Guidance

Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security: Competition Document

Updated 8 March 2024

1. Introduction: Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition, run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Futures (DSTF) Programme, 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 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 then be used as the basis for further research within the MOD.

Unlike last year’s competition on early stage research ideas, in 2023 we will run the competition over two phases. Phase 1 will be run in a similar way to last year, with up to 15 proposals awarded £50,000 (ex VAT) each. Phase 2 will allow some of the most promising projects funded through Phase 1 to receive further funding.

1.1 Competition key information

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.

1.2 Total funding available

Phase 1

The total funding available for Phase 1 of this competition is £750,000 (ex VAT).
The value of each submission must be for a fixed amount of £50,000 (ex VAT). Failure to submit a proposal for this amount will result in the proposal being sifted out as non-compliant.

Contracts will be awarded for a duration of 5 months from April 2024 and must complete with a 5000-7000 word report, followed by a 20-minute presentation to a MOD Board in September 2024. The exact date and location will be confirmed to innovators if they are chosen for funding. Dstl would prefer that the presentation be given in person. However, an option to present virtually will be made available if attendance in person is not possible.

Phase 2

A further budget £750,000 (ex VAT) has been made available in Phase 2. Only those who are successful in Phase 1, and deliver their report and a presentation to the MOD Board, may be eligible to apply for Phase 2 funding. Suppliers who the Board consider to have progressed their idea well in Phase 1, in a topic area that could be important to Defence or Security, will be invited to submit Phase 2 bids.

The invited suppliers who wish to continue developing their ideas / concepts will be able to submit bids for further development work. Each Phase 2 project will be for a fixed price of £150,000 (ex VAT). The Phase 2 bids will be evaluated based on the quality and importance of the completed Phase 1 work and the quality of the Phase 2 proposal.

Dstl reserves the right to fund any number of Phase 2 proposals.

1.3 Supporting events

Dial-in session

Tuesday 31 October 2023 at 10:30 GMT - A dial-in session will provide 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. To get the most out of this session, we strongly advise that you attend with a good knowledge of the competition document.

2. Competition Scope

2.1 Background: Defence Science and Technology Futures

The Defence Science and Technology Futures (DSTF) Programme identifies novel early stage research which may have a significant game-changing or disruptive impact on future military capability, concepts of operation, threats or other areas of relevance to Defence or Security. We are looking for ideas that may underpin generation-after-next technology, concepts or approaches and could disrupt traditional technologies or ways of thinking. The intention of this competition is to maximise the opportunities for exploiting innovation and reduce the likelihood of technological surprises caused by changes to the science and technology landscape. The programme is not about identifying incremental changes.

The ideas sought for this competition may not fulfil any current Defence or Security requirement. Geopolitics, environmental issues, economics and many other factors will shape future scenarios and Defence or Security requirements. The DSTF Programme has to consider what various futures might look like and speculate on how current novel Science and Technology (S&T) might develop and impact on what Defence needs to do in those various futures. This will enable Defence to better understand and plan for the future, helping to combat threats and take advantage of opportunities.

The DSTF Programme recognises the need to look beyond the current, developed science and technology landscape and beyond the traditional defence enterprise to explore emerging ideas and evaluate their future value. We are continually seeking innovative ideas due to the rate of technological progress and the development of potential threats. This DASA competition has been launched to support this need.

2.2 Scope: Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security

The aim of this two phase competition is to identify new ideas and ways of doing things that are potentially disruptive to Defence or Security and then to further develop the understanding of the ideas and their future impact. It may be necessary to consider multiple capability areas and multiple future scenarios to assess where the developed idea could have the most impact in future Defence or Security. The outcome of the Phase 1 work should be an exciting flavour of what might be possible and what the effects might be, rather than a detailed study fully developing the understanding of the science.

It is likely that further research will be required to develop the understanding of the ideas; opportunities may be available for the most promising ideas in Phase 2.

We are interested in low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) ideas (TRL 1-2) from any discipline that you believe may, in the future, disrupt the current ways of thinking and have the potential to lead to radical change. Proposals may derive from horizon scanning or technology watching, the bidders’ own internal research activities or via any other mechanism. Ideas need to have a theoretical basis, supported by reasoned explanation.

DASA provides fixed funding of £50,000 (ex VAT) per project for Phase 1 to advance these ideas and to assess how they might impact on the future of Defence or Security.

The DSTF Programme recognises that investigation of low TRL S&T has a high risk of failure. This is accepted. Should it be discovered during the work that the original concept is not likely to be valid or an alternative low TRL idea / concept / technology would likely be more important, this would be considered to be a valid outcome of the work. However, we would still expect the work that led to this conclusion to be comprehensive, described in detail in the report and the findings to be presented, as described below.

3. Competition Requirements

3.1 Phase 1 Requirements

Novel Disruptive Science Impacting Future Defence and Security
This DASA competition will award each successful bidder £50,000 (ex VAT) to:

• take one or more novel very low TRL idea(s), as identified in the proposal, and further develop them to better understand the science behind them and their potential to form a disruptive technology in the future  -  this must be through some elements of experimentation, testing, modelling or simulation (literature studies alone will be considered to be non-compliant).

• develop concepts of how the idea might be deployed in the future - for example, could it only be used in particular circumstances or could it have impact across Defence and Security? 

• describe the circumstances in which the idea might be disruptive and the potential impact on the future of Defence or Security

The intention of this requirement is to develop an understanding of ideas to help determine their potential to be disruptive. Bidders should think about how the idea / concept / technology may fit within the future Defence or Security landscape, and the future technological landscape of the world in general (rather than focussing on solving current issues).

Please note, the awarded amount (£50,000 ex (VAT), contract length (5 months), mandatory deliverables (final report and presentation) have all been set as part of this requirement. If your proposal deviates from these requirements it will not be considered for funding.

Ideas that might help solve this requirement include:

• your own very early stage science and technology that you did not initially see as having a Defence or Security application

• ideas identified through your own horizon scanning or technology watch, that you believe could be disruptive and should be investigated further

• ideas that you have developed through brainstorming or other workshopping approaches that you believe have the potential to disrupt the future Defence and Security landscape but are at a very low TRL level (TRL 1-2)

Any ideas submitted to this requirement must have a theoretical basis supported by reasoned explanation.

Your proposal should provide an outline description of the idea or ideas and their potential significance to Defence or Security. The proposal should describe how the project funding of £50,000 (ex VAT) would be used to expand upon the idea(s) and further develop an understanding of their:

• fundamental scientific or theoretical basis

• future viability and the potential development paths

• potentially disruptive impacts and use cases (both positive and negative, opportunity and threat) within future Defence or Security

3.2 Phase 1 Deliverables

The following deliverables are required for Phase 1:

• a short report describing the low TRL S&T, the further development work you have undertaken and how this has improved the understanding of the potential impact of the idea on Defence or Security in the future. If more in-depth research is required to further develop Defence’s understanding of the disruptive potential of the S&T, this should be described. The report should comprise 5000-7000 words excluding the title page, contents list and reference list. It should be written in plain English and the use of specialist terminology should be minimised. The extensive use of images and figures is encouraged where they will aid in readability of the document. This mandatory report must be delivered five (5) months from the commencement of the contract.

• a 20 minute briefing to a MOD Board, describing the outputs of the research and highlighting what you believe the MOD could do to further understand the potential of the low TRL ideas / concepts. Dstl would prefer that the presentation is given in person. However, an option to present virtually will be made available if attendance in person is not possible. The event will be held in the UK in September 2024. A confirmed date, time, and location will be provided to successful suppliers in 2024. Note, the costs of attending the presentation should be included in the £50,000 (ex VAT) budget for funded ideas; no further funding with be provided for travel and subsistence.

3.3 Phase 2 Requirements

As detailed in section 3.2, upon completion of Phase 1 the innovators will have given a presentation on the outcome of their Phase 1 work to the MOD Board. During this event the outputs of all innovators will be scored by members of the MOD Board.

The Board will request Phase 2 bids from all those who scored above a threshold on the quality and importance of their Phase 1 work.

Phase 2 bids will describe how the innovators would take the work forward to demonstrate most value to Defence and Security in the future. Phase 2 research would be for a fixed value of £150,000 (ex VAT) and duration of 1 year. Bids for Phase 2 funding must be submitted before a deadline which will be confirmed after the MOD Board has reviewed all outputs from Phase 1. Sufficient time will be given for feedback to be considered and a direction of continued development to be thought through.

Assessment of Phase 2 will comprise of a combination of two scores - 40% on the quality of the Phase 1 work and deliverables and the importance of this for Defence or Security, and 60% on the quality of the Phase 2 proposal.

The number of Phase 2 bids to receive funding will be contingent on the nature of responses from suppliers in Phase 1 and 2. Dstl reserves the right to fund any number of Phase 2 tasks.

3.4 Phase 2 Deliverables

The deliverables for Phase 2 will not be predefined at this stage. If you are successful in Phase 1 and are requested to submit a bid for Phase 2 funding then the nature of your Phase 2 deliverables will be determined at that time in discussion with Dstl.

Suppliers are recommended to take into account feedback from the MOD Board and lessons learned in Phase 1 before submitting a bid for Phase 2 funding to continue their research.

4. Clarification of what we want

4.1 We are interested in…

We are interested in novel, very low TRL S&T ideas which could either benefit Defence or Security in the future, or form the basis of a 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:

• creative ideas / concepts / technology that have the potential to cause a significant game-changing or disruptive impact on Defence or Security

• ideas which are at an early stage of development (equivalent to TRL 1-2)

• ideas that have a theoretical basis supported by reasoned explanation

• the development of those ideas through research to understand their potential to be disruptive in the future (this must include some original work, e.g. some element of experimentation, testing, modelling or simulation)

• development of concepts of how the ideas might be deployed in the future to become either an opportunity or threat to Defence or Security

• clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to Defence or Security

4.2 We are not interested in…

We are not interested in proposals that:

• include innovation that is already at TRL 3 and above. Any proposed ideas that are judged to be TRL 3 and above will be viewed as non-compliant and sifted out. Please refer to the TRL guide or contact a DASA Innovation Partner for guidance here.

• suggest ideas that are not likely to be disruptive, are likely to only lead to incremental change and/or offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions

• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without further development

• do not offer any original work (so do not include an element of experimentation, testing, modelling or simulation)

• suggest ideas that cannot apply to Defence or Security

• include ideas that have no form of theoretical basis which can be described by reasoned explanation

• an unsolicited resubmission of a previous DASA proposal

• do not include an evaluation of how the ideas could be disruptive in the future and impact on Defence or Security
  Your proposal would not be expected to deliver a proof of concept capable of validation in a laboratory-style environment.

5. How to apply for Phase 1

Submission deadline

Midday (GMT) on Tuesday 5 December 2023

Where do I submit my proposal?

You must submit your 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.

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.

Total funding available in Phase 1

The total possible funding available for this competition is £750,000 (ex VAT).

The value of each submission must be for a fixed amount of £50,000 (ex VAT). Failure to submit a proposal for this amount will result in the proposal being sifted out as non-compliant.

How many proposals will DASA fund in Phase 1

We anticipate that we will fund 15 proposals, all of which will be £50,000 (ex VAT) in value.

For further guidance

Click here for more information on our competition process. This competition is using specific assessment criteria, so, click here, for more information on how your proposal is assessed. Please be advised that the time allocated for assessment will be 30 minutes and not the traditional 90 minutes.

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

5.1 What your proposal must include

• The proposal should focus on the competition requirements – it should include recommendations for further research, if necessary, to better understand the potential of the S&T idea(s).
• 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 proposal and a completed finances section.
• Completed proposals must comply with the financial rules set for this competition. The fixed amount for each Phase 1 proposal is £50,000 (ex VAT). Proposals will be rejected as non-compliant if the financial cost is not for this fixed amount .
• 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 that clearly includes the requested deliverables of a final report and a final presentation must be provided. Proposals without these deliverables included will be rejected as non-compliant.
• A maximum of 2 payment milestones. The final payment milestone must be at least 20% of the overall project cost, as outlined in the terms and conditions.
• You should also plan for attendance at a kick-off meeting at the start of the project, and a presentation to the MOD Board as your final deliverable. Please also plan for regular reviews with the appointed Technical Partner and Project Manager at the end of month 1 and month 2; all meetings will be in the UK. Meetings may also take place virtually.
• Your proposal must demonstrate how you will complete all activities / services and provide all deliverables within the competition timescales (5 months). Proposals with the final report deliverable outside the competition timeline will be rejected as non-compliant.

5.2 What your resourcing plan should include

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

 If your proposal is recommended for funding

In the event of a proposal being recommended for funding, 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. The timely submission of requested documentation by the innovator will impact this process. This will take place during February and March 2024 to allow for contracts to start in April 2024.

As contracts are of 5 months in duration, any ethical / legal / regulatory factors identified within your proposal will not be accepted.

MODREC approvals can take up to 5 months therefore any proposals identifying the need for MODREC approval will be sifted out as non-compliant. Please contact your Innovation Partner for further guidance.
Requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA), for example, information, equipment, materials and facilities, may not be included in your proposal. Given the timescales and nature of the competition, no GFA will be available.

5.3 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.

5.4 Cyber risk assessment

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-154454905 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.

If you any questions please contact accelerator@dstl.gov.uk

5.5 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 organisation 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.

5.6 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 for this competition will be taken forward to full assessment.

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 sections of the DASA submission service how it meets the assessment criteria for this competition	Pass / Fail
The proposal clearly details a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan, which includes the two required deliverables, to complete the work proposed	Pass / Fail
The proposal does not include the need for MODREC approval	Pass / Fail
The proposal includes some element of original work, e.g. through experimentation, testing, simulation or modelling. It is not solely a review and compilation of the work of others.	Pass/ Fail
The proposal does not require any GFA	Pass / Fail
Value of proposal is £50,000 (ex VAT)	Pass / Fail
The proposal demonstrates how all research and development activities / services (including delivery of the final report) will be completed 5 months from award of contract (or less)	Pass / Fail
The bidder has obtained the authority to provide unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Contract	Pass / Fail
The bidder has confirmed they are available to attend the final presentation, this is a required deliverable	Pass / Fail

Proposals that pass Stage 1 will then be assessed against the assessment criteria for this competition (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.

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.

Bidders are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

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

5.7 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) Terms and Schedules. We will require unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions; if applicable, please ensure your commercial department has provided their acceptance. Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to run the project) and a Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact). We will use deliverables from DASA contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract terms and conditions.

For this competition, £750,000 (ex VAT) 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.

6. Competition key dates

Competition Briefing and Q&A

10:30 (GMT) on Tuesday 31 October

Competition closes

Midday (GMT) on Tuesday 5 December 2023

Decision release

Friday 1 March 2024

Feedback Release

Friday 5 April 2024

Contracting

Aim to be on contract in April 2024 and end 5 months later

End of Project Presentation

September 2024

7. Help: Contact the DASA Help Centre

Competition queries on process, proposal 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.

---

1. Note: While we refer to Technology Readiness Levels – the outputs do not have to relate to technology and equipment. Any early stage research or idea of relevance to Defence or Security is within scope.