CDE enduring competition detail
Updated 29 November 2016
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1. CDE enduring competition
CDE will pause the enduring competition on 25 October 2016 at 5pm. This is while CDE transitions into the early operating capability of the new Defence and Security Accelerator. It will re-launch in early 2017.
The enduring competition looks for proposals that challenge our thinking and not iterative developments of current technologies. It provides some direction on what MOD’s enduring research challenges are, while still remaining open to all highly innovative ideas that challenge existing conventions and have a high potential benefit for the defence and security end user.
CDE’s enduring competition has a budget of up to £3 million per year. CDE typically funds proposals for proof-of-concept research in the range of £40,000 to £90,000 for work of 3 to 7 months duration.
The enduring competition won’t accept proposals for more than £90,000 or for projects lasting more than 7 months at phase 1. This is to ensure that CDE phase 1 is focused on proof-of-concept research.
Read more about CDE terms and conditions.
If you have a novel research idea for the enduring competition, you can sign up for a CDE event to discuss your proposal.
2. Challenges
The enduring competition particularly seeks innovative, proof-of-concept research proposals in the challenge areas of:
| Challenge | Sub-categories |
|---|---|
| protection | personnel, platforms, facilities, digital systems, materials |
| situational awareness | sensors, precision navigation and timing, reduced global positioning system (GPS) dependability, persistent surveillance, status of digital systems |
| power | provision, sources, non fossil, hybrid, management, fuel efficiency |
| communications | secure, unsecure, mobile, novel forms |
| data | cyber, information, big data, management and processing, sensemaking, visualisation, delivery, interoperability |
| lethality | weapons: conventional, novel, directed energy, defence, less than lethal |
| mobility | platforms, air, land, sea, space, human, means of propulsion |
| human performance | physical and mental, systems interface, survivability, sustainment, training, medical |
| lower cost of ownership | platforms, equipment, facilities |
When you submit a proposal you need to tell us which of these challenge(s) your proposal meets.
3. Closing dates
The enduring competition runs on a monthly cycle. A list of the monthly closing dates for 2016/2017 is below. Proposals must be received by CDE by 5pm on the closing date shown.
| Closing date | Month proposals will be assessed | Feedback released (if you’re not successful) |
|---|---|---|
| 22 September 2016 | October 2016 | 15 November 2016 |
| 25 October 2016 | November 2016 | 15 January 2017 |
You’ll be notified by email when we’ve made a decision on whether or not to fund your proposal. This will usually happen within a week of the decision date shown on your bidder dashboard.
If you’re not successful this time, we’ll give you written feedback by the date shown in the table above (for the cycle your proposal was included in) to help you understand why. You’ll be able to access your feedback from your bidder dashboard.
If you’re successful, our commercial team will be in touch to get contracting started shortly after the decision date on your dashboard.