Notice

Electro Optic Sensing Technologies: Competition Document

Published 9 November 2026

1. Introduction

This UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) competition is run on behalf of the Electro Optic Sensing (EOS) project. It is seeking proposals that enhance defence’s Electro-Optic Infrared (EOIR) capability to operate in contested, degraded environments.

We are looking for innovative solutions that could be demonstrated in a relevant environment within 12 to 24 months that address the following challenge areas;

1. Infrared active imaging

2. Detection and characterisation of laser sources on the battlefield and technologies to counter electromagnetic jamming

3. Cost effective wide area day and night sensing through challenging environments

4. Detection and ID of dim and distant targets in cluttered environments

5. Underwater environmental sensing and technologies for imaging through turbid media

6. Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) for 3D LiDAR data

7. Machine learning methods for Hyperspectral Imaging
8. Low SWaP-C Hyperspectral sensors for tactical platforms
9. High resolution imaging through aperture synthesis

In this competition we will be running a two-stage process. This approach helps innovators quickly understand whether their idea is a good fit for the competition, saving time and effort when applying. The table below summarises the differences and expectations of the 2 stages.

STAGE	PURPOSE	EXPECTED CONTENT
Submission Stage 1	Initial innovation screening	Idea overview with outline technical plan
Submission Stage 2	Full detailed proposal review (by invitation only)	Detailed proposal with full technical description, detailed project plan and finance breakdown

All Stage 1 submissions will be carefully reviewed by the Electro Optic Sensing competition team. They will look for ideas that align well with the competition, demonstrate a strong chance of successful delivery, and meet the customer’s needs. Submissions that demonstrate a good fit will be invited to progress to Stage 2 to submit a full proposal. The abstract and title should match the Stage 1 proposal, or at a minimum continue to represent the same proposed project that was submitted at Stage 1.

2. Competition key information   

Key Information	Competition Details
Stage 1 submission deadline	12:00 Midday on 9 December 2026 (GMT)
Stage 1 decision release	12:00 Midday on 16 December 2026 (GMT)
Stage 2 open (by invitation)	12:00 Midday on 6 January 2027 (GMT)
Stage 2 submission deadline	12:00 Midday on 23 February 2027 (GMT)
Total funding available	£2.8 million (excluding VAT). 5 to 7 proposals are expected to be funded.
Individual proposal cost limit must not exceed £600k
Technology Readiness Level (TRL)	Projects must complete between TRL 3-6, and progress through at least one TRL during the project duration
Contract start month	Aim to start May 2027
Project duration	between to 12 months or less than 24 months
Risk Assessment Reference	RAR-ZDKLPF3, Risk Level 1
Stage 2 feedback release date	30 April 2027
Stage 1 and 2 pre-sift criteria	See Section 9 Pre-sift Criteria

2.1 Competition Specific Requirements

Please note that this competition has specific requirements as part of its pre-sift criteria for both Stage 1 and Stage 2. Only those proposals submitted that demonstrate compliance with the UKDI pre-sift criteria at each stage will be taken forward to full review at Stage 1 and assessment at Stage 2. 

For the full list of criteria, please see the pre-sift criteria section below. 

2.2 UK Only Eligibility

To be eligible to submit a proposal into this competition you must be a UK registered business listed at Companies House, a sole trader, or an academic institution in the UK and intend to undertake the project work in the UK. Your organisation does not need to be UK-owned. Additional guidance for international innovators can be found here. Please read this guidance before contacting UKDI.

2.3 Where do I submit my proposal?

Both Stage 1 and Stage 2 forms are to be submitted via the UKDI Online Submission Service where you will need to register for an account. Only proposals submitted through the UKDI Online Submission Service will be accepted.

Innovators are strongly advised to submit their proposal at least one hour before the deadline. Proposals submitted close to the deadline risk encountering issues that cannot be resolved in time.

Responsibility for timely submission rests entirely with the innovator, no extensions will be made. If you are having problems submitting your proposal, email us prior to the deadline on accelerator@dstl.gov.uk or call 01980 950000 option 3 Monday to Friday 0900-1200 only).

2.4 Public facing information

When submitting your Stage 1 and 2 proposals, you will be required to include a title, Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and a short abstract. The title, PVPS and abstract you provide will be used by UKDI, and Partners Across Government (PAG), to describe your project and its intended outcomes and benefits. They may be included at UKDI events in relation to this competition and in documentation such as brochures. As this information can be shared, it should not contain information that may compromise Intellectual Property.

The abstract and title should match the Stage 1 proposal, or at a minimum continue to represent the same proposed project that was submitted at Stage 1, this is a pre-sift requirement.

2.5 Further guidance

For further guidance on what to expect during the submission process and how your proposal will be assessed, please see the following GOV.UK pages and forms:

• Submit a proposal
• Assessment process and criteria
• How to work with UK Defence Innovation (UKDI)
• Advice for UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) Prospective Applicants
• UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) Bid Writing Guidance
• Defence and Security Accelerator: ethical, legal and regulatory guidance
• MODREC Guidance for Suppliers
• Competition Terms and Conditions
• UKDI contracting guidance
• Cyber Security Model

3. Supporting activities

3.1 Electro Optic Sensing Technology Webinar

A webinar for the Electro-Optic Sensing competition will be published soon. It will give more detail on the challenge areas and the problem the competition aims to solve. Watch the webinar before you submit any questions.

3.2 Collaboration survey

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.

The information (including personal details) you provide will be circulated among the innovators who have completed the survey. The sharing of details will only be done after an initial screening process has taken place, we reserve the right to not share all details.

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.

4. Points of Contact

During the competition phase all correspondence must be via the UKDI Points of Contact detailed below.

While all reasonable efforts will be made to answer queries, UKDI reserves the right to impose management controls if volumes of queries restrict fair access of information to all potential innovators.

4.1 Innovation Partner

UKDI has a team of locally based Innovation Partners that can provide support in working with UKDI. If you are a UK business, SMEs, start-up, sole trader, academic institution or research organisation, it is strongly recommended that you contact your local Innovation Partner to discuss your idea for any aspect of this competition.

Innovation Partners are civil servants employed by the UK Government.

To get in touch:

1. Register for an account on the UKDI submission service
2. Sign in to your supplier dashboard and select “Contact UKDI Innovation Partner” under guidance
3. An Innovation Partner will contact you within 15 working days

UKDI works with organisations of all sizes and backgrounds. You do not need previous experience of working with defence.

If you require support with submitting a proposal, please see our guidance documents.

4.2 UKDI Help Centre

Competition queries including on process, application, commercial, technical and intellectual property aspects should be sent to the UKDI Help Centre at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title.

UKDI cannot guarantee a response before the submission deadline if the query is received within two weeks of the Stage 1 submission deadline or within three weeks of the Stage 2 submission deadline.  This applies to both Innovation Partners and Help Centre.

5. Competition scope

5.1 Background

Electro-optic (EO) sensors are key to several military applications, including wide area detect and track for threat warning, target discrimination, and target identification. A particularly important attribute of EO sensors is their ability to discriminate and identify objects of interest. Additionally, EO sensors offer a complementary approach compared to radio frequency sensors, being able to detect objects in environments where radar is challenged (for example cluttered urban scenes), or to operate against targets that have a naturally lower radar signature (small and slow moving). Passive EO sensors also have the advantage of being able to sense in the military environment with high resolution, without generating radiation that could be detected by adversaries or threats.

The ever-evolving nature of warfare means that we want to invest in novel and resilient technologies, especially those that can provide additional sensing capability while functioning in contested or congested environments. We are looking for sensors which can extend the range of detection, expanding the variety of objects detected, provide additional information on targets, or increase the rate at which information can be gathered from the relevant environment.

These sensors could exploit any number of electro-optic phenomena, including conventional spatial information (shape) as well as active or passive spectral, polarimetric, three-dimensional or more exotic phenomena. To date, the vast majority of EO sensors use just spatial and limited spectral (3 colour) information, leaving a huge potential set of technologies and phenomena unexploited.

To provide the maximum advantage to our forces, sensors must be more effective than those of an adversary, indeed they should provide sustained outmatch in performance. Outmatch can mean the ability to operate at longer range than the adversary or providing other information on the scene. It can also involve more radically changing the concept of deployment of the sensor to achieve superior perception or improving operator effectiveness by understanding the situation more quickly (for example, by semantic information extraction) to respond to changes more quickly. In other applications, improved effectiveness may mean being able to do something completely novel that the adversary cannot or to be able to provide sense capability at a much lower cost so the number of sensors deployed can be greatly increased.

All domains, including space, are in scope for this competition.

5.2 Scope

We are seeking innovations in the field of electro-optic (EO) sensing technology for defence and security applications. Primarily this means sensors operating in the electromagnetic spectrum from the ultraviolet to the far infrared (200nm – 20µm in wavelength). Imaging sensors are in scope, as are those that provide detection of objects of interest with some additional information like bearing or range. Non-imaging sensors that may interrogate an object of interest and provide additional information about an object are also in scope, including Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), neuromorphic sensors, spectral sensing, vibrometry, and analysis of size/dimension information.

The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of proposals should aim to achieve TRL 3 to 6  by the end of the project. It is therefore essential to show how your concept would benefit defence and security users and how it could be deployed.

Dstl will endeavour to make available some access to outdoor experimentation facilities at Dstl Porton Down (availability is subject to operational requirements). The Dstl facilities allow users to operate low TRL equipment, including laser systems, in a warm dry laboratory environment while being able to observe objects at extended ranges in real world conditions. Lasers can safely be used at the Dstl test range over specific paths, such that targets can be situated at a number of distances ranging from 150m to 4.4km. Subject to availability, successful bidders who would benefit from the opportunity to conduct a trial at range and demonstrate their developments to wider MOD stakeholders will be offered the opportunity to access the Dstl laser range for a week around Q3/4 2027 and Q3/4 2028. Any costs associated with trial attendance will be borne by the supplier but can be included in the proposal. The cost of the laser range will be met by Dstl.

Sensor concepts should be able to be integrated into a SAPIENT sensor network (BSI Flex 335).

At the end of the 2-year timeframe, there will be a symposium to which Dstl/MoD stakeholders will be invited. Contractors are required to attend to present the results of their work to stakeholders.

5.3 Exploitation

Exploitation of the technology developed in this competition will be via multiple routes.

• It is expected that the greatest exploitation benefit will be through suppliers increasing the TRL level of their concepts, and using the developments to create new products or feed concepts into a product development chain, so that MOD can access the technology in future
• The Sense and Understand Programme has a number of stakeholders in all of commands, across land, maritime, air, space and joint operations. Regular discussions are held with MOD stakeholders to exploit work from the EOS project.

6. Competition challenges

You must address one of the challenges below. Proposals should make clear which challenge(s) their solution addresses. Proposals that fulfil more than one challenge are acceptable, but rather than trying to make two related ideas which address different challenges fit into one bid, you are encouraged to consider submitting separate proposals to each challenge area to allow separate assessment of each idea (max. number of bids submitted per organisation is limited to 3 submissions). Any related bids should acknowledge any duplication or overlap of work (noting cost reductions should both proposals be funded), but all bids must be stand-alone proposals and not be dependent on another proposal being successfully funded.

6.1 Challenge 1: Infrared active imaging

The aim of the project is to improve MODs ability to identify difficult targets (camouflaged, occluded, fast moving) at long range (>1 km) to support assisted target recognition (ATR) of non-cooperative targets. Active imaging in the short-wave infrared at 1.5 µm supports this capability by enabling the rejection of background and foreground clutter and providing 3D imagery. In this project, we aim to improve upon this capability by shifting the operating wavelength into the mid-infrared (2-5 µm) (stretch goal: long-wave infrared (7-8 µm)) to exploit the higher transmission through the atmosphere and through battlefield obscurants (fog, smoke, dust).

The challenge is to identify a tank type at a range of 4 km when the vehicle is 70% occluded by foliage between the sensor and vehicle. A secondary goal is to demonstrate improved imaging capability versus passive imaging or SWIR active imaging through fog. The imaging system needs to provide a spatial resolution of 30 cm, range resolution of 30 cm, high fidelity rejection of fore-ground clutter and provide imagery at a frame rate of 10 Hz.

Exclusions:

Laser research or development. The authority will provide laser sources and laser risk assessment for demonstration activities. The laser illumination sources will be pulsed and operate at two distinct pulse repetition rates to support different sensor technologies but with comparable average power (circa 100 mW):

• 100 kHz repetition rate at 3.5 µm (and 7.8 µm) with pulse duration of 100 ps,
• 100 Hz repetition rate at 2.1 and 3.9 µm with pulse duration of 10 ns.

Two-dimensional mechanical scanning systems. Two dimensional scanning is excluded from the competition. The project should focus on rapid imaging technology that is able to generate 3D images at 10 Hz rate. Scanning in one dimension is acceptable for this research project. For example, 2D array electronically scanning depth or a 1D array, able to capture depth information, that is physically scanned vertically or horizontally.

Image processing for assisted target recognition (ATR) is not in scope for this challenge but image processing to improve the image quality (for example rolling average to eliminate speckle noise) is in scope provided it is consistent with 10Hz frame rate and operates with minimal latency.

6.2 Challenge 2: Detection and characterisation of laser sources on the battlefield and technologies to counter electromagnetic jamming

Lasers are increasingly used on the battlefield for a variety of applications including sensing, ranging and targeting. Real time detection, classification and threat warning are vital across all domains. We are interested in technologies that can detect, record and locate continuous wave and pulsed laser threats across the visible to extended short wave infrared (eSWIR) wavelength range. For this challenge, maritime and air platforms are of particular interest.

Alongside detecting laser threats, we seek proposals that can protect EO sensors from electromagnetic interference to ensure sensing capability is not degraded in contested environments.

6.3 Challenge 3. Cost effective wide area day and night sensing through challenging environments

Maintaining sensing capability over a large physical area that is cluttered is challenging irrespective of sensing modality. For EO, there is a trade off between wide field of view systems that lack in resolution for target ID and narrow field of view systems that can only see a small area. Varying environmental conditions such as rain, fog and changing lighting conditions are also challenging and drive up the complexity and cost of an EO system that can maintain performance against a diverse target set.

We are interested in EO sensor technologies that can provide a cost-effective means of maintaining sensing capability over a large land area (10’s km2) against dismounts, vehicles, UAS and low flying air threats. The proposed solution must be able to provide real time detections with a low false alarm rate and pass on a location message which can then be used by another sensor or sensing platform to provide a positive ID. The proposal must also be autonomous as well as cost effective so multiple units could be used to cover a very large area and processing should be done at the edge.

6.4 Challenge 4. Detection and ID of dim and distant targets in cluttered environments

Detection and ID at the greatest possible range is obviously advantageous for providing increased reaction time and to overmatch adversaries. However, retrieving actionable information from a target that is only a few pixels (or even sub pixel) in size is challenging. Furthermore, false alarms and detecting targets from background noise and clutter increases the detection threshold and prevents ID.

This challenge seeks to address the problem of detecting and positively identifying targets that are at the limits of EO sensor range (and therefore a few pixels in size) and being able to reliability distinguish the target from background clutter and positively ID it. Of particular interest are air targets travelling just above sea / ground level as well as small slow moving air targets that can be difficult to distinguish from clutter and other air targets such as birds or civilian aviation. Solutions can be passive or active but should not assume there is cross cueing from a RADAR system.

6.5 Challenge 5. Underwater environmental sensing and technologies for imaging through turbid media

Long range (>50m) temperature and salinity sensing is important for underwater mapping. Optical spectroscopy techniques such as Brillouin and Raman have been reported in literature as potential solutions for creating a depth profile of temperature and salinity. We are interested in technologies that could provide temperature and salinity measurements in real time through a > 50 m column of water with a depth resolution of better than 0.5m. A temperature accuracy of less than 0.2ºC is required, preferably much lower. A salinity accuracy of better than <0.5 Practical salinity units (PSU) is also required. Consideration of how measurements could be made across different maritime environments must be made as well as any calibration steps required. As a minimum, the technique should be demonstrated in a water tank environment, but it is not necessary for the optical system to be deployed underwater at this stage. As a secondary application, use of a laser to estimate the biomass present in the water column are desirable.

Alongside underwater sensing, we are also interested in obtaining 3D images at distances >20 m through turbid water, with a range resolution less than 5cm and a transverse spatial resolution of less than 1cm.

6.6 Challenge 6. Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) for 3D LiDAR data

We wish to improve capability in machine learning techniques for automatic target recognition (ATR) from 3-Dimensional spatial data (e.g. LiDAR).

We require proposals that will:

• Acquire at least 50 3D models of different military ground vehicles
• Generate synthetic LiDAR data sets from those models to enable training of ML models for classification and ID of the vehicles. The training data sets should enable a trained model to identify vehicles at different orientations (minimum of 4), behind partial obscuration (up to 75% of vehicle), at a range of look down angles (from 0o to 30o), and with average point density from 1 point/m2 to 50 points/m2
• The synthesised LiDAR data must be representative of a SPC LiDAR system used by Dstl, the details of which will be shared with the contractor
• The synthetic data should be used to train at least one ATR algorithm (preferably a range of techniques will be tested), which should be characterised against the usual performance metrics
• To deliver all 3D models, synthetic datasets and trained models to Dstl in a format to be agreed

6.7 Challenge 7. Machine learning methods for Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI)

Hyperspectral sensing has the potential to address multiple defence challenges by determining the materials of which an object is composed.  This can allow, for example, detection of hazardous chemicals, or distinguishing real military equipment from decoys.  Legacy processing methods such as matched filtering allow effective detection of spectrally distinctive materials but may fail for targets which are more spectrally similar to the background.  Dstl is seeking processing methods to improve spectral detection of such difficult targets.

Machine-learning (ML) offers a potential route to achieving these improvements.  So far application of machine learning to HSI has been held back by a lack of large, labelled training datasets and issues with the higher dimensionality of the input data.  Where ML methods have been applied to HSI, they have often been used for problems such as land-cover classification, whereas defence often requires detection of small, rare targets, which is a subtly different problem.

Potential solutions could include but are not limited to:

• Machine learning methods for detection of small targets in hyperspectral data
• Creation of a large datasets suited to training and verification for small target detection
• Methods for augmenting training data synthetically
• Increased utilisation of spatial as well as spectral information for hyperspectral target detection
• (For “snapshot” hyperspectral sensors) Increased use of temporal information (e.g. through tracking processes) for target detection and tracking in hyperspectral video

Dstl can provide a sample HSI dataset as Government Furnished Information (GFI) for training and testing of novel algorithms, consisting of approximately 150 images in each of the visible-near infrared (VNIR), short-wave infrared (SWIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) wavebands, each containing about 600 ground-truthed targets.

6.8 Challenge 8. Low SWaP-C Hyperspectral sensors for tactical platforms

Conventional hyperspectral systems are costly and complex, with significant size, weight and power requirements. This somewhat limits their deployment to larger more expensive platforms positioned far back. The remote nature of such sensors offers advantages, but the detection and identification of small or concealed targets from long range is more challenging; targets will likely be subpixel, with considerable spectral mixing. To address this challenge Dstl are interested in hyperspectral systems (> 30 spectral bands) with a low SWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power and Cost) footprint for integration onto attritable tactical platforms, e.g. small UAVs (Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles), that would enable target detection and identification in contested environments further forward.

We expect there to be a trade-off between sensor performance (spectral resolution, spatial resolution, signal to noise ratio) and associated SWaP-C of the system but would require performance to be sufficient to be able to distinguish targets such as real from decoy equipment and camouflage from natural background. Proposals must also demonstrate improvements in either SWaP-C or sensor performance over currently-available commercial solutions.  We are particularly interested in systems that operate in the SWIR.  Novel detector technologies such as colloidal quantum dots may offer new routes to lower-cost sensing in this band. Sensors that include edge processing for effective HSI target detection on SWaP constrained platforms are also desirable. We are not interested in proposals that solely focus on the integration of a sensor onto a platform.

6.9 Challenge 9. High resolution long range imaging through aperture synthesis

Electro-optical aperture synthesis offers the potential to significantly enhance the spatial resolution of optical imaging systems.  However, its practical implementation has been constrained by the need for extremely precise optical path-length control and optical beam combination (co-phasing).  These requirements become increasingly demanding at shorter optical wavelengths.

This challenge seeks innovative approaches for achieving optical aperture synthesis using a distributed array of physically separated electro-optical sensors with a common field of view, where information is combined electrically rather than through direct optical beam combination.  The objective is to enable practical, scalable aperture synthesis architectures that relax the stringent alignment and co-phasing requirements associated with conventional optical interferometry.

Additional aspects of this challenge include techniques to improve resilience to atmospheric turbulence, methods for recovering phase or image information from distributed measurements, and approaches that exploit the array to estimate the angular extent, passive ranging, structure, or morphology of observed targets.

6.10 We are interested in…

We want novel ideas to benefit end-users working in UK defence and security. Your proposal should include evidence of:

• the potential for your innovation to be translated into a practical demonstration in the future, whether it be theoretical development, method / technical advancement or proof of concept research
• innovation or a creative approach
• how the proposed work applies to any defence and/or security context

6.11 We are not interested in…

We are not interested in proposals that:

• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation
• are an unsolicited resubmission of a previous DASA or UKDI bid
• offer demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development
• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence and security capabilities
• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions

7. Critical elements to include

7.1 Stage 1

Stage 1 submissions must include the following elements:

• A description of what you propose to develop, demonstrating alignment with the scope
• A summary of how your technology works, being specific on expected performance parameters. Where possible include any evidence to support your claims (open-source literature, test results etc.)
• Any constraints on the use of your technology (e.g. a minimum size of satellite, large power requirements, etc.)
• Demonstrating how your proposal is new and innovative

7.2 Stage 2

When writing your Stage 2 proposal, ensure you have:

• the abstract and title matching the Stage 1 proposal, or at a minimum continue to represent the same proposed project that was submitted at Stage 1. Include the relevant ACC number provided to us at stage 1
• focused on the Competition requirements but also included a brief (un-costed) outline of the next stages of work required for exploitation
• included a list of other government funding you have received in this area. Making it clear how this proposal differs from that work
• included a detailed project plan with clear milestones and deliverables. Deliverables need to be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan. Your deliverables must include a written final report
• planned (and costed) attendance at the following meetings , which will all be in the UK.

    - a kick-off meeting at the start of the work

    - an end of project symposium at the end of the contract 

    - regular reviews with the appointed Technical Partner and Project Manager 

    - optional attendance at a Dstl hosted trial on the Porton Laser Range or suitable location. Details to be discussed based on innovation type.

    - close down meeting at the end of the project

These activities may take place virtually. Slides presented at these meetings should be appropriately marked and made available

• identified any ethical / legal / regulatory factors. Associated risks should have been added to the Risk Register in Step 5 of the submission service along with details of how they will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received
• included any requirements for access to Government Furnished X (GFX). GFX is the preferred nondescript term for anything that the Government provides in which the ‘X’ could be artefacts such as information or equipment. UKDI cannot guarantee that GFX will be made available. You should have included an alternative plan in your proposal in case it is not available.
• if you plan to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist in writing your bid, please refer to the guidance on our UKDI Standard Terms and Conditions - GOV.UK

8. Accelerating and exploiting your innovation

Ensure your Stage 2 deliverables are designed with the aim of making it as easy as possible for assessors to recognise expected development in technology maturity of the potential solution over the lifetime of the project. Specifically, how this demonstrates improved capability against the current known (or presumed) solutions.

Over the lifetime of UKDI awarded projects, ideas may mature and accelerate under the guidance of appropriate stakeholders, toward being functional capabilities. How long this takes, and how far towards a deployable capability the innovations progress, will depend on any future exploitation after the completion of the UKDI project.

Low TRL research and development may not be able to articulate exploitation in great detail, but it should be clear that there is credible advantage to be gained from the technology development.

8.1 Exploitation beyond your project plan

Include the following information within the Desirability question within the UKDI Online Submission Service application form at Stage 2 to help the assessors understand your exploitation intentions:

• expected additional work required beyond the end of the contract to develop an operationally deployable commercial product (for example, “scaling up” for manufacture, cyber security, integration with existing technologies, environmental operating conditions)
• additional future applications and wider markets for exploitation
• wider collaborations and networks you have already developed or any additional relationships you see as a requirement to support exploitation
• how your product could be tested in a representative environment in later phases
• any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

9. Pre-sift Criteria

Before your proposal is assessed, all proposals will be checked for compliance with the UKDI pre-sift criteria.  Proposals will be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply.

We may use a UKDI-approved AI tool to assist in the pre-sifting of innovator submissions. The use of AI will not alter our existing approach to protecting innovators’ intellectual property, confidentiality, or data. All submissions will continue to be handled in accordance with the same security, confidentiality, and intellectual property safeguards that currently apply to the competition process.

The AI tool will be used solely to support the evaluation process and will not make autonomous decisions. Any outputs generated by the AI tool will be reviewed by a human decision-maker, who will make the final determination regarding progression through the pre-sift stages.

9.1 Stage 1

To progress to a review of your idea, proposals must pass all Stage 1 pre-sift criteria. Failure against any single criterion will result in the proposal being excluded from further review.

Stage 1 Criteria	Measure - Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The Proposal has been received from a UK-based organisation, or from the UK-registered entity of an international organisation, with work being undertaken in the UK.	Pass / Fail
The innovation will deliver at no lower than TRL 3 and no higher than TRL 6 at the conclusion of your project	Pass / Fail
The innovation has clearly explained relevance to one or more of the competition challenges	Pass / Fail

9.2 Stage 2

To progress to full assessment, proposals must pass all Stage 2 pre-sift criteria. Failure against any single criterion will result in the proposal being excluded from further assessment. 

Stage 2 Criteria	Measure - Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The Proposal was invited to submit into Stage 2 Cycle, and includes the Stage 1 ACC number in the Proposal (Step 3)	Pass / Fail
The abstract and title should match the Stage 1 proposal, or at a minimum continue to represent the same proposed project that was submitted at Stage 1.	Pass / Fail
The Stage 2 Proposal is submitted by the same organisation as the invited Stage 1 submission	Pass / Fail
The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition	Pass / Fail
The proposal explains how it meets the UKDI criteria (Desirability, Feasibility%20for%20procurement-,Feasible,-You%20should%20assess), and Viability) in the relevant questions in Step 3 of the submission service	Pass / Fail
The proposal must contain a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan which demonstrate how the work proposed will be completed	Pass / Fail
The delivery schedule within your proposal includes evidence of a written final report	Pass / Fail
The proposal confirms there is no need for MODREC	Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal is £600,000	Pass / Fail
The final deliverable month indicated must be equal to 12 months or less than 24 months from T0  where T0 is the project start date agreed by both parties	Pass / Fail
TRL requirement: at the end of project should achieve TRL 3 - 6	Pass / Fail
To be eligible to submit a proposal into this competition you must be a UK registered business listed at Companies House, a sole trader, or an academic institution in the UK and intend to undertake the project work in the UK. Your organisation does not need to be UK-owned. Additional guidance for international innovators can be found here. Please read this guidance before contacting UKDI	Pass/Fail
The proposal does not contain attachments that have been used for additional text data over the stated word counts in Desirability, Feasibility, Viability and Additional Information	Pass / Fail
If the proposal is a resubmission of a previous one, it adheres to the resubmission guidelines	Pass / Fail

If you plan to submit multiple proposals, please read this guidance carefully, as there is a limit on the number that can be submitted.

The proposal limit for this competition is 3. Any proposals submitted above the limit will be sifted out based on the order in which they were received.

10. How your proposal will be assessed

10.1 Stage 1

Submissions into Stage 1 of this competition will be reviewed by the customer competition team.

Those that are selected will be invited to submit a more detailed proposal into Stage 2.

Those not selected will receive an email notifying them along with an indication of which of the review factors detailed in the introduction (alignment, delivery potential and meeting needs), was the main reason for not being invited into Stage 2.

No further feedback will be provided.

10.2 Stage 2

Proposals that are compliant at pre-sift in Stage 2 will be assessed against the standard UKDI assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), PAG and the front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to view or comment on assessors’ recommendations.

UKDI 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 UKDI for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting UKDI 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 at a Decision Conference where funding decisions are made based on the assessments, budget and wider strategic considerations.

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

11. UKDI Terms and Conditions

Please read the UKDI contracting guidance which contains important information for innovators. For this competition we will be using the Innovation Standard Contract (ISC), Terms and Conditions. Information on the relevant DEFCONs can be found by registering on the Knowledge in Defence site.

We require unqualified acceptance of the Terms and Conditions. Where innovator organisations have a commercial department they will need to provide acceptance.

We will use deliverables from UKDI contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract Terms and Conditions. This includes sharing deliverables   with the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand under 5-Eyes S&T Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), or with NATO partners.

11.1 Stage 2 Feedback

Proposals that are unsuccessful at Stage 2 will receive feedback in the form of bullet points and a couple of short paragraphs after the Decision Conference.

Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition at Stage 2, but is not funded, UKDI will continue to seek funding and shall consider your proposal fundable for 12 months from the date of the feedback release.

We will share the abstract, Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and title of your proposal with partners across His Majesty’s Government that may express an interest in funding the proposal through UKDI, in accordance with the competition document. We may also share this information on our cross-government Ideas Marketplace platform to foster collaboration and attempt to elicit funding. If partners across His Majesty’s Government wish to read the full proposal to decide if they will fund it, we will share the full proposal with them without seeking your permission if it is within 60 days of the feedback release date. If it is over 60 days since the feedback release date 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 feedback release date.

In the event that funding becomes available, UKDI may ask whether you would still be prepared to undertake the work outlined in your proposal under the same terms. Your official UKDI feedback will indicate if your proposal was deemed fundable, but not awarded funding at the time.

12. If your proposal is recommended for funding

Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to monitor the project) and a Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact). In addition, the UKDI team may work with an innovator to support delivery and exploitation including, when appropriate, introductions to end-users and business support to help develop their business.

For funded projects, UKDI will endeavour to provide access to the UKDI Workspace within the I-Hub, Imperial College Campus, London, as part of its wider service provision. Subject to successful vetting, Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) minimum.

This access is intended for ad hoc use only by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and does not constitute a dedicated or permanent workspace. Access will be available during the term of the contract and for six months following its completion, subject to capacity and availability. Access is granted on a first come first served basis.

12.1 Cyber Security Model

The Cyber Security Model (CSM) is how Defence builds cyber security into its supply chain.

On receipt of a FUND decision, successful innovators (and their sub-contractors) must prove cyber resilience before the contract is awarded. The start of this process is the submission of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ allows innovators 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 innovators we ask all innovators to complete the SAQ before they submit their proposal (this is not mandated). The SAQ must be completed using the Risk Assessment number RAR-XXXXXXXX (Level X).

The SAQ will be automatically scored against the Cyber Risk Profile (CRP) and you will be immediately informed of the outcome, compliant or not compliant.

If non-compliant, you will be required to complete a Cyber Improvement Plan (CIP) before the contract is placed which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager. The CIP template can be found here.

Before you start your SAQ you will need:

• the Risk Assessment Reference (RAR)

  RAR-ZDKLPF3, Risk Level 1

• a D-U-N-S number (a unique identifier for your organisation)
• a GOV.UK One Login

12.2 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 you can obtain the necessary licences as part of your proposal, you will be required to provide this information prior to contract award, should your proposal be selected for funding.