Guidance

Early Market Engagement Pilot: Uncrewed Systems

Published 30 September 2024

1. What is the Early Market Engagement Pilot?

Early Market Engagement (EME) is an activity to understand the size and maturity of the market prior to a formal procurement process. EME enables The Ministry of Defence (MOD) to refine and articulate our requirements clearly and helps to identify the best route to market. Through this process we are able to understand the feasibility of alternative options to help us deliver better public goods and services.

MOD, together with the Defence Suppliers Forum Capability Management and Innovation working group, have identified several ways to work with industry to enhance defence’s ability to transform innovative solutions into capabilities linked to customer demand signals.

This approach will look to seek feedback and insights on MOD problems from industry and academia, to challenge both the problem itself, and avoid running innovation challenges if potential solutions already exist. EME will enable MOD to focus on accelerating innovative solutions from suppliers from all technological and industrial sectors, which can be delivered through the defence supply chain, with a focus on the added commercialisation routes of dual-use and exportability.

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is running an EME pilot activity on the theme of Uncrewed Systems. DASA’s EME will ensure adherence to the principles of fairness, equal treatment and transparency. EME workshops will allow MOD to explore specific areas of Uncrewed Systems before any direct market engagement through DASA’s competition process. The EME will:

• Ask important questions to potential suppliers
• Openly discuss and seek feedback on the problem statement, and better understand the problems currently faced in the specific areas
• Gain a better understanding of what the market can supply and any constraints
• Raise awareness of the potential procurement

DASA will run a series of workshops to engage with industry and academia on the challenge areas. Those with a relevant technology (currently available or in development), subject matter expertise or commercialisation route are invited to submit an application to attend.

The DASA Early Market Engagement initiative forms part of MOD’s overall intent to improve its engagement with industry and market early on our capability challenges.

2. Challenge:

The initial pilot will concentrate on two critical sub-systems of Uncrewed Systems:

• Position, Navigation and Timing in Highly Contested Environments. Click here to read the problem statement in full.
• Low-cost, Fast Engines. Click here to read the problem statement in full.

3. Workshops:  

Attendance at our EME workshops will allow you to:

• Understand, challenge or provide insight into MOD’s problem challenge areas
• to consider the potential development of new or modified current capabilities

Key points of discussion at the workshop will be captured in a report for use within MOD only. This will help inform the next steps for the challenges.  

The workshops will be an open (non-confidential) forum and attendees must be willing to take part in open discussion. Workshops will operate at OFFICIAL classification. 

Workshops will be held in Bristol, Newcastle and London (dates listed below). This will be a day long (0930-1600) activity for each challenge topic.

4. How to apply:

Requests to Attend can be submitted via the Eventbrite page.

You will be asked for a short statement on the expertise you would bring to the workshop and an overview of any engagement you have had with MOD.

Depending on the level of demand, DASA may not be able to accept all applications. DASA will notify you as to whether or not you have been successful in securing a place at the workshop shortly after the closing date. 

In the event of high demand, the responses will be sifted. Places at the workshop will be allocated to those that are able to demonstrate the greatest relevance to the challenge in the Request to Attend form.     

5. Eligibility:

This activity is open to all of industry and academia. Applications for a place at a workshop are limited to one person per organisation. The attendee must have a good understanding of the problem space and the relevant technology that their organisation or institution has. Attendees will be expected to self-fund any travel and subsistence costs.

6. Next steps:

The output of the workshops will inform the next steps for this challenge area.   If a competition is an appropriate follow-on step, applicants will be notified when it is announced. Please note that EME activity does not commit us to a follow-on formal procurement process.

7. Key dates:

Close: 12:00, midday on 31 October 2024 (GMT)

Workshop dates:            

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

8. Support:

Event queries including on process, application, commercial, technical and intellectual property aspects should be sent to the DASA Help Centre at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the event title. If you wish receive future updates on this event 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.

You can also contact your Innovation Partner for further guidance.

9. How we use your information:

Information you provide to us in your application, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in-confidence. By submitting an application you are giving us permission to keep and use the information for our internal purposes, and to provide the information onwards, in-confidence, within UK Government. The Defence and Security Accelerator will not use or disclose the information for any other purpose, without first requesting permission to do so.