DASA’s 5th Birthday: 5 years of innovating for a safer future
Since 2016, DASA has worked hard to find and fund innovation for a safer future. Detailed below are some key milestones and achievements that we are proud to share.
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) was formed in 2016 with one mission: delivering innovation for a safer future. We look to the UK’s best and brightest minds to help us deliver the future we want to see, and in the past five years DASA has seen extraordinary solutions from our innovators.
On our social media channels, we celebrated our 5th birthday by sharing five achievements we are proud of each day, for five days. In case you missed it, we’ve included a re-cap of how DASA has sought to overcome defence and security challenges to protect UK prosperity.
Day 1: 5 Quotes from the individuals behind the success
Looking back on how far DASA has come, we are proud to be where we are today and couldn’t have done it without an incredible team. Here are some thoughts, about DASA’s journey, from our longest standing team members:
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“Having been with DASA for 5 years I can honestly say the time has flown by - in a good way! A mix of interesting work and fantastic colleagues has made it easy to stay.” Becky Varney, Programme Support Team Leader
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“After 7-government departments, I can say that DASA’s team work is second to none. It’s a pleasure being in an agile, dedicated and driven team.” Dudley Hewlett, Operations Team Lead
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“DASA has grown in size, reputation and credibility. It really is an inspiring team to belong to.” Lisa Dawson, Outreach Manager
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“It has been an absolute pleasure working with the people in DASA. They have been inspirational, caring, friendly and very hardworking. Where has that time gone!!” Sharon Lousley, Associate Delivery Manager
Day 2: 5 Key facts and figures that show how far DASA has come
DASA aims to accelerate innovative solutions and ensure we give SMEs the best opportunity to bring defence and security innovations to market. We are proud to announce that, since 2016, we have invested £166.8 million in innovative technologies to help enhance UK defence and security – with 40% of recipients being SMEs that are new to DASA.
In addition, since 2016, DASA has:
- agreed to 983 contracts
- hosted 512 events
- launched 23 market explorations
- launched 83 themed competitions
Day 3: 5 big DASA campaigns that made a difference
DASA is always searching for new ways to help innovators bring their solutions to market. Here are five campaigns that we introduced to take innovation to the next level:
Access to Mentoring and Finance (A2MF)
DASA is not only focused on finding and funding innovation, we also help innovators increase the pull through of their ideas towards commercialisation. We introduced the A2MF team to help build the business behind innovators ideas, to help commercialise their product and become market ready. Read more here.
Space Pitch Day
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and DASA piloted a new approach to accelerate the development of commercial space technology, to rapidly provide solutions to defence problems. At the Space Pitch Day, ten tech start-ups successfully secured same-day contracts worth up to £53,000 ($66,000) to fast-track the development of their innovations after pitching directly to UK, US and NATO military leaders.
This marked the first time two nations anywhere in the world, have come together to award defence contracts based around a pitch-style event, similar to Dragon’s Den/Shark Tank. Read more here.
Rapid sanitising technology improves ambulance cleaning times and standards
A rapid call, launched in response to COVID-19, has trialled and installed a new method which cuts costs and cleaning times across the Welsh Ambulance Service. Read more here.
New defence clusters
On 4 November 2020, the first pan-defence and security cluster was launched in the UK. We are proud to be involved in this initiative and look forward to seeing its future growth. Get involved here.
Launch of the Security Open call
DASA was pleased to launch a new open call that focuses on tackling security challenges in the UK. The Security Rapid Impact Innovations seeks ideas that could enhance UK security and relates to the Home Office (HO), Department for Transport (DfT) and other Government Security Departments. Learn more here.
Day 4: Innovation case studies that help solve key defence challenges
On day 4, we highlighted innovation case studies that show how DASA’s proactive approach can help solve key challenges within the defence and security sector, and enable innovators to develop their products and services to their full potential.
VR technology takes training to the next level
Software development company, SimCentric demonstrated their DASA-funded VR gaming technology on BBC Click. The trials took place with RAF Regiments and that showed how Immersive Reality technologies have the potential to transform training within the UK MOD.
VR technology takes training to the next level
Swarming drones concept flies closer to reality
Unmanned systems supplier and research organisation, Blue Bear Systems Research, completed the largest collaborative, military focused evaluation of swarming UAVs in the UK. The exercise was the culmination of the Dstl’s ‘Many Drones Make Light Work’ competition.
Experimental development of new gap crossing capability
DASA supported specialist military access organisation, Easibridge, in the development of new gap crossing capabilities. The innovative solution offers a truly portable, long-span rescue bridge which is 85% lighter, 80% more compact, and 20 times cheaper than existing options. Learn more here.
A game-changer in hardware validation, threat and anomaly detection
NWPRO won funding from our ‘Finding Explosives Hidden in Electrical Items’ call to develop a whole object detection system. Their solution, DeeperScan uses AI and X-ray to scan airline baggage and identify electronic contents, with results in just 15 seconds. Learn more here.
Sharing your success stories
We’ve worked with hundreds of amazing innovators over the years, with 983 contracts awarded across 83 competitions since 2016! If you have a success story about your DASA funding, we’d like to hear about it. Please fill in our survey and a member of our team will be in touch.
Day 5: Ways of getting in touch with DASA for the latest competition updates
We look forward to seeing what 2022 holds for DASA and our innovators, so we wrapped up our celebrations by sharing key ways of stay involved in DASA news and competitions.
Join the DASA Mailing List
Be the first to hear about new competitions, upcoming events and other DASA news, by signing up to our mailing list here.
Follow our events page
Make sure you never miss a webinar by following our event page. Stay up to date on the latest competition developments and webinars showcasing how defence innovators can reach their potential through DASA. Join here.
Find out about your defence clusters
DASA has supported the South West Regional Defence and Security Cluster at its launch and throughout the first year. You too can be involved with this first pan-Defence and Security cluster in the UK. Find out more here.
Contact an innovation Partner
What better way to get in touch with DASA than through your local Innovation Partner. Our network of Innovation Partners is on hand to provide advice and guidance on your ideas and queries. Contact your local representative.