Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security
This competition aims to identify and develop novel, early stage research ideas that may have a significant and disruptive impact.
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Details
Campaign image for Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security themed competition.
This is a two-phase competition which aims to identify and develop novel, early stage research ideas that may have a significant and disruptive impact on the future of Defence or Security. A disruptive impact is something that radically alters how we do things – this can be positive (e.g. a new capability becomes available) or negative (e.g. a new type of threat arises).
This competition is funded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
The outcome from Phase 1 of this competition is anticipated to be a pool of novel Science and Technology (S&T) ideas / concepts that may be disruptive. These ideas / concepts may be used as the basis for further research within the Defence Science and Technology Futures (DSTF) Programme.
Upon completion of Phase 1, we will seek to direct further funds to a number of projects where the Phase 1 work has been deemed to have the greatest potential future impact on Defence or Security. Phase 2 will only be open to those suppliers funded in Phase 1. It will enable continuation of research on the most promising ideas, with the relevant suppliers being allocated a proportion of £750k (ex VAT) to further mature their ideas / concepts.
What innovations are we looking for?
We are interested in novel, very low Technical Readiness Level (TRL) S&T ideas which could in the future either significantly benefit Defence or Security, or form the basis of understanding or countering a new and significant adversarial threat. We would like you to provide us with an exciting flavour of what might be possible and be disruptive. Your proposal should include evidence of:
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creative ideas / concepts / technology that have the potential to cause a significant game-changing or disruptive impact on Defence or Security
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ideas which are initially at an early stage of development (equivalent to TRL 1-2)
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ideas that have a theoretical basis supported by reasoned explanation
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the development of ideas through research to understand their potential to be disruptive in the future
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the use of aspects of experimentation, simulation or modelling in undertaking the research
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development of concepts for how novel ideas might be deployed in the future to become either an opportunity for or threat to Defence or Security
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clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to Defence or Security
Total funding available
The total funding available for Phase 1 of this competition is approximately £750,000 (ex VAT).
The value of each submission must be for a fixed amount of £50k. Failure to submit a proposal for this amount will result in the proposal being sifted out as non-compliant.
A further £750,000 (ex VAT) has been allocated to continue development on some of the funded Phase 1 submissions in Phase 2. Details on how Phase 2 funding may be allocated are provided in sections 3.3 and 3.4 of the competition document.
Submission deadline
Midday (GMT) on Tuesday 5 December 2023
How 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.
You must not submit any information classified above OFFICIAL. If you wish to add supporting information that may be above OFFICIAL you must contact DASA in advance and we will discuss solutions with you.
Updates to this page
Published 17 October 2023Last updated 8 March 2024 + show all updates
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Updated feedback release date
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Section 5. Added clarity to the competition document around the sharing of proposals after the competition has ended, where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded. FAQ: Added a question and answer aiming to clarify how to input information regarding cyber risk in the proposal template.
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Added an FAQ document.
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Wording on contract values and VAT has been made more consistent. The value of proposals to this competition must be £50,000 (ex VAT).
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Clarification on language regarding duration of contracts (5 months).
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First published.