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techUK Innovation Challenge

A new joint initiative from the Ministry of Defence and techUK to bring industry's inherent innovation to the challenges of UK Defence.

This week saw the inaugural Ministry of Defence (MOD) Information Symposium organised by MOD Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) Mike Stone. You can read what techUK took away from the event in an upcoming Insight. During his keynote speech Minister for Defence Procurement, Phillip Dunne, announced an exciting project that techUK will be running in partnership with MOD, due to start in the coming months. This is the techUK Innovation Challenge. This project is a foundation stone of Mike Stone's innovation drive as he continues the transformation of information across Defence.

The MOD is searching for innovative thinking and solutions from industry for very specific technical or organisational issues in the information space. Information challenges exist throughout MOD at all levels and there is a desire to engage with industry to help them understand how they might address them. techUK will reach out across the whole technology industry and academia to engage as many organisations as possible. Membership of techUK is not a prerequisite for participating in the Innovation Challenge.

The goals of the techUK Innovation Challenge are for industry to understand the specific Innovation Challenges, to meet and be briefed by those who own the challenge, and to expose MOD to potential solutions directly. Without any commitment that identified solutions will necessarily lead to acquisition, the Innovation Challenges will allow industry to engage MOD about their specific business problems through a structured and controlled mechanism. This mechanism, a web-based portal owned by techUK for all companies to provide responses and a second MOD-owned portal for invited companies to provide more detailed information, will ensure that MOD receive the relevant information they ask for and that industry will be able to articulate the potential of their solution and the manner in which they wished to demonstrate it. The options open to participants are: provide MOD with a working prototype or solution for trial; demonstrate a working solution in another environment, or; provide a 'white paper'.

More detailed information about the techUK Quarterly Innovation Forum/Challenge will be distributed shortly, however the process can be broadly described in five principle steps:

1. MOD invites submissions from across Defence, assesses candidates and downselects a specific challenge subject

2. Industry attend a briefing and networking day with MOD personnel who 'own' the specific challenge or problem

3. Industry register their interest in participating in the challenge and submit information via an online portal managed by techUK

4. MOD internally evaluate and assess industry's responses and invites down-selected companies to provide further technical information

5. MOD arrange engagements with industry based on submissions and progress submissions on a case by case basis

Why engage?

Our upcoming Innovation Challenges will give industry an unrivalled view of what information technology challenges MOD are facing throughout the department. Any part of MOD can bring their ICT and technology issues to this forum to be discussed with industry. Outside a formal procurement process, industry will get the opportunity to speak to MOD personnel directly about their challenges, and through the online portal companies will be able to comprehensively describe their solution and the associated benefits. This is an ideal opportunity to expose the Defence Customer to innovative thinking and technologies that are pertinent to their current business challenges. Moreover, this is an opportunity to engage with teams within Defence and help shape their future requirements. Each company that is invited to participate in a challenge will be provided with valuable feedback on their solution.

We will be sharing further information with techUK members via email in the coming weeks. If you would like to receive further information about this initiative please contact Andy.Johnston@techUK.org

 

Channel website: http://www.techuk.org/

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