The Oxford Insights international research center has published an article titled “Bringing solutions from AI startups to the government – The case of the ASAN AI Hub in Azerbaijan.”
The report recognizes public sector AI adoption as one of the pillars underneath a government’s ability to use AI technologies for the public good. Countries are using various approaches to the effective adoption of AI in the public sector.
“Azerbaijan has emerged as a frontrunner of digital innovation and AI adoption in the Caucasus region. Having greatly improved the quality of its public services through the ASAN initiative, it is now taking the next step with the introduction of the ASAN AI Hub,” the article said.
“Launched in 2012 through the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan, ASAN was designed to fundamentally transform how Azerbaijan’s government delivers services to its citizens. ‘Asan’ means ‘easy’ in Azerbaijani: the ultimate goal is to make government services easy to use for citizens,” it noted.
According to the article, the principles of ASAN are “enhancing transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in public service delivery.” The ASAN model achieves this through optimization and the standardisation of delivery standards. All public services delivered in Azerbaijan need to be of a certain quality and are continuously improved.
“Standards are centrally set by the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, responsible for ASAN, and individual government departments and agencies apply these standards to the service delivery process. For each service, the performance is constantly monitored against the service standards, so that adjustments can be continuously made to underlying processes,” the article mentioned.
The biggest barrier to be overcome has been winning the trust of challengers and solution providers to participate in the platform. The main way in which the AI Hub has overcome this is by setting clear standards and rules, ensuring that startups are paid on time and intellectual property rights are respected. The strong reputation of the ASAN ‘brand,’ stemming from ASAN Service’s high satisfaction rates, significantly enhances the appeal of collaborating with the ASAN AI Hub.
In addition to connecting challengers and solution providers, the Hub is also tackling structural gaps in the research ecosystem. Unlike some Western universities, local academic work often lacks a connection to industry needs. The Hub bridges this by funding specific research requests, promoting work on real-world AI problems,” the report said.
“Azerbaijan’s ASAN initiatives have even become a special type of export product. Over the years, it has evolved into a distinctive intellectual product of the country, attracting significant international interest as a model of innovative public service delivery. Furthermore, the ASAN AI Hub successfully bridges the gap, proving that a government-led demand for AI applications can be harmonised with AI innovation in the private sector. Azerbaijan’s ASAN model proves that a smart state can be the ultimate accelerator for a nation’s digital future.”
The full article is available via link.
