Research Innovation Enterprise

DASA launches new approach to accelerate innovative solutions for UK defence

The Early Market Engagement pilot scheme will run collaborative workshops for Defence to work with industry and academia.

 

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is excited to announce the launch of a new Early Market Engagement (EME) pilot initiative on the theme of Uncrewed Systems. This pilot aims to collaboratively curate problems alongside industry and academia to determine whether a full competition in this area is required. The initial pilot will concentrate on two critical sub-systems of Uncrewed Systems:

Why is Early Market Engagement needed?

The MOD Innovation Directorate, and Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) are collaborating with industry to improve Defence’s capacity to turn innovative solutions into needed capabilities. The EME pilot will collect insights from industry experts to better understand specific problem areas. This proactive strategy aims to challenge problems and identify potential solutions that could rapidly deliver capability for defence. The DASA Early Market Engagement initiative forms part of the MOD’s overall intent to improve its engagement with industry and market early on their capability challenges.

Who can attend?

The EME workshops welcome participants from both academia and industry. Workshop attendance is limited to one person per company and the attendee must have a good understanding of the problem space and the relevant technology that their company has. The workshops will function as open forums, and participants must be prepared to engage in discussions. Please note that these workshops will be conducted at OFFICIAL classification.

You can find further details about the pilot and full details of the problem statements in the Early Market Engagement document.

Workshop dates and registration:

The EME workshops will take place in three locations over six dates as shown below, to apply to attend a workshop visit the Eventbrite page. Applications close at 12:00 midday on 31 October 2024 (GMT).

Bristol:

  • Position, Navigation & Timing (PNT) – 19 November 2024
  • Low-cost, Fast Engines – 20 November 2024

London:

  • Position, Navigation & Timing (PNT) – 26 November 2024
  • Low-cost, Fast Engines – 27 November 2024

Newcastle:

  • Position, Navigation & Timing (PNT) – 12 November 2024
  • Low-cost, Fast Engines – 13 November 2024

Interested? Read the full Early Market Engagement document to learn more.