Guidance

Frequently Asked Questions: Biosecurity Frontiers

Updated 11 May 2026

1. Competition Clarifications

Q: Are international companies able to submit proposals into the Biosecurity Frontiers competition?

A:  The Biosecurity Frontiers themed competition is a UK initiative, focused on delivering the UK Biological Security Strategy and the 2025 National Security Strategy. This competition is only open to innovators based within the UK. We welcome proposals from across the full range of UK based suppliers including academia, individuals (i.e. sole traders), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies.

If you are an international company, to be eligible to submit a proposal into this competition you must have a UK registered business listed at Companies House. You must be based in the UK and intending to carry out project development activity within the UK.

International teams can also seek to collaborate with UK teams of their choosing. To assist with collaboration, consider entering your details into the Biosecurity Frontiers collaboration survey.

Q: What specific operational problem is the highest priority within this competition?

A:  The competition document provides information on the challenges this innovation call is trying to resolve. Each competition challenge area was chosen as it represents a critical gap in the UK Biological Security sector.

Challenge 1: Biodetection and Biosurveillance

Challenge 2: AI and Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Vaccines

Challenge 3: Non-pharmaceutical protective systems

All three themes are of equal priority - and will ensure delivery of priority national security themes in both the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy and the 2025 National Security Strategy.

Q: Does this competition apply to the armed services at risk of biologics in austere environments, or is it just for domestic security?

A:  The use cases are not limited to domestic security. Proposals taken through to funding may include front line users (e.g. police, military, NHS/public health) and related applications.

Q: Who are the primary end users of the solution, and what level of technical expertise do they have?

A:  End users of funded solutions may be Government officials, or front-line users such as police, military, NHS or public health.

Q: Can I address chemical threats in my Biosecurity Frontiers proposal, and will it help my proposal to be prioritised?

A:  Whilst dealing with chemical threats might add value to your innovation. For this competition, it is viewed as an additional benefit to dealing with the biological threats. Biological threats are the fundamental problem the Biosecurity Frontiers competition are trying to solve across the following priority areas:

• Challenge 1: Biodetection and Biosurveillance

• Challenge 2: AI and Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Vaccines

• Challenge 3: Non-pharmaceutical protective systems

You may find the list of priority pathogens useful to guide which specific threats we want to address.

2. Proposal submissions

Q: What support is available before making a full proposal?

A:  We recommend following up with your local UKDI Innovation Partner and possibly submitting an Innovation Outline to prepare for your proposal submission. These are not mandatory steps before submitting a proposal but gives a steer on whether your proposal is likely to be in scope.

Q: How can I submit an innovation outline?

A:  To submit an Innovation Outline (IO):

• log in to the submission service

• select the service category UKDI Innovation Outline

• from the service name select Innovation Outline: Biosecurity Frontiers

• complete the form

Your local Innovation Partner will be able to advise you on the IO content.

Submission of an IO for this competition will allow socialisation of the idea across the competition team, and all elements of the IO will be shared. The competition team is made up of UKDI, Dstl staff, the Cabinet Office and representatives from other departments of state with policy responsibility for biosecurity. You should receive a response within two weeks, confirming whether or not your idea is in scope. The competition closes at 12:00 Midday on 10 June 2026 (BST). UKDI cannot guarantee a response to an IO received after 27 May 2026.

Q: What level of solution maturity is expected at the point of submission or initial deployment?

A:  The competition document outlines the expected TRL levels for this competition.

Proposals must address at least one of the challenges and move technologies through TRL. Innovations must progress up to a minimum of TRL 4 and a maximum of TRL 6 for Challenge 1 and 3, and a maximum of TRL 7 for Challenge 2. Innovations must progress through at least one TRL during the project, with a maximum project length of 12 months.

Q: What type of evidence or demonstration is expected for a successful application?

A:  This is dependent on your submission into the challenge area. If you need specific help please discuss with your Innovation Partner. Please review guidance on TRLs to gain an indication of acceptable outcomes for your proposal.

Q: Are consortium-based or partner-led applications encouraged or accepted?

A:  We accept individual submissions but also encourage collaboration between innovators for this competition. To support this, we have set up a collaboration survey to collect details of those who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. If you are interested, please complete the collaboration survey by 04 June 2026.

All collaboration for proposal submissions is on an innovator-innovator basis. It is the innovators’ responsibility to determine the suitability of collaborators.

Inclusion or absence of collaboration will not affect assessment.

Q: Within my proposal do I need to include details on PPI and supply chains?

A:  The competition document provides information on the Biosecurity Frontiers challenges that the competition is trying to resolve. You can include wider context if it helps to explain the relevance of your innovation proposal.

Q: Can I submit requests for Government Furnished Assets (GFA/GFX)?

A:  GFX could be equipment, information or resources that are government-owned and loaned (on a free-of-charge basis) to a contractor to assist in the completion of the contract. GFX is not provided lightly and only where there are substantial and pressing reasons (e.g. where there would be significant financial or quality benefits to the work as a result of using GFX). Therefore, if there is a demonstrable need that can only be met via GFX, this should be detailed in your proposal.

We cannot guarantee that you will be successful with your request for GFX and advise that you think of a backup plan. Ensure that your proposal includes how it can still progress without the requested GFX.

Q: How will the proposals be prioritised for funding, considering that there are 3 challenges and only 5-7 projects will be funded?

A:  Funded projects will be chosen based on their relevance to the competition challenges, and their success in passing the assessment process. Each of the competition challenges are equal priorities as they are cross cutting in nature and will benefit multiple end users.

3. General

Q: How can I find my UKDI Innovation Partner?

A:  You can find your UKDI Innovation Partner by going onto the UKDI “get in touch with us” webpage. You can then submit an inquiry form or an innovation outline, and that will be directed to the person covering your local region.

Q: What is the link to the collaboration survey?

A:  A collaboration survey is open for this competition. The survey enables innovators and innovation teams to enter their details within the collaboration survey for this competition. Each participant needs to provide an overview of what they’re looking for to join with other innovators on a joint proposal.

Consider what would make your potential proposal better. Explain what you are looking for to enhance your team. The expertise you can offer that will make you attractive to another innovation team to partner with you. The survey is circulated on a weekly basis with other survey participants. It is up to innovators to decide to reach out to other innovators and discuss the idea of working together on a joint bid.

You may want to discuss the collaboration survey with your innovation partner. In addition to the large number of regional defence and security clusters across the UK, which are designed to help foster collaboration. You can follow up with your innovation partner and find out if there is a cluster in your region, as an avenue to possibly locate potential collaborator partners.

Link to collaboration survey

Q: What would a successful deployment look like in practice within a government setting?

A:  Deployment of successful proposals will be dependent on the technology readiness levels (TRL) of the final project outcome. Proposals submitted into Challenge 1 and Challenge 3 must progress up to a minimum of TRL 4 and a maximum of TRL 6, and for Challenge 2 proposals must progress up to a minimum of TRL 4 and a maximum of TRL 7. Please review guidance on TRLs to gain an indication of acceptable outcomes for your proposal.

Q: Who are the speakers and/or departments that were involved with the launch event?

A:  Speakers represented the breadth of the Biological Security community in Government, including those from:

• Department for Health and Social Care

• The Office for Life Sciences

• Ministry of Defence (including the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory)

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (including the Environment Agency)

• The Home Office

• UK Health Security Agency

• Cabinet Office

We are unable to share contact details of Government Officials

Q: Will there be opportunities to foster innovative connections between parties?

A:  We encourage collaboration between innovators 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, please complete the collaboration survey by 04 June 2026. 

All collaboration for proposal submissions is on an innovator-innovator basis. It is the innovators’ responsibility to determine the suitability of collaborators.

Inclusion or absence of collaboration will not affect assessment.

Q:  Can I use facilities or equipment that belongs to a government department, that we have access to via our own networks/contacts?

A:  We cannot fund other Government bodies as part of this competition. This means your proposal can not include costs that would result in payments being made to gain expert help or sub-contract effort from a government employee. However, you can buy datasets, rent lab space or buy cell cultures etc, as long as this facility is reasonably available to other potential bidders, it would be acceptable.