Digital ACIC
The platform, built in three honest phases
A website first, then the portals and dashboards that a working ecosystem needs, then assistive tools — each phase delivered before the next is claimed.
Open now
Four ways to reach the Centre
These forms are live in this release. Submission routing is being connected during handover; each form states its status before you fill it in.
- Open the form
Submit an innovation idea
A community problem or an idea, at any stage of readiness.
- Open the form
Apply for pre-incubation
For teams ready to validate, model and plan a prototype.
- Open the form
Register as a mentor
Offer domain expertise to innovators and early ventures.
- Open the form
Partner with ACIC-PUSH
Community, industry, technology, knowledge, CSR, finance, mentoring or market.
Roadmap
Three phases, in order
Phase 1 is what you are using now. Phases 2 and 3 are described so that partners and applicants know what is planned — and what is not yet built.
Launch
A public website that explains the Centre accurately, and the forms that let people reach it.
Content management
Authorised staff update pages, news, events, programmes, directories, downloads and announcements without developer involvement.
Secure forms
Validated forms with acknowledgement, administrator notification and export.
Idea submission
A single route for a community problem or an innovation idea to reach the Centre.
Programme applications
Pre-incubation and incubation applications with an application reference.
Event and ecosystem registration
Event registration together with mentor and partner registration.
News, media and downloads
Announcements, press material, galleries and a categorised download repository.
Helpdesk and analytics
An enquiry route for the public and privacy-conscious usage analytics.
Ecosystem Platform
Accounts and workflows: applicants, startups, mentors and partners each working in their own space.
Applicant dashboard
Application status, requested documents and communication history in one place.
Startup portal
Cohort milestones, mentoring records, progress reporting and support requests.
Mentor portal
Availability, assigned innovators, session notes and mentoring hours.
Partner portal
Partnership activity, sponsored challenges and engagement records.
Challenge portal
Problem statements, submissions, team formation and expert review.
Mentor matching
Structured matching of innovators to mentors by domain, stage and availability.
Facility booking
Booking for commissioned facilities, with induction and safety checks.
Impact dashboard
Public aggregate reporting alongside a role-restricted internal dashboard.
Searchable directories
Startup, innovator, mentor and partner directories with filters.
Knowledge hub
Handbooks, templates, scheme directories and case studies in one library.
Intelligent ACIC
Assistive tools that help people navigate the Centre — always advisory, never determinative.
Information assistant
Answers questions about programmes, eligibility and processes from published content.
Idea readiness assessment
Indicative feedback on how well-defined a problem and idea are before submission.
Mentor recommendation
Suggested mentors for a given domain and stage, for human confirmation.
Challenge matching
Surfacing relevant open challenges to registered innovators.
Business model feedback
Structured prompts on gaps in a draft business model.
Resource recommendation
Relevant handbooks, templates and schemes based on stage and sector.
Application workflow support
Guidance through multi-step applications and required documents.
Impact reporting assistance
Drafting support for periodic reporting, reviewed by the responsible team.
Responsible AI position
Decision-support only
Planned AI services are decision-support only. They will not replace formal selection, legal, financial, funding or governance decisions.
What this means in practice
- No AI functionality is implemented in Phase 1, and none is simulated.
- Assistive tools, when built, will advise applicants and staff — they will not select, rank or reject.
- Selection, legal, financial, funding and governance decisions stay with the responsible people and committees.
- Any assistive output shown to a user will be identifiable as such.
Platform standards
What the platform is required to do
The functional baseline agreed in the handover specification, published here so that expectations are a matter of record rather than of memory.
| Requirement | Minimum specification |
|---|---|
| Content management | Admin-editable pages, news, events, programmes, startups, mentors, partners and downloads |
| Responsive | Desktop, tablet and mobile |
| Accessibility | Alt text, readable typography, keyboard navigation, adequate contrast and accessible forms |
| Forms | Validation, acknowledgement, administrator notification and export |
| Applications | Application number and status tracking; full applicant portal in Phase 2 |
| Search | Site-wide search with filters |
| Directories | Startup and mentor search and filtering |
| Events | Calendar, registration and participant records |
| Downloads | Categorised repository with version and date |
| Dashboard | Public aggregate dashboard plus restricted internal dashboard |
| Analytics | Privacy-conscious traffic and engagement analytics |
| Security | HTTPS, authentication, role-based access, backups, updates, spam protection and audit logs |
| SEO | Metadata, sitemap, structured headings and optimised images |
| Performance | Caching, compression and fast loading |
| Scalability | Ready for portals, dashboards and assistive services |
| Ownership | Source code, database, design assets and credentials handed to ACIC-PUSH |
| Documentation | Administrator manual, technical documentation and deployment details |
Content management
Who can change what
Eight roles, so that authorised staff can maintain the site without developer involvement — and so that sensitive records stay restricted.
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Super Administrator | Full CMS, users, settings and technical configuration |
| ACIC Administrator | Content, applications, events, programmes and resources |
| Programme Manager | Programme pages, applications, events and participant data |
| Incubation Manager | Startup profiles, cohorts, mentoring and progress |
| Communications Officer | News, media and announcements |
| Monitoring / Reporting User | KPI evidence and dashboard data |
| Finance / Compliance User | Authorised finance and compliance documents |
| Viewer | Public read-only access |
Data protection
Sensitive startup, investor, financial and personal data is role-restricted and is never published to the public site. Personal information is handled under the privacy and data protection policy.