Disruptive Science and Technology Impacting the Future of Defence

Key Features

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.

Programme:     DASA

Award:     Share of up to £750k

Opens: 16th Sep 2022

Closes: 12th Oct 2022

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

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. 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).

Scope

The ideas sought for this competition may not fulfil any current Defence requirement. Geo-politics, environmental issues, economics and many other factors will shape future scenarios and Defence requirements.

The aim of this competition is to identify new ideas and ways of doing things that are potentially disruptive to Defence and then to further develop the understanding of the ideas and their future impact. It is likely that further research will be required to develop the understanding of the ideas. 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. The outcome of the work should be an exciting flavour of what might be possible and what the affects might be, rather than a detailed study developing the understanding of the science.

DASA 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 innovating 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 theoretical basis, supported by reasoned explanation.

For further information on the competition, please see here.

Eligibility

DASA are interested in novel, very low TRL S&T ideas which could either benefit Defence 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
  • 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
  • development of concepts of how the ideas might be deployed in the future to become either an opportunity or threat to Defence
  • clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to Defence

Exclusions

DASA are not interested in proposals that:

  • include innovation that is 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
  • suggest ideas that cannot apply to Defence
  • include ideas that have no form of theoretical basis which can be described by reasoned explanation
  • constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without further development
  • 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

Funding Costs

The total possible funding available for this competition is approximately £750k (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.

How many proposals will DASA fund

We anticipate that we will fund around 15 proposals all of which will be £50k in value.

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.