Defence and Security Accelerator releases Annual Report 2018

18 Oct 2018 01:50 PM

DASA has released its 2018 annual report.

This week the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has released its 2018 annual report. The report details the work undertaken to date, which has seen £16.8million invested in 127 proposals across 13 themed compeitions for Government customers including the MOD, Home Office and the Department for Transport. It also sets out its future plans to accelerate innovation in the Defence and Security sectors, in order to fulfil its mission statement of keeping the UK safe and prosperous.

Key successes over the past year detailed in the report include:

• Reaching out to find new innovations and opportunities – including expansion of DASA’s innovation partner team and engagement with over 60 academic institutions;
• Support for the private sector and academia – launching the open call for innovation which has funded 28 projects to date and developing sector specific competitions where a need for specific technologies exist;
• Exploiting innovations in partnership with stakeholders – ensuring that challenges have direct impacts in terms of developing capabilities and that DASA understands the needs of the end customers;
• Transparency and visibility – ensuring DASA is accessible to all industrial sectors from both industry and academia; and
• Evolving the DASA team – growing the organisation and learning lessons from the first stage of DASA’s existence.

Despite this strong record of success and the strong links DASA has formed with industry and academia its clear that the next 12 months will see further development for the organisation. The report documents a number of initiatives it has in the pipeline for 2019 inlcuding:

• Introducing an online innovation portal as a cloud based service to improve collaboration and access;
• Opening a publicly accessible hub in partnership with Imperial College London;
• Further develop partnerships with relevant bodies and reaching outside of the traditional suppliers and avenues for innovation, including into new sectors and geographies; and
• Continue to grow the DASA team and network.

techUK’s Head of Defence Programme Fred Sugden said:

“DASA has become the first port of call for non-traditional suppliers and SMEs to engage with the Defence and Security sectors. Where the Defence & Security sectors once led the way in the development and introduction of new technologies, our sectors must now look to take advantage of the disruptive technologies developed in the private sector. Organisations like DASA, which actively seek out and exploit applicable technologies from other industries, are vital in ensuring the Defence & Security sectors maintain a competitive edge and embrace impacts of the burgeoning digital revolution”

To read the full report please click here.