1. Introduction

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition runs as part of the Open Call for Innovation and is funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Defence Innovation Fund. It is seeking proposals for innovations which can have realistic impact across any area of UK Defence within a short timescale.

The impact could be realised in a number of ways. For example, this could be via delivering innovation into the hands of an end user, informing a future procurement or equipment programme, incorporating into a bigger capability or affecting a policy decision.  Ideas that would have little or no impact within 3 years of funding are unlikely to be funded.

2. Competition scope

2.1 Background

The Defence Rapid Impact (DRI) competition is looking to fund innovative ideas that address both current and emerging Defence challenges. It is seeking disruptive innovations - whether technologies, materials, or concepts - that could provide a step change to Defence and give us an advantage over adversaries.

While DRI primarily targets Defence’s ‘blind spots’ (current and future unknowns), it also welcomes novel solutions to known challenges. This competition operates independently from existing MOD equipment, research and development projects or programmes.

For context on how the MOD operates and is structured, please refer to:

How Defence works - The Defence Operating Model

In support of the above document, included below is a non-exhaustive list of those organisations detailing information relating to their specific function and output. This is included to aid in the framing of ideas into the DRI:

Front Line Commands:

Strategic Command

Royal Navy

The British Army

Royal Air Force

Enabling Organisations:

Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S)

Submarine Delivery Agency

Defence Digital

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)

2.2 Scope

We are seeking innovative ideas relating to any aspect of UK Defence (the MOD, its Commands, Enabling Organisations and Supply Chain). The ultimate focus of DRI is to provide Defence with ideas that change or disrupt military capability and to achieve positive near future impact on our ability to have military influence and project force into the hands of the end-users.

Examples of past innovations:

Below are a number of case studies that represent projects which have previously been funded by DASA. These are intended to highlight how varying ideas for the DRI could be, rather than indicate specific areas we are interested in:

• Zelim – Artificial Intelligence-enabled Person-in-Water detection and tracking technology
• Trauma Simulation - Modular and immersive, whole-body training model for trauma care
• Wastewater Fuels - Harnessing energy from wastewater
• Uplift360 - Low-energy method of recycling fibres that are used in body armour

Details on the amount of funding we have previously awarded across our competitions is outlined within our transparency data.

2.3 We are interested in…

We are interested in proposals that:

• develop new or novel approaches to achieve existing outcomes within defence more efficiently/effectively
• develop and demonstrate modern approach, techniques or equipment to deliver new or enhanced outcomes for Defence
• develop current capability in a novel way to achieve efficiency or enhanced effect for Defence
• provide evidence to the impact of the novel approach/technique across Defence
• present a credible plan and have a realistic prospect for impact in Defence within a 3 year time frame from the completion of the project funded under the DRI
• present a clear plan for future development and scaling, including engagement and compliance with any applicable regulatory requirements both within and outside of Defence
• deliver a technology model or prototype demonstration at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or 7 at the end of the project. This demonstration should be at a limited scale, in the hands of users, and in the context or environment representative of an environment in which the solution would be used
• do not exceed 24 months. We anticipate project duration to be between 12 – 18 months. Please note there is no minimum project duration
• do not exceed £350,000. We anticipate project value to be in the region of £200,000 to £300,000. Please note there is no minimum project value
• include a clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to the defence context
• provides a sound justification of why Defence should fund the development of the innovation

2.4 We are not interested in…

We are not interested in proposals that:

• directly address other DASA themed competitions or IFAs that are currently running at the point of cycle close
• have a TRL at end of project lower than TRL6 or higher than TRL7
• exceed the project duration of 24 months
• exceed £350,000 in value
• address challenges that are not aligned to defence
• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation
• are an unsolicited resubmission of a previous DASA bid
• offer demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development (unless applied in a novel way to meet the defence environment)
• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence capabilities
• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions
• solely focus on the development of a product

2.5 Innovation Outline

If you are uncertain of the relevance of your innovation to the DRI, it is strongly recommended that you contact your local DASA Innovation Partner to discuss your idea. You can initiate this through the submission of a Contact DASA Form by following instructions on the Contact a DASA Innovation Partner page if you do not already have an established relationship with your local Innovation Partner.

Your local Innovation Partner will initially explore the suitability of your idea within the context of the requirements of the DRI, with specific interest in the aspects covered within the Competition Scope section outlined above.

Your local Innovation Partner will, if required, also advise you on the submission of an Innovation Outline (IO), primarily used to further explore the relevance of your idea to the DRI.

You must submit this IO through the Submission Service regardless of an established relationship with your local Innovation Partner. To submit an IO, log in to the submission service, select the service category DASA Innovation Outline. Then from the service name select Innovation Outline: CY2025 - Defence Rapid Impact. Your local Innovation Partner will be able to advise you on the IO content.

Submission of an IO will allow socialisation of the idea across relevant stakeholders, with all elements of the IO being shared within the MOD and, where required, more widely with Partners Across Government. Due to the broad, wide-reaching nature of DRI, DASA cannot guarantee a response to an IO before the current competition cycle closes.

All information you provide to us as part of your IO, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in confidence. We will only share the information with those who can establish if your innovation is desirable and in scope of DRI. The information will only be used for the purposes for which it is provided to us. It won’t be used for other purposes, without us having obtained the necessary rights and permissions to do so.

When you submit your proposal you will be asked to confirm whether or not you have spoken to your local Innovation Partner about your idea for the DRI. You will also be asked to confirm the outcome of your interaction.

Submitting an IO or speaking to your local Innovation Partner is not a mandatory criteria of this competition.

3. Critical elements to include

When writing your proposal, ensure you have comprehensively covered the following elements:

• Answered all questions contained within the submission service online application form, addressing the requirements of this competition by utilising the guidance provided at the Submit a proposal section of the website and also within the DASA Online Submission Service application form.

• If applicable, mentioned a list of all other government funding you have received in this area. Make it clear how this proposal differs from that work.

• Included a detailed project plan with clear milestones and deliverables. Deliverables need to be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan. Your deliverables must include a written final report.

• Planned (and costed) for attendance at the following activities, which will all be in the UK.

             - a kick-off meeting at the start of the project

             - monthly reviews with the appointed Technical Partner and Project Manager

            - close down meeting at the end of the project

These activities may take place virtually. Slides presented at these meetings should be appropriately marked and made available.

• Identified any ethical / legal / regulatory factors. Associated risks should be added to the Risk Register in Step 5 of the submission service along with details of how they will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received

• You must include any requirements for access to Government Furnished X (GFX). GFX is the preferred nondescript term for anything that the Government provides in which the ‘X’ could be artefacts such as information or equipment. DASA cannot guarantee that GFX will be made available. You should include an alternative plan in your proposal in case it is not available.

4. Accelerating and exploiting your innovation

Ensure your deliverables are designed with the aim of making it as easy as possible for assessors to recognise expected development in technology maturity of the potential solution over the lifetime of the project. Specifically, how this demonstrates improved capability against the current known (or presumed) solutions.

Upon completion of a DASA awarded project, ideas may mature and accelerate under the guidance of appropriate stakeholders toward being a functional capability. How long this takes, and how far towards a deployable capability the innovation progresses, will depend on any future exploitation activity after the completion of the DASA project.

4.1 Exploitation beyond your Project Plan

Include the following information within the ‘Desirability – Exploitation beyond the Project Plan’ question within the DASA Online Submission Service application form to help the assessors understand your exploitation intentions:

• expected additional work required beyond the end of the contract to develop an operationally deployable commercial product (for example, “scaling up” for manufacture, cyber security, integration with existing technologies, environmental operating conditions)
• additional future applications and wider markets for exploitation
• wider collaborations and networks you have already developed or any additional relationships you see as a requirement to support exploitation
• how your product could be tested in a representative environment in later phases
• any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

4.2 Supporting the exploitation

Innovators funded through the DRI may be offered a range of services provided through the DASA Partnerships and Impact team that are designed to help suppliers consider how they might maximise the potential for their innovation to develop into a procurable capability that could enter the defence market.

5. Pre-Sift Criteria

Before your proposal is assessed, all proposals will be checked for compliance with the competition scope and DASA pre-sift criteria.  Proposals will be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply.

For more information on how your proposal will be assessed please read Assessment process and criteria.

Open Call for Innovation CY2025 Cycle 1 Defence Rapid Impact Pre-Sift criteria is as follows:

Criteria	Measure
	Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition	Pass / Fail
The proposal explains how it meets the DASA criteria (Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability) in the relevant questions in Step 3 of the submission service	Pass / Fail
The proposal explains exploitation beyond the project plan in the ‘Desirability – Exploitation beyond the Project Plan’ question within the submission service	Pass / Fail
The proposal must contain a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan which demonstrate how the work proposed will be completed	Pass / Fail
The deliverables include a written final report	Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal is £350,000	Pass / Fail
The final deliverable month indicated must be less than or equal to 24 months from T0 where T0 is the project start date agreed by both parties	Pass / Fail
Your innovation will advance to TRL 6 or 7 by the conclusion of your project	Pass / Fail
The proposal must not contain attachments that have been used for additional text data over the stated word counts in Desirability, Feasibility, Viability and Additional Information	Pass / Fail
A resubmission of a previous proposal adheres to the resubmission guidelines	Pass / Fail

6. Further Information

Read further information applicable to DRI including information on Open Call Cycle Dates, the assessment process, our Terms and Conditions and how to submit a proposal at Open Call for Innovation CY2025 - Cycle 1: Overarching Competition Document.

Should you wish to submit a proposal for this requirement, when starting your application please select Open Call>CY2025 - Cycle 1 - Defence Rapid Impact within the Submission Service.

If you would like review the application form offline ahead of signing up to the submission service, please see the offline template.