In a new collaboration, the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Society of Evidence Based Policing (SEBP), Accenture and the Open University Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CRPL) have come together to encourage members of the workforce to put forward their ideas for innovation for the service.
The programme seeks to identify, test, showcase and support examples of excellence, with the chance for project finalists to receive support and mentoring in moving their pitch forward, and a finalist receiving in-depth technical support in helping their innovation to implementation.
Applications are welcomed from any member or team from the policing workforce, with an idea for a technical innovation aimed at solving policing challenges.
Nominations will be evaluated by a judging panel consisting of PSA representatives and external experts. Five shortlisted projects will then be supported in developing their ideas into proof of concepts, before being invited to present on their innovation at the annual conference of the PSA in September 2026, to an audience of peers and policing leaders. All finalists will receive support from AWS and Accenture in further refining their innovation from a proof of concept into a production solution.
Nominations will be evaluated by a judging panel consisting of PSA representatives and external experts. Five shortlisted projects will then be supported in developing their ideas into proof of concepts, before being invited to present on their innovation at the annual conference of the PSA in September 2026, to an audience of peers and policing leaders. All finalists will receive support from AWS and Accenture in further refining their innovation from a proof of concept into a production solution.
PSA Vice President Sara Crane said: “We’re delighted to be leading Flashlight, thanks to the support of our partners. We know that within our workforce, there are people with fantastic ideas and brilliant concepts for addressing the challenges they face in policing every day. Our service is on the verge of widescale reform as we work to rebuild a service fit for the future. We want to support this, by giving the very people who live and breathe policing every day, the chance to tell us what they think will work.
“We’d like to encourage as many officers and staff to get involved as possible, no idea is too big or too small, as long as it directly links to an identified ‘problem’ impacting our service.
“We’d like to encourage as many officers and staff to get involved as possible, no idea is too big or too small, as long as it directly links to an identified ‘problem’ impacting our service.
“It will be a privilege to welcome shortlisted projects to our conference in September and to give them the platform to present their ideas to our members.”
Director, UKI Public Sector, Amazon Web Services, Ash Thankey said: “AWS is proud to support the Flashlight programme to help drive innovation in Public Safety. The programme will help policing to develop cloud solutions that achieve more with less, modernise technology, improve operational productivity, and transform public engagement. Teams selected to reach the final will receive AWS cloud credit, and guidance from specialised technical advisors to help them build a proof of concept of their idea. We're proud to invest in a safer, more efficient future for all citizens, by empowering the next generation of policing solutions.”
SEBP Chief Operating Officer Matt Bland: "What makes this initiative different is that we’re not just celebrating innovation, we’re testing it and sharing it. Each finalist will receive specialist mentoring in evaluation design, helping them generate robust evidence about what works, for whom, and under what conditions. That means the best ideas won’t just be inspiring stories; they’ll become credible, transferable learning for forces across the country”.
Accenture UK Public Safety Lead, James Slessor said: “Ever had that moment: there must be a better way. The Flashlight initiative offers you the opportunity to address this by providing a route to raise innovative ideas that can be turned into technical solutions, can scale and provide the desired impact of addressing the NPCC Problem Book. Accenture is proud to support this initiative, providing industry and technical expertise to help turn the selected innovative ideas into prototypes ahead of the PSA Conference. We strongly encourage officers and staff across policing to step forward and share ideas that could genuinely improve how policing works.”
Dr Jennifer Norman, Head of Department for Policing and Centre for Policing Research and Learning, The Open University said: "The Flashlight initiative represents exactly the kind of collaborative, evidence-informed approach that policing needs to harness the potential of emerging technology. The best innovations come from practitioners who understand the operational realities of policing day-to-day, and this programme creates a genuinely exciting pathway, from a frontline idea to a tested, scalable solution. Flashlight offers a real opportunity to do exactly that and nominees will be supported at every stage of that journey.”
Applications are welcomed until Friday 10th April 2026.
For more information on the entry criteria and how to nominate, visit the PSA website.