A meeting was held between Vusal Gasimli, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, and Richard Stirling, Chief Executive Officer of the international research centre “Oxford Insights”.
The meeting was organized within the framework of the assessment of Azerbaijan’s readiness and potential in the field of artificial intelligence by “Oxford Insights”. During the discussions, an exchange of views took place on the current state of the country’s artificial intelligence ecosystem, the implementation of the national artificial intelligence strategy, opportunities for the application of artificial intelligence in the public sector, as well as institutional capacity and development priorities in this field.
Vusal Gasimli touched upon CAERC’s activities in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the “Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025–2028” and noted the importance of systematically tracking progress towards the Strategy’s targets, coordinating with implementing institutions, and improving accountability mechanisms. He stated that data accessibility and quality, the development of digital infrastructure, strengthening human capital, and expanding cooperation with the private sector play an important role in the development of the artificial intelligence ecosystem.
The Executive Director of CAERC also highlighted issues related to creating a favourable business environment for the application of artificial intelligence, opportunities for public-private partnerships, financing initiatives, and managing potential risks. Referring to the Center’s experience in monitoring and evaluation, including the capabilities of the “Smart Monitoring” system, he shared his views on the prospects for sharing this experience with other institutions.
During the meeting, CAERC employees delivered a presentation on the application of the “Smart Monitoring” system within the Center’s monitoring and evaluation activities, its functionalities, and the system’s information database. The system’s capabilities, including real-time video surveillance and geographic information system (GIS) tools, were demonstrated live.
During the presentation, the capabilities of the “Project Management” module of the “Smart Monitoring” system were also demonstrated. It was highlighted that the module enables the analysis of both individual projects and state programmes as a whole based on information submitted by institutions. The module’s capabilities for displaying financial sources, physical and financial progress, earned value (EVM) charts, and generating quarterly reports on the implementation status of projects were presented.
An earned value analysis was presented using an infrastructure project as an example. Based on a comparison of planned value, actual cost, and earned value, the possibilities for forecasting project delays, potential budget variances, and completion timelines were demonstrated. It was also emphasized that, through the use of artificial intelligence, a risk matrix identifying potential risks that could arise during the implementation of the project had been developed, and the dependencies of other projects on this project had been identified. It was noted that this approach creates opportunities for the early identification of problems and the timely implementation of preventive measures.
During the discussions, information was provided on the work being carried out to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into the “Smart Monitoring” system. The database covering state programmes, projects, financial indicators, and relevant documents is interconnected in accordance with the “Mesh” model, thereby forming the database of the artificial intelligence system. Based on this data, an initial working version of a system combining “RAG” and large language model (LLM) technologies was presented.
It was emphasized that the main objective is to facilitate data analysis and support the decision-making process. At the next stage, improvements to the system’s accuracy and security, as well as the application of artificial intelligence agents specialized in various areas, are envisaged.
During the presentation, the possibilities for applying artificial intelligence in the Center’s internal management were demonstrated. Through “Notion AI” agents, the capabilities for managing employees’ tasks, deadlines, and areas of activity within a unified working environment, evaluating team performance, and automating daily work processes were highlighted.
The meeting was attended by Pablo Fuentes and Olivia Slak from “Oxford Insights”; Ulfan Aliyev, Chief Commercial Officer of the National Artificial Intelligence Center (NAIC), and Majid Musayev, Public Relations and Events Specialist. CAERC was represented by Deputy Executive Director Tarana Salifova, Adviser to the Executive Director Elmar Tahmazli, Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department Arzu Suleymanov, Head of the Sector for Monitoring Sectoral Programmes Elshan Yusifli, Chief Adviser of the Performance Evaluation Sector Konul Badalova, Artificial Intelligence Specialist Emiliya Khidirova, and Assistant to the Executive Director Gunel Huseynova.