Estishraf & National Data Bank — Saudi Arabia's SDAIA Platforms for AI-Driven Government Foresight

In June 2026, the United Nations named Saudi Arabia's National Data Bank and Estishraf platforms — both built and operated by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) — a winner of the 2026 UN Public Service Award, in the "transparent and accountable public institutions" category. The award was selected from more than 700 initiatives submitted by 62 countries and presented at the UN Public Service Forum in Tbilisi, Georgia.

According to SDAIA and Saudi state media, Estishraf applies data analytics and artificial intelligence to generate indicators, analyses and predictive insights intended to help government entities anticipate challenges and plan policy; the National Data Bank is a separate but related platform that standardises data quality and enables data-sharing across government agencies to support this analysis. Saudi officials have publicly attributed savings of more than SAR 50 billion (roughly US$13.3 billion) to Estishraf's use in government planning.

None of the government or state-media sources describing the award disclose which specific AI or machine-learning methods the platforms use, how the SAR 50 billion savings figure was calculated, or which independent body — if any — verified it; the figure comes from Saudi officials and was not corroborated by an outside auditor or academic study in the sources reviewed. The UN award recognises the platforms' existence, adoption and the country's submission process, but is not an independent audit of Estishraf's specific savings claim.

SDAIA is a standing national authority, not an ad hoc project team, with a broad mandate covering Saudi Arabia's data governance and AI strategy, including the country's designation of 2026 as its "Year of Artificial Intelligence." The National Data Bank and Estishraf are described as operating across Saudi government entities nationally, rather than being confined to a single pilot agency.

Read the full analysis: https://www.un.org/en/desa/un-public-service-awards-to-honour-12-initiatives-for-accelerating-progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals