair
redesign one real workflow
in situ

Named DBT owner
inherits the workflow

Measurement baseline
+ six-monthly social value

5

Phase 2 sequencing across directorates

Gantt arc42 · 06 Runtime view

Willing-first rollout (Dec 2026 → May 2028): prove with the supportive directorates, scale through the mixed ones, earn trust with the resistant, with a sustainability gate at month 18.

Jan 2027Apr 2027Jul 2027Oct 2027Jan 2028Apr 2028Investment (420) - James Whitfield, supportive Digital & Data (240, incl. ~80 D&A) - most capable Community of practice + governance maturing Overseas posts (remote-first, in strategy) Business and Growth (510) Export Support (390) Ministerial and Strategy (620) - correspondence Trade Policy (680) - Dr. Priya Singh, human-in-the-loop Legal - provenance-led, post-2024-incident framing Sustainability gate (month 18) Willing (proof first)Mixed (scale the proof)Resistant (earned trust, accuracy-first)ThroughoutPhase 2 sequencing across directorates (month 7 = Dec 2026, month 24 = May 2028)
6

Team structure

Org graph

Accountability from the Permanent Secretary down: DBT-side contractual roles, the Zühlke leadership core, the first two embedded squads, and the specialist bench drawn down as needed.

Specialist bench (drawn down, stood down)

First two embedded squads (form & dissolve)

Zühlke leadership core

DBT-side roles we require (contractual)

DBT Permanent Secretary
Sir Michael Okafor KCB
(accountable to next annual report, Apr 2027)

Helen Marsh
Director, Digital Transformation
DBT Senior Responsible Owner

DBT Programme Owner
(day-to-day, Digital & Data)

SCS Director sponsor
in EACH directorate

Named workstream owners
(one per confirmed use case)

Laurence Smith
Engagement Partner

Dan Bratton
Programme / Delivery Director

Manu Mukundan
Technical & Data Lead

Ekaterina Saparova
Discovery & Measurement Lead

Gayatri Potawad
Capability & Engineering Lead

Henry Russell
Enablement & Internal Tooling Lead

Squad 1: Investment
Zühlke engineer + DBT owner

Squad 2: Data & Analysis
Zühlke engineer + DBT owner

InfoSec SME

Public-sector L&D SME

Org-change SME

Social value SME

SC-cleared associate engineers