UK government Spotlight fund application assessments

Spotlight is a software tool developed by the UK Cabinet Office to help government departments and local authorities conduct due diligence on organisations applying for public funds, and to identify those that may require further investigation.

Spotlight draws on a variety of data sources to sort applicants into a red, amber or green category based on it's assessment of the risk they present.

According to the UK government, 'Spotlight speeds up initial pre-award checks by processing thousands of applications in minutes replacing manual analysis that, typically, can take at least two hours per application.'

Risks and harms 🛑

Spotlight has been criticised for poor effectiveness and inadequate transparency and accountability. 

Transparency and accountability 🙈

Spotlight is associated with the following transparency and accountability limitations:

• Decision-making processes. Information about how the system works, understandable to the general public.

• Complaints and appeals. There is no obvious way to make complaints or file appeals about decisions.