Submit a proposal
How to submit a proposal to the Defence and Security Accelerator
Before submitting a proposal, you should ensure you have fully read and understood the relevant competition document. You can access the competition document by clicking on the relevant competition on the Apply for funding page.
We would also recommend you read all our other guidance material before submitting a proposal.
Contact DASA Form
If you have an idea or innovation you believe is suitable for a defence or security challenge, we want to hear from you. We have an Outreach Team of DASA Innovation Partners physically located in the Devolved Nations, The English Economic Regions and covering non-UK applications. Please follow this link and submit a Contact DASA Form to be connected with your DASA Innovation Partner
Get started
The only way to submit a research proposal to the Defence and Security Accelerator is online via the DASA online submission service
We recommend you use a Google Chrome browser when accessing the DASA online submission service.
Register for a DASA online submission service account here.
If you already have a DASA online submission service account log in here.
Once you have logged in to the DASA online submission service, you will be taken to your supplier dashboard where you can begin new proposals as well as track the progress of your draft and submitted proposals.
All proposals through our DASA online submission service must be completed in accordance with our acceptable use policy.
You must not submit any information classified above Official. If you wish to add supporting information which might be Official-Sensitive or Secret you should contact DASA in advance and we will discuss solutions with you, please email accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.
Ensure your adherence to cyber resilience
When submitting a proposal, you may be required to prove adherence to cyber resilience. Check the competition document to see if this is a requirement.
If cyber resilience is required, you will need to complete a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ), using the DASA Risk Assessment Reference (RAR) shown in the competition details.
If your proposal is to be funded, your Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ) will be evaluated against the Cyber Risk Assessment (CRA) for the competition, and it will be put it into one of the following categories:
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Compliant – no further action
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Not compliant – you will be required to complete a Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP) before the contract is placed which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager or, a Cyber Essentials Certification (CEC) must be held before contract can be awarded.
Further information and guidance on obtaining a CEC can be found here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberessentials/overview
Submitting a proposal
From your supplier dashboard, click on ‘Start now’ and you will be taken to a page where you can begin your submission to the relevant competition.
There are six overall steps to complete, as outlined below. As you progress through the various steps, you will have the ability to save your work in order to return to it later. We recommend you save your application form regularly. In addition, once you have started a proposal you will receive email alerts notifying you of how much time remains before the competition close date.
Proposal attachments are limited to .png / .jpeg / Excel files only. Please provide full answers on the (Desirable/Feasible/Viable) criteria for your Innovation in the boxes provided. Proposals received with Desirable/Feasible/Viable answers provided as attachments will be considered non-compliant and sifted out of the competition.
Step 1 - Service
Firstly, you should select the competition type you are submitting to from the list.
If you select Themed Competition, you will then be given the option to choose the specific Themed Competition you are entering. Once you have selected your competition, some options will appear under the heading ‘Challenge’. Select those challenges which are relevant to your proposal. If there are no challenges then you should select the box which states ‘there are no specific challenges for this competition’.
If you select Open Call for Innovation, you will be given the option under the ‘Challenge’ heading to identify which Open Call category you wish to submit to. Choose one from Defence Rapid Impact, Security Rapid Impact and Innovation Focus Areas. Further details on these can be found in the Open Call competition document. You will be asked for brief details about any interaction you have had with your DASA Innovation Partner.
You will be asked to state whether the proposal is a new one or a resubmission of an earlier proposal. You will also be asked to confirm you have read and accepted the Defence and Security Accelerator terms and conditions.
Step 2 - Summary
You will then progress to the summary page. A unique proposal identification code beginning ACC will be automatically generated for you. Please use this code in any correspondence with DASA regarding your proposal.
In this step we require you to include a brief Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and abstract or summary of your proposal. The information you provide here is used to help us identify suitable assessors to look at your proposal. The PVPS will also help identify potential end users of your innovation.
Next we ask you to provide a commercial point of contact in your organisation. This person will be contacted if your proposal is successful to arrange the placement of the contract.
You will then need to indicate the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your idea, and expected TRL at the close of the contract.
Finally, you will be asked to select the technology areas that are relevant to your proposal. This is an additional tool to allow us to identify suitable assessors.
Step 3 - Innovation details
In this step, we ask for the detail about what you are proposing to do, how you propose to do it, and what the benefits are to our customers.
You will be required to complete a series of text entry boxes (associated word limits will be shown under each box). Associated with each text box is some supporting guidance on what should be included. The requirements may be specific to the competition you are entering, and full details will be available in the associated competition document.
Associated with each text box, you will have the opportunity to upload image and/or tables files in support. Attachments are limited to .png / .jpeg / Excel files only. Please provide full answers on the (Desirable/Feasible/Viable) criteria for your Innovation in the boxes provided. Proposals received with Desirable/Feasible/Viable answers provided as attachments will be considered non-compliant and sifted out of the competition.
Within this step you will be asked to confirm your acceptance of the Intellectual Property condition of the competition. If your innovation relies on Background or Third Party information, you are asked to provide further details.
Step 3 is where you will need to input your SAQ details if they are requested for the competition.
Step 4 - Finance and delivery schedule
This page is divided into finance and delivery schedule sections.
All costs are excluding VAT.
In the finance section, you will need to provide a detailed breakdown of the project costs. You will be asked to identify any labour costs, capital costs, overheads and consumables (including materials), subcontractor costs and travel expenses, and provide details of each.
In the delivery schedule section, you will be asked to describe your project deliverables, including the deliverable type, the month it will be delivered in and associated cost. You can ask for up to 6 deliverables associated with a payment. You should note that the final payment on successful completion of the project should be at least 20% of the total.
The website will automatically calculate the overall costs that you input into the finance section and compare it with those included in the delivery schedule section. You must ensure that the total in both of these sections is the same or the system will prevent you from submitting.
You will be asked to confirm when you will be ready to start the work. This date is an indicator only, you may be asked to start work at a later date.
Finally, you will be asked to agree that DASA will keep the total cost and delivery schedule indefinitely, and that the total cost and names of deliverables will be released publicly if you are funded.
Step 5 – Additional Information
This page is split up into three main sections. Project risk register, Government Furnished Assets (GFA) request list and key project/technical team.
In the project risk register, you will be asked to demonstrate awareness of all the main risks the project will face (technical and non-technical), with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk.
In the GFA request list, you will be asked to demonstrate your need for any GFA required to complete your project. Contingency plans should be factored into the proposal to show how it can progress without the provision of GFA.
In the key project/technical team section name all key members and explain what they are going to do and their expertise.
There will then be two yes/no questions, which you will have to answer. They are answers to whether MODREC or Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) approval are required to complete your project.
Finally, we ask you to include any references made within your proposal in the reference list section. There is a 1 hour and 30 minute time limit for reading and assessing the proposal, so this section has been limited to 10 entries. Due to copyright issues, please do not attach copies of publications.
Step 6 - Review and submit
In this final step, you have the option to fully review your proposal before you submit it. All the details you have entered into the application form will be visible to you. Further, we will highlight to you those sections which are incomplete. You will not be able to submit your proposal until all sections of the application form are complete.
At any point up until you finally submit, you can save your content and return to edit it at a later date. However, you should note that this feature applies only within the competition or Open Call cycle you started drafting your proposal in. Draft proposals will not be carried over automatically to subsequent competitions or cycles.
Once you submit your proposal, you will not be able to make any changes.
After you submit a proposal
Once you submit a proposal, you will receive an email confirming receipt of your submission. We will then assign our expert assessors to consider it and decide if it will be funded.
Find out about how we make our funding decisions and what our assessors look for.
You can track the progress of your submission through the assessment process by viewing the proposal status on your supplier dashboard.
Feedback
If you are successful, our commercial team will be in touch shortly after the decision date to begin contracting. Once you are on contract, both DASA staff and a Technical Partner will support and advise you throughout the period of your project. Details of your proposal will be published on our website as part of our transparency data.
If you are unsuccessful, you will receive brief written feedback within a few weeks of the applicable decision date. Feedback will be made available to you via email. Feedback is prepared by the proposal moderator, and is based on comments from all assessors and discussions at the decision conference. The feedback will give the main reasons why your proposal was unsuccessful.
Please note that every DASA competition has a finite financial limit which affects the number of bids we can fund. Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded, DASA will continue to seek funding from partners across government and shall consider your proposal fundable for 12 months from the date of the decision release. We will share the abstract, PVPS and title of your proposal with any other UK government departments that may express an interest in funding the proposal through DASA, in accordance with the competition document. If a budget holder within the MOD wishes to read the full proposal to decide if they will fund it, we will share it with them under these circumstances. If it is within 60 days of the original NOT FUNDED decision release date, we will share the full proposal with them without seeking your permission. If it is over 60 days since the original NOT FUNDED decision 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 original NOT FUNDED decision release.
In the event that additional funding becomes available, DASA may ask whether you would still be prepared to undertake the work outlined in your proposal under the same terms. Your official DASA feedback will indicate if your proposal was deemed fundable, but not awarded funding at the time.
Resubmission
If your proposal was unsuccessful
If you have previously submitted a proposal which was unsuccessful, please do not resubmit this proposal, unless your feedback specifically requests it.
If you were asked to resubmit your proposal, please ensure you indicate how you have addressed ALL the feedback given. Please also include your previous proposal number in your submission. It may be useful to have a conversation with your DASA Innovation Partner.
If you were previously unsuccessful and would like to submit a new proposal, which is similar in any way to your previous proposals, please contact us at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.
If you have previously submitted this proposal to any other government funding body, please include details in your submission. If you were not funded, please attach the feedback with your proposal. If you were funded, please detail how our funding will offer value for money for government.
If your proposal was successful
If you have previously submitted a proposal and were successful, but did not agree to DASA contract terms and conditions, please do not resubmit this proposal. Should you wish to now accept the contract terms and conditions, please email accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.
Multiple submissions
There is no limit on the quantity of proposals you can submit to DASA at any one time. However, you must make DASA aware:
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that you plan to create multiple submissions
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of the maximum amount of projects you can feasibly undergo at any one time
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if there is any duplication of work across proposals.
You may not submit proposals that are interdependent.
You must also make DASA aware should you plan to submit the same project to any other funding body.
Communications
Innovators must appoint a person who is responsible for all communications with DASA.
After a contract has been awarded, all queries should be directed to either the technical or commercial points of contact detailed in the contract documentation.
English is the official language for all communication between innovators, DASA and all other government departments.
We will use the email address that you used to create your account and the telephone number in your profile to contact you.
Public Announcements
Contractors must provide details to us of any related public announcement for review prior to release. Please contact the Project Manager.
Last updated 9 February 2024 + show all updates
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Updated a sentence in - Step 4 - Finance and delivery schedule. The updated sentence reads: In the delivery schedule section, you will be asked to describe your project deliverables, including the deliverable type, the month it will be delivered in and associated cost.
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Updated the Feedback section to include the sharing of the Proposal Value Proposition Statement as well as the title and abstract.
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Feedback - Added clarity to the competition document around the sharing of proposals after the competition has ended, where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded,
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- Submitting a proposal - Clarified the wording around using attachments - Innovation details - Clarified the wording around using attachments
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Updated the entire page to align with the new proposal template
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Providing a valid Dun and Bradstreet number (DUNS number) in submissions is no longer required.
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Added a new requirement - "Ensure your adherence to cyber resilience"
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Addition of guidance on: feedback, resubmission, multiple submissions, failure to exploit
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We have changed our guidance to reflect the move to a new online service for the submission of proposals.
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Our submission service is temporarily closed due to a technical issue. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
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Our submission service is temporarily closed due to a technical issue. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
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First published.