Notice

Competition Document: Mobile Evidential Drug Testing Instrument (MEDTI) Demonstrator

Updated 16 April 2024

1. Introduction:

To enable more effective enforcement of drug driving offending, the Department of Transport is seeking innovative ideas to explore the development of world-leading roadside evidential drug testing capability.

The competition is funded by Department for Transport with the support of the Home Office and police as we look to work across Government to tackle this problem.

Government data shows that the gap between harm caused by drink driving and harm caused by drug driving is narrowing with some police forces  now arresting more drug drivers than drink drivers. 

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is seeking proposals that enhance the roadside testing of suspected ‘drug drivers’. Currently drivers suspected of being over the specified limit for specified ‘drugs’ can be subject to a roadside screening test which, following a positive indication, requires the subject to be taken to a police station where an evidential blood sample can be taken. The sample is then sent to an approved laboratory for forensic analysis. It can take many months to subsequently determine if a prosecution should be launched.  The offence is contrary to Section 5A Road Traffic Act 1988.

The competition aims to develop ideas that could create a roadside forensic test capable of being administered at the time the driver is stopped and then generating a robust indication that meets UK court standards. Ideally a result would be obtained at the roadside within 10 minutes however the competition would also welcome the submission of ideas that that could generate similar swift analysis from a device that is based at a police station, circumventing the need to take an evidential blood sample that requires sending the sample away for analysis. This will speed up processing of suspects, enabling police to deal with offenders at pace and freeing up officers to return to duty more quickly. Victims injured by drug drivers will also be made aware of charging decisions more quickly.

In 2020 between 200 and 240 people were killed in collisions in Great Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 220 deaths. This is 15% of all fatalities. In the same year there were 175 people killed in reported road accidents where at least one deceased driver had an impairment drug detected (to note this may not be over the proscribed limit). This is 12% of all fatalities.

This competition supports the Government’s intent to ensure the criminal justice system is equipped with tools suitable to tackle this rising threat to public safety through rapidly capturing the evidence required to ensure keep the roads and our communities safe.

2. Competition key information 

2.1 Submission deadline 

12:00 Midday (BST) on Tuesday 16 April 2024 

2.2 Where do I submit my proposal? 

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will require an account. Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted. 

2.3 Total funding available 

The total possible funding available for Phase 1 of this competition is £1 million (excluding VAT).  

We expect to fund a number of proposals of up to £350,000 (Exc. VAT) each in value. Contracts will only be awarded for projects that are shown to complete by 28 February 2025 and have a maximum project duration time of 6 months (although proposals of shorter duration will also be accepted). We anticipate contracting to start from approximately July 2024.

The evaluation process will enable consideration to be given to the feasibility of any idea and how best to develop commercially.

3. Supporting events 

3.1 Industry Collaboration Survey during Proposal Preparation

We encourage collaboration between organisations for this competition. To support this we have a short survey to collect details of those who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. If you are interested in a collaboration, please complete the survey by 5th April 2024 and your details will be circulated among other potential suppliers who have completed the survey and are interested in collaborating.

If you choose to complete the supplier collaboration survey, please be aware all of the information you submit in the survey will be provided to other suppliers who also complete the survey. All industry collaboration for proposal submissions is on an industry-industry basis. Inclusion or absence of any individual supplier organisation will not affect assessment, which will be solely on technical evidence in the proposal.

3.2 Dial-in session 

Tuesday 5 March 2024 – a dial-in session providing further detail on the problem space and a chance to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

3.3 Supplier 1 to 1 teleconferences

Thursday 7 March 2024 – a series of 15 minute one-to-one teleconference sessions, giving you the opportunity to ask specific questions. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page. Booking is on a first come first served basis.

4. Competition Scope 

4.1 Background

The issue of combatting drug driving has Ministerial focus. The Government strategy relies on harsh penalties and effective enforcement. Roadside testing to an evidential standard will both enable more effective enforcement and act as a deterrent to persistent drug drive offenders.

The focus of this competitions is on roadside testing capabilities, however, we also welcome ideas that can be utilised within police custody suites where this provides both sampling and analysis capability. The competition output aims to develop a range of concept demonstrators that can provide the basis for the development of a MEDTI (Mobile Evidential Drug Testing Instrument)  which has the potential to be scaled up for manufacturing in the future.  

In 2015 an offence of drug driving was introduced which made it illegal to drive with specified levels of certain drugs. This built on the existing legislation under section 4 Road Traffic Act 1988 to drive a motor vehicle whilst being unfit to do so as a result of drug consumption. Under the 2015 legislation offences are committed even if the ability to drive is not impaired as a result of drug use.

The legislative limits for drugs detected have been set at different levels:

• a zero tolerance approach to 8 drugs most associated with illegal use, with limits set at a level where any claims of accidental exposure can be ruled out

• a road safety risk based approach to 8 drugs most associated with medical uses

• a separate approach to amphetamine that balances its legitimate use for medical purposes against its abuse

4.2 Table of drugs and limits

‘Illegal’ drugs (‘accidental exposure’ – zero tolerance approach)	Threshold limit in microgrammes per litre of blood (µg/L)
benzoylecgonine	50µg/L
cocaine	10µg/L
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis)	2µg/L
ketamine	20µg/L
lysergic acid diethylamide	1µg/L
methylamphetamine	10µg/L
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)	10µg/L
6-monoacetylmorphine (heroin)	5 µg/L
‘Medicinal’ drugs (risk based approach)	Threshold limit in blood
clonazepam	50µg/L
diazepam	550µg/L
flunitrazepam	300µg/L
lorazepam	100µg/L
methadone	500µg/L
morphine	80µg/L
oxazepam	300µg/L
temazepam	1,000µg/L
Separate approach (to balance its risk)	Threshold limit in blood
amphetamine	250µg/L

The law in respect of drug driving as it stands allows for an initial roadside screening test of saliva or sweat to be taken. In practice this is saliva only with present screening only carried out for cannabis and cocaine.

If there is a positive roadside test, the driver is arrested and is normally taken to a police station for an evidential test. The law allows for blood and urine. In practice this is blood only. No jurisdiction in the world uses urine to determine the level of drugs present.

The competition seeks to explore other matrices such as breath, sweat, oral fluid and interstitial fluid amongst others. We wish to explore all potential devices.

Currently only approved medical practitioners can take blood samples. This is due to the need to extract the sample by needle. Police have the power to obtain sweat or saliva. An alternative non-invasive means of blood extraction may lead to the consideration of a change in the law.

Any new device must meet Home Office Type Approval (HOTA). As there is not currently one for a MEDTI, this concept technology demonstrator project would help set future HOTA parameters. It should be noted that a Mobile Evidential Breath Testing Instrument is undergoing the HOTA process. 

See specific F.A.Q. regarding holding a licence for ‘drugs’ and testing equipment which may be required. Companies are advised to take their own independent legal advice as necessary.

4.3 Scope:

The aspiration is to create a forensic test, meeting UK court standards, that is generated at the roadside at the time of a driver being stopped on suspicion of drug driving, or shortly afterwards in a police station based approach.

Funded projects are expected to achieve at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5, 6 or 7 by the end of the contract. The anticipated TRL level that the a proposal aims to achieve should be clearly stated within the submission.

A proposal should not be constrained by the current legislative framework around the taking of samples. As seen above, a doctor or health care professional is required to take a blood sample that requires a needle to extract. Whereas a police officer is able to take a non-intimate sample such as saliva, sweat or urine.

The following examples give an indication of possible proposals:

• Smaller blood samples can be taken from subject using tools such as finger prick lancets which are used by diabetics to provide small blood samples (~1-10µl) to test their blood glucose. These are simple small disposable devices that prick the finger (or elsewhere) through a spring-loaded lancet actuated by the user. Lancets only pierce the skin after which blood needs to be extracted into a suitable sample receptacle.

• In addition to lancets to aid blood collection, new technologies are coming though that both pierce the skin and collect the blood. Such devices may very well lend themselves to the role of blood collection at the roadside and may be an option for someone other than a forensic medical examiner taking the blood.

• The use of oral fluid taken at a roadside and then sent for fast time evidential testing may also offer a potential future development as part of this competition.

There may be medical systems that could be used as a means of obtaining a sample. As can be seen above it would be acceptable to ‘sample now for evidence later’ in a system that provides immediate results that does not rely on onward submission to forensic service providers. 

We would welcome proposals that consider use of technology that is deployed in other jurisdictions that could meet the requirements of the UK legal system. This may involve matrices other than blood.

The ultimate aim is the introduction of a test system to perform a drug test on a sample from a suspect with a hand-held, portable, rugged and simple to use device suitable for use by a police officer.

Due to the nature of small molecule drugs, rapid, relatively simple technologies based upon immunological assay techniques are currently felt not to be suitable as they do not offer adequate specificity and may lead to false positive results. The consequence of this is that until technologies such as immunological assays can offer the required specificity, technologies based upon the incumbent lab based Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry offer the best opportunity to deliver a system suitable for roadside testing. However we would welcome immunological assay techniques if they are developed to meet the required specificity.

Blood samples to be taken from alternative sites to venepuncture sites must use an appropriate blood sampling device designed for use by non-medical trained persons.

5. Competition Challenges 

This competition has two challenges. The first is to create a forensic testing capability, meeting UK court standards, that is generated at the roadside at the time of a driver being stopped on suspicion of drug driving. Ideally the result would be generated in around 10 minutes. The second, if the first cannot be met, is to have a capability of generating an evidential test at a police station.

5.1 Challenge 1: Roadside Test and Confirm

The aspiration is to create a roadside test which would require a relatively small, ideally handheld, robust device capable of operating under roadside conditions. 

Aspects to consider when developing a proposal in response to Challenge 1 include:

• the need to provide a relatively quick process; the ideal would be in the region of 10 minutes.

• the need to be mindful of road safety and roadside conditions which can be extreme due to weather conditions

• the need to consider the hostile nature of road stop and police operational parameters.

• the need to meet testing and systems requirements

• the need to gather the test sample and confirm result 100% at the roadside.

• the need to consider economic costs and affordability to enable devices to be rolled out to front line police officers. The maximum cost of a fully commercialised device would need to be below £2000.

5.2 Challenge 2: Station Based Evidential System 

Innovations that would achieve a result from a combination of a roadside screen test with further confirmation of the result at the police station. The aspiration is to create a roadside test which would require a relatively small robust device capable of operating under roadside conditions to provide indication of drug result.

Aspects to consider when developing a proposal in response to Challenge 2 include:

• the need to provide a relatively quick process

• the need to be mindful of road safety and roadside conditions which can be extreme due to weather conditions

• the need to consider the hostile nature of road stop and police operational parameters.

• the need to meet testing and systems requirements

• the need to gather the test sample and achieve an indicator of result at the roadside and gain further confirmation using a police station located device.

• the police station device which will not need the same environmental and robustness requirements compared to roadside.

• the need to consider economic costs and affordability (i.e, under £2000) to enable devices to be rolled out to front line police officers.

Ideas that might help solve this challenge area may include: 

• Consideration of established lab drug detection systems going through miniaturisation into a robust mobile device. 

• Liquid Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry may be a possible solution if it could be streamlined and miniaturised on to a fluidic chip type device. 

• Other technologies used in other jurisdictions both at the roadside or at a police station.

Innovation proposals submitted under either challenge could provide a major improvement to the current lab-based processes. 

All innovation proposals must adhere to the following test and system requirements

5.3 Test requirements will include:

• Sample size, sample type, sample age

• Measurement concentration range, accuracy, repeatability, lowest limit of quantification

• Confounding factors:

• Chemical interferents, endogenous and exogenous other than other drug molecules

• Specificity, cross reactivity with similar/related drug molecules

• Temperature, humidity, light

• Mechanical effects, orientation, vibration etc

• Sampling, sweat, skin cleanliness

• Calibration and traceability (gold standards, UKAS accreditation)

5.4 System requirements will include:

• Size, weight, dimensions

• Battery life

• Use life

• Number of components (e.g. durable instrument, consumable test part, sampling device, swabs)

• Maintenance schedules

DASA can support successful bidders consider options to commercialise MEDTI prototypes into the law enforcement market.

6. We are interested in…

We want novel ideas to benefit end-users working in UK Defence and Security. Your proposal should address one of the two challenges and include evidence of:

• instruments that have the potential to be adapted to test for other drugs that may become illegal. One such example is Nitrous Oxide which is a growing menace both in the UK and around the world.

Consideration of including alcohol testing in addition to the current illegal drugs.

• theoretical development, method of advancement or proof of concept research which can demonstrate potential for translation to practical demonstration in later phases

• the initial and target Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for the project. Funded projects are expected to achieve at least TRL 5, 6 or 7 by the end of the contract.

• innovation or a creative approach

• clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to any defence and security context 

7. We are not interested in… 

We are not interested in proposals that:

• Proposals that require lengthy research time, animal testing or MODREC approval will not be accepted. The MODREC process can take up to 5 months and will take up a large proportion of the total project duration.

• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation

• 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 the challenge)

• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence and security capabilities 

• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions

Please contact your Innovation Partner for further guidance

8. Accelerating and exploiting your innovation 

It is important that over the lifetime of DASA competitions, ideas are matured and accelerated towards appropriate end-users to enhance capability. How long this takes will depend on the nature and starting point of the innovation. 

8.1 A clear route for exploitation

For DASA to consider routes for exploitation, ensure your deliverables are designed with the aim of making it as easy as possible for collaborators/stakeholders to identify the innovative elements of your proposal.

Whilst DASA recognises that early identification and engagement with potential end users during the competition and subsequent phases are essential to implementing an exploitation plan, during the competition phase all correspondence be via the DASA helpdesk email at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, or your local Innovation Partner.

All proposals to DASA should articulate the expected development in technology maturity of the potential solution over the lifetime of the contract and how this relates to improved capability against the current known (or presumed) baseline.

8.2 How to outline your exploitation plan

Include the following information to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans to date: 

• the intended defence or security users of your final product and whether you have previously engaged with them, their procurement arm or their research and development arm 

• awareness of, and alignment to, any existing end user procurement programmes 

• the anticipated benefits (for example, in cost, time, improved capability) that your solution will provide to the user 

• whether it is likely to be a standalone product or integrated with other technologies or platforms 

• 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

8.3 Is your exploitation plan long term? 

Long term studies may not be able to articulate exploitation in great detail, but it should be clear that there is credible advantage to be gained from the technology development.

Include project specific information which will help exploitation. This competition is being carried out as part of a wider MOD programme and with cognisance of cross-Government initiatives. We may collaborate with organisations outside of the UK Government and this may provide the opportunity to carry out international trials and demonstrations in the future. 

9. How to apply 

9.1 Submission deadline 

12:00 Midday (BST) on Tuesday 16th April 2024 

9.2 Where do I submit my proposal? 

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will be required to register. 

Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted. 

9.3 Total funding available 

The total possible funding available for Phase 1 of this competition is £1m (excluding VAT).  

9.4 How many proposals will DASA fund

We expect to fund a number of proposals of up to £350,000 (Exc. VAT) each in value. Contracts will only be awarded for projects that are shown to complete by 28 February 2025 and have a maximum project duration time of 6 months (although proposals of shorter duration will also be accepted). We anticipate contracting to start from approximately July 2024.

Funded projects are expected to achieve at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5, 6 or 7 by the end of the contract.

Additional funding for further phases to increase TRL up to 6/7 may be available. Any further phases will be open to applications from all innovators and not just those that submitted Phase 1 bids. 

9.5 For further guidance 

Click here for more information on our competition process and how your proposal is assessed. 

Queries should be sent to the DASA Help Centre – accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

10. What your proposal must include

• the proposal should focus on the Phase 1 requirements but must also include a brief (uncosted) outline of the next stages of work required for commercial exploitation 

• when submitting a proposal, you must complete all sections of the online form, including an appropriate level of technical information to allow assessment of the bid and a completed finances section 

• completed proposals must comply with the financial rules set for this competition. The upper-limit for this competition is £350,000 (excluding VAT). Proposals will be rejected if the financial cost exceeds this capped level

• you must include a list of other current or recent government funding you may have received in this area if appropriate, making it clear how this proposal differs from this work 

• a project plan with clear milestones and deliverables must be provided. Deliverables must be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan and the end-point for this phase; they must include a final report 

• you should also plan for attendance at a kick-off meeting at the start of Phase 1, a mid-project event and an end of project event at the end of Phase 1, as well as regular reviews with the appointed Technical Partner and Project Manager; all meetings will be in the UK. Meetings may also take place virtually. Any slides presented at these meetings need to be made available. 

• your proposal must demonstrate how you will complete all activities/services and provide all deliverables within the competition timescales (Max project length of 6 months, complete by 28 February 2025). Proposals with any deliverables (including final report) outside the competition timeline will be rejected as non-compliant 

10.1 What your resourcing plan should include 

Your resourcing plan must identify, where possible, the nationalities of proposed employees that you intend to work on this phase. 

10.2 If your proposal is recommended for funding 

In the event of a proposal being recommended for funding, the DASA reserves the right to undertake due diligence checks including the clearance of proposed employees. Please note that this process will take as long as necessary and could take up to 6 weeks in some cases for non-UK nationals. 

You must identify any ethical / legal / regulatory factors within your proposal and how the associated risks will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received.

Requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA), for example, information, equipment, materials and facilities, may be included in your proposal. DASA cannot guarantee that GFA will be available. If you apply for GFA, you should include an alternative plan in case it is not available. 

Failure to provide any of the above listed will automatically render your proposal non-compliant.

10.3 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.

11. Cyber risk assessment 

11.1 Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ) 

On receipt of a ‘Fund’ decision, successful suppliers must prove cyber resilience data before the contract is awarded. The start of this process is the submission of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ allows suppliers 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.

To expedite the contracting time of successful suppliers we ask all suppliers to complete the SAQ before they submit their proposal. The SAQ can be completed here using the DASA Risk Assessment RAR-134036742 and answer questions for risk level “Very Low”. In the form, for the contract name please use the competition title and for the contract description please use the title of your proposal. 

11.2 Defence Cyber Protection Partnership

The Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP) will review your SAQ submission and respond with a reference number within 2 working days. The resulting email response from DCPP should be attached (JPG or PNG format) and included within the DASA submission service portal when the proposal is submitted. You will also be asked to enter your SAQ reference number. Please allow enough time to receive the SAQ reference number prior to competition close at 12:00 Midday (BST) on Tuesday 16th April 2024. 

If the proposal is being funded, the SAQ will be evaluated against the CRA for the competition, and it will be put it into one of the following categories:

1. compliant – no further action 

2. not compliant – if successful in competition and being funded, the innovator 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 

Innovators can enter a proposal without all controls in place, but are expected to have all the cyber protection measures necessary to fulfil the requirements of the contract in place at the time of contract award, or have an agreed Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP). 

The CIP provides evidence as to how and when potential innovators will achieve compliance. Provided the measures proposed in the Cyber Implementation Plan do not pose an unacceptable risk to the MOD, a submission with a Cyber Implementation Plan will be considered alongside those who can achieve the controls. A final check will be made to ensure cyber resilience before the contract is placed.  Commercial staff cannot progress without it. This process does not replace any contract specific security requirements. 

Additional information about cyber security can be found at: DCPP: Cyber Security Model industry buyer and supplier guide.

11.3 Public facing information 

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a title and a short abstract. The title and abstract you provide will be used by DASA, and other government departments, 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. The proposal title will be published in the DASA transparency data on GOV.UK, along with your company name, the amount of funding, and the start and end dates of your contract. As this information can be shared, it should not contain information that may compromise Intellectual property.  

11.4 How your proposal will be assessed

At Stage 1, all proposals will be checked for compliance with the competition document and may be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply. Only those proposals that demonstrate compliance against the competition scope and DASA mandatory criteria will be taken forward to full assessment. 

12. Mandatory Criteria

The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition	Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The proposal fully explains in all three sections of the DASA submission service how it meets the DASA criteria	Pass / Fail
The proposal clearly details a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan to complete the work proposed in Phase 1	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies no need for MODREC approval	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies any GFA required for Phase 1	Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal is £350,000	Pass / Fail
The proposal demonstrates how all research and development activities / services (including delivery of the final report) will be completed within 6 months from award of contract (or less) and by 28 February 2025.	Pass / Fail
The bidder has obtained the authority to provide unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Contract.	Pass / Fail

Proposals that pass Stage 1 will then be assessed against the standard DASA assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), other government departments 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. 

Further guidance on how your proposal is assessed is available on the DASA website 

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

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference. 

Proposals that are unsuccessful will receive brief feedback after the Decision Conference.

12.1 Things you should know about DASA contracts: DASA terms and conditions 

Please read the DASA terms and conditions which contain important information for innovators. For this competition we will be using the Innovation Standard Contract (ISC), links to the contract: TERMS and Schedules. We will require unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions; if applicable, please ensure your commercial department has provided their acceptance.

More information on DEFCON 703 and DEFCON 705 can be found by registering on the Knowledge in Defence site. 

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

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

For this competition, £1m is currently available to fund proposals. 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 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, 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.

13. Phase 1 key dates

Dial-in

5 March 2024

Pre bookable 1-1 telecom sessions

7 March 2024

Competition closes

12:00 Midday (BST) on Tuesday 16th April 2024

Feedback release

6 June 2024

Contracting

Aim to start July 2024 and end project by 28 February 2025

14. Help: Contact the DASA Help Centre 

Competition queries including 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. If you wish receive future updates on this competition, please email the DASA Help Centre. 

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.