1. Introduction

The Open Call for Innovation is one of the services the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) uses to find ideas that address challenges across both Defence and Security landscapes to give us an edge over our adversaries.

The Open Call for Innovation allows innovative ideas to be proposed to Defence and Security stakeholders, even where a specific requirement has not been stipulated. It is a broad mechanism to allow innovators to present disruptive ideas which may otherwise be overlooked.

DASA operates a number of specific competitions under the umbrella of the Open Call for Innovation. For competitions with bespoke technical requirements please see our themed competitions listed on the Apply for Funding page and notified through the DASA Mailing List.

Whilst the Open Call for Innovation welcomes a wide range of innovative ideas to solve Defence and Security problems, DASA is also keen to share insight on broad topics of interest within this mechanism and seek proposals to address more specific enduring challenges; we call these Innovation Focus Areas (IFAs). Our IFAs will ordinarily be open for a minimum of two Open Call Cycles.

For upcoming IFAs, please check the Competition Pipeline for new competitions not yet launched.

1.1 Open Call for Innovation - Competitions

We currently have the following distinct competition(s) open for submissions under the Open Call for Innovation:

• Defence Rapid Impact

2. Schedule

The Open Call for Innovation runs in Cycles throughout the Calendar Year (CY); for Open Call for Innovation CY2025 - Cycle 1, proposals must be submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service by 1200hrs Midday (BST) 29th April 2025.

A full list of the Cycle closing dates are shown below together with decision and feedback release dates.

2.1 Calendar Year CY2025

Cycle	Competition opens	Competition closes	Decision released by	Feedback released by
1	12:00 Midday on 25 February 2025 (GMT)	12:00 Midday on 29 April 2025 (BST)	18 July 2025	25 July 2025
2	12:00 Midday on 29 April 2025 (BST)	12:00 Midday on 1 July 2025 (BST)	10 October 2025	17 October 2025
3	12:00 Midday on 1 July 2025 (BST)	12:00 Midday on 23 September 2025 (BST)	12 December 2025	19 December 2025
4	12:00 Midday on 23 September 2025 (BST)	12:00 Midday on 16 December 2025 (GMT)	27 March 2026	3 April 2026

2.2 Calendar Year CY2026

Cycle	Competition opens	Competition closes	Decision released by	Feedback released by
1	12:00 Midday on 6 January 2026 (GMT)	12:00 Midday on 24 March 2026 (GMT)	6 July 2026	13 July 2026
2	12:00 Midday on 24 March 2026 (GMT)	12:00 Midday on 23 June 2026 (BST)	16 October 2026	23 October 2026
3	12:00 Midday on 23 June 2026 (BST)	12:00 Midday on 29 September 2026 (BST)	18 December 2026	23 December 2026
4	12:00 Midday on 29 September 2026 (BST)	12:00 Midday on 15 December 2026 (GMT)	26 March 2027	2 April 2027

3. Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service where you will need to register for an account. Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

3.1 Public facing information

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a title, Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and a short abstract. The title, PVPS and abstract you provide will be used by DASA, and Partners Across Government (PAG), to describe your project and its intended outcomes and benefits. They may be included at DASA events in relation to this competition and in documentation such as brochures. As this information can be shared, it should not contain information that may compromise Intellectual Property.

4. Pre-sift Criteria

Prior to assessment, 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.  Mandatory pre-sift criteria is stipulated in the individual Open Call for Innovation competition documents.

5. How your proposal will be assessed

Proposals that are compliant will be assessed against the standard DASA assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), Partners Across Government (PAG) and the front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to view or comment on assessors’ recommendations.

DASA reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from innovators during the procurement process, which includes the full proposal, to any third party engaged by DASA for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting DASA in the evaluation of your proposal. In providing such information you consent to such disclosure. Appropriate confidentiality agreements will be put in place.

After assessment, proposals will be discussed at a Decision Conference where funding decisions are made based on the assessments, budget and wider strategic considerations.

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

6. DASA Terms and Conditions

Please read the DASA Terms and Conditions which contain important information for innovators. For the Open Call for Innovation we will be using the Innovation Standard Contract (ISC).  The ISC, relevant DEFCONs and Terms and Conditions can be found by registering on the Knowledge in Defence site.

We require unqualified acceptance of the Terms and Conditions. Where innovator organisations have a commercial department they will need to provide acceptance.

We will use deliverables from DASA contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract Terms and Conditions.

6.1 Feedback

Proposals that are unsuccessful will receive feedback in the form of bullet points and a couple of short paragraphs after the Decision Conference, in line with the published timetable.

Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a Competition, but is not funded, DASA will continue to seek funding from Partners Across Government and shall consider your proposal fundable for 12 months from the date of the decision release.

We will share the abstract, PVPS and title of your proposal with any other UK government departments that may express an interest in funding the proposal through DASA, in accordance with the Competition Document. If a budget holder within the MOD wishes to read the full proposal to decide if they will fund it, we will share it with them under these circumstances. If it is within 60 days of the original NOT FUNDED decision release date, we will share the full proposal with them without seeking your permission. If it is over 60 days since the original NOT FUNDED decision we will seek your permission before sharing the full proposal with them.

For other potential funders within Government, we will seek your permission before sharing the full proposal regardless of the number of days since the original NOT FUNDED decision release.

In the event that funding becomes available, DASA may ask whether you would still be prepared to undertake the work outlined in your proposal under the same terms. Your official DASA feedback will indicate if your proposal was deemed fundable, but not awarded funding at the time.

7. If your proposal is recommended for funding

Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to monitor the project) and a Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact). In addition, the DASA team may work with a supplier to support delivery and exploitation including, when appropriate, introductions to end-users and business support to help develop their business.

7.1 Cyber Risk Assessment (CRA)

On receipt of a FUND decision, successful innovators must prove cyber resilience before the contract is awarded. The start of this process is the submission of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ).The SAQ allows innovators to demonstrate compliance with the specified risk level and the corresponding profile in Def Stan 05-138, and the level of control required will depend on this risk level.

Successful innovators will be emailed a Risk Assessment Reference (RAR) number and corresponding risk level and must use this to complete a SAQ. The completed SAQ form and resulting email response from Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP) must be downloaded and returned to DASA. Further guidance can be found at: DCPP: Cyber Security Model industry buyer and supplier guide.

The DCPP will review your SAQ submission and aim to respond within 2-5 working days with a reference number and an indication of your compliance status. They welcome emails if you think a response has not been provided in this time. There are 2 compliance statuses:

1. Compliant – no further action
2. Not compliant – you will be required to complete a Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP) before the contract is placed which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager or, a Cyber Essentials Certification (CEC) must be held before contract can be awarded. Further information and guidance on obtaining a CEC can be found here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/overview

7.2 Export control for overseas partners

All relevant export control regulations will apply if a company ultimately wants to sell a developed solution to a foreign entity. All innovators must ensure that they can obtain, if required, the necessary export licences for their proposals and developments, such that they can be supplied to the UK and other countries. If you cannot confirm that you can gain the requisite licences, your proposal will be sifted out of the competition.

Additionally, if we believe that you will not be able to obtain export clearance, additional checks may be conducted, which may also result in your proposal being sifted out of the competition.

8. Points of Contact

During the competition phase all correspondence must be via the DASA Points of Contact detailed below.

While all reasonable efforts will be made to answer queries, DASA reserves the right to impose management controls if volumes of queries restrict fair access of information to all potential innovators.

8.1 Innovation Partner

DASA has a team of regionally based Innovation Partners that can provide support in working with DASA. It is strongly recommended that you contact your local Innovation Partner to discuss your idea for any aspect of the Open Call for Innovation.

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.

8.2 DASA Help Centre

Competition queries on process, application, commercial, technical and intellectual property aspects should be sent to the DASA Help Centre at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title. DASA cannot guarantee a response to a query if received later than 3 weeks before the competitions closes.

9. Further guidance

For further guidance on what to expect during the submission process and how your proposal will be assessed, please see the following GOV.UK pages and forms:

• Submit a proposal
• Assessment process and criteria
• Defence and Security Accelerator: ethical, legal and regulatory guidance
• MODREC Guidance for Suppliers
• DASA Standard Terms and Conditions
• How to get in touch with your local Innovation Partner