Finnish government deploys AI to unlock development aid insights
OpenEval tool makes decades of evaluation reports searchable in seconds, drawing international attention.
Text by Martti Asikainen, 2.10.2025 | Photo Adobe Stock Photos
Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs has launched an artificial intelligence-powered tool that transforms how governments analyse development cooperation effectiveness, marking a significant step in public sector AI adoption.
The OpenEval platform, developed in partnership with consulting firm CGI, uses natural language processing and machine learning to search through decades of evaluation reports—often hundreds of pages each—and extract relevant insights within seconds. The web-based tool is openly available in both English and Finnish.
“Previously, information verified by evaluations had to be searched report by report, section by section,” said Nea-Mari Heinonen, lead evaluation specialist at the ministry’s development evaluation unit. The new system delivers search results through intelligent queries, thematic filters and automated summaries.
AI across the workflow
Built on Microsoft Azure AI services, including Azure Document Intelligence, Azure AI Search and GPT-4o language models, the tool employs AI at every stage.
When documents are uploaded, the system automatically structures content, recognises metadata and indexes results. The platform breaks down lengthy reports—often spanning hundreds of pages—into smaller sections, identifies their themes and sentiment, enabling more precise analysis.
According to Arttu Ruismäki, CGI consultant for the central government unit, the tool uses AI at every step to distil information from original PDF reports into insights users care about the most.
Users can then search for specific information using semantic search capabilities and generate automated summaries and visualisations. The AI processes natural language queries, allowing users to ask questions in everyday language rather than relying on exact keyword matches.
The platform can filter evaluation results by UN Sustainable Development Goals or human rights criteria, providing both civil servants and the public with access to verified development cooperation data. This functionality supports various tasks including planning, decision-making, analysis, reporting and communicating results to stakeholders.
International interest grows
The tool has attracted considerable attention from international organisations including the UN, development banks, the OECD and the EU. Many countries are piloting similar solutions, whilst others await administrative guidelines before proceeding.
It also serves external stakeholders such as civil society organisations and development partners, helping to share evaluation knowledge more widely. When combined with the ministry’s other data sources, the information provides a comprehensive picture of development cooperation effectiveness.
“This was a first of its kind, an AI service that simultaneously serves both civil servants and the general public,” Heinonen noted. The ministry’s AI task force supported the project from inception.
CGI’s multidisciplinary team handled the technical implementation, providing AI expertise, cloud platforms and user experience design. The project was delivered on an accelerated schedule, with the first working version brought into production quickly.
The ministry plans continued development of the platform, with current focus on rolling out existing functionalities and staff training. Officials believe the tool could pave the way for broader AI adoption across Finnish government administration.
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