Sample Preservation, Analysis, And Attribution (SPAA)

5 Mar 2024 12:21 PM

DASA’s new competition seeks novel and innovative approaches that can identify and attribute ChemBio materials for justice.

• DASA has launched a new Themed Competition: Sample Preservation, Analysis, And Attribution (SPAA)
• This competition is jointly funded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the US Department of Defense (DOD)
• Open to a non-traditional ChemBio supplier base
• Up to £1 million (excluding VAT) funding available
• Competition closes midday on Tuesday 30 April 2024 (BST)

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new Themed Competition called Sample Preservation, Analysis, And Attribution (SPAA). Run on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the US Department of Defense (DOD). This competition seeks proposals for innovations that could help the successful identification of chemical and biological (ChemBio) materials and/or bring perpetrators to justice.

The production, stockpiling or use of hazardous ChemBio materials for nefarious purposes represents an enduring and sensitive issue for both the Defence and Security Sectors. Investigation into events involving ChemBio materials have many technical challenges; starting from the initial point of collection by the first attending responder, all the way through to the screening and analytical tools used to identify and/or potentially attribute the material of interest. This competition therefore seeks novel and innovative approaches in order to address these existing challenges.

One of the goals of SPAA is to engage with a non-traditional ChemBio supplier base in order to yield innovative solutions to current problems, so do get involved and submit your innovation.

Key dates and funding

• The total funding available for this competition is £1 million (excluding VAT).
• The deadline to submit a proposal is midday on Tuesday 30 April 2024 (BST).
• Attend the launch webinar to learn more in an open forum on 19 March.

Do you have an innovation? Read the full competition document and submit a proposal.

Challenge areas

The challenges outlined in this competition are diverse in nature, therefore it is anticipated that proposals will address a certain area rather than covering multiple requirements.

There are three main challenge areas where innovative solutions and approaches are being sought:

• Challenge 1: New screening technologies for rapidly detecting or identifying the presence or class of hazardous ChemBio materials in a sample
• Challenge 2: New sample collection/preservation systems that better maintain the integrity and viability of hazardous samples
• Challenge 3: New analytical approaches to improve the forensic exploitation and the attribution of ChemBio materials and/or recovered chemical/biological weapons material (RC/BWM)

Up to £1 million is available to fund multiple innovations at Technology Readiness level (TRL) 2-4 to deliver fieldable prototypes/software (TRL6+) to support investigations into ChemBio incidents.

Learn more and submit a proposal in the full competition document.

Supporting events

Launch Webinar: 19 March 2024

This launch webinar provides the opportunity for you to learn more about the Competition in further detail, with the competition team and the option to ask your own questions.

Register here to attend.

1-2-1s: 26 March 2024

A 20 minute 1-2-1 session with a member of the competition team, where you can ask your own specific questions.

Register here to attend – booking is on a first come first served basis so don’t miss your opportunity.

Submit a proposal

We want your novel ideas that can benefit end-users working in UK Defence and Security. If you can supply a novel approach that can address challenges associated with sample surface collection/preservation, analysis and attribution (SPAA) of hazardous chemical and biological (ChemBio) materials, we want to hear from you.

Read the full competition document to learn more and submit a proposal.