WIREDGOV

On behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), an agency of the UK Ministry of Defence, the Serapis SSE team, led by NSC, are tasked with delivering Science and Technology research in the area of Simulation and Synthetic Environments.

Serapis SSE tasks are supported by an established supply chain including small and large organisations and academic institutions. There is also an ongoing desire to bring in knowledge and experience from outside the traditional defence industry.

A project requirement has been identified that would benefit from broad input from across the Science and Technology community and we therefore wish to invite you to respond to this call if you have relevant knowledge and experience.

Serapis have been tasked to conduct a study to inform what “Generation After Next” means for Defence Simulation (specifically, although not exclusively, as applied to support Training). The task will seek to:

• Identify key enabling and disruptive technologies that Defence should prioritise to gain competitive advantage to support Training, Education and Preparation.
• Identify capabilities that are expected to grow or shrink in future epochs. The output of the task will be a roadmap and report that will be used by Dstl to inform future research activities. Support is required to the project team in the form of innovative thinkers and futurologists, representing a broad and diverse cross section of the community. Selected respondents will be contracted to support the project team in delivering following activities:
  • Identify Generation After Next Technologies from outside the Defence sector that may have impact within the Defence Simulation.
  • Conduct analysis and assessment activities to forecast future developments in selected technology areas of interest.
  • Build and peer-review technology roadmaps and contribute to the project report.

Work on this project is expected to be delivered between September and December 2021. Serapis will be forming a collaborative team expected to consist of three suppliers who will work together to deliver this project and expect each contracted supplier will be funded £15-20k to support this project. Any contract will be subject to agreement of contract terms and conditions.

(NB: This call is not for organisations who have already joined the Serapis SSE community of practice. If you are unsure whether you are currently in the Serapis SSE community of practice please email Serapis_SSE@nsc.co.uk to find out)

At this time Serapis are not seeking fully costed proposals. They are looking to identify the team based on knowledge, experience and value that can be added to the project.

Should you wish to respond then please provide a written statement by email with the subject line “SSE26 – New Supplier Expression of Interest” to Serapis_SSE@nsc.co.uk no later than 18:00 on Friday 2nd July.

Your statement should be no longer than 3 pages and should identify experience and ability to support the project in at least one of the following areas:

• Analysis and assessment of technology trends.
• Production and delivery of technology roadmaps and/or other visual aids used to support technology planning.
• Support to innovation processes or other idea selection / generation activities.
• Technology horizon scanning and/or futurist activities.

Please also identify any other specific benefits that you can bring to the project – for example re-use of existing Intellectual Property or concepts. Shortly after 2nd July, your submission will be assessed and successful applicants will be notified. If you have any technical queries related to this call these should be sent to James Kearse at james.kearse@nsc.co.uk.