Notice

Future-Proofing Biosecurity by Strengthening the UK’s Microbial Forensic Capability: Competition Document

Published 10 December 2024

1. Introduction

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is seeking proposals that can address challenges within the field of Microbial Forensics. Microbial Forensics aims to determine whether an incident involving a biological hazard is natural or nefarious in origin, providing more information than the identification of a biological organism (e.g. provenance of the material).

As part of the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is leading the creation of the United Kingdom Microbial Forensics Consortium (UKMFC), a One Health^{[footnote 1]} initiative comprising frontline biosurveillance laboratories which will strengthen the UK’s Microbial Forensic capabilities. This competition seeks novel technology options or technical approaches that can directly support this initiative.

As well as addressing a diverse set of technical requirements, one of the goals of the competition is to engage with a non-traditional supplier base as well as traditional suppliers (i.e. suppliers who have not worked in Defence and Security before as well as those who have), in order to yield innovative solutions.

Up to £1 million (excluding VAT) is available in order to move a range of technology options from low to medium Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). This competition is being funded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The following research areas are of particular interest for this competition:

1. Computational tools that improve the opportunity to detect anomalies in genome sequencing data, including evidence of biological engineering.

2. Technologies that allow the identification and / or computational analysis of other omic signatures for novel Microbial Forensic capabilities.

Please read the competition document in full for all details of the competition scope and challenge areas.

2. Competition key information

2.1 Submission deadline

12:00 midday on 18 February 2025 (GMT)

2.2 Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will require an account. Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

Please note that this competition has an additional question on top of those listed on Submit a proposal. This question asks you to confirm that no UKMFC Advisory Board member has been involved in the discussion about or drafting of your proposal, which is part of this competition’s pre-sift criteria.

2.3 Total funding available

The total possible funding available for this competition is £1 million (excluding VAT).
We are looking to fund a minimum of 4 and up to 10 projects, each up to a maximum value of £250,000.

3. Supporting events

Dial-in session

9 January 2025 – A dial-in session providing further detail on the problem space and a chance to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

Supplier one-to-one sessions

15 & 21 January 2025 – A series of 15 minute one-to-one teleconference sessions, giving you the opportunity to ask specific technical questions to the competition team in a closed forum. Registration details for these sessions will be published the day after the dial-in session, i.e. on 10 January 2025. Booking will be on a first come first served basis.

Please attend the dial-in session on 9 January 2025 or reach out to your local Innovation Partner if you have more general questions about DASA or the application process.

Industry collaboration survey during proposal preparation

We encourage collaboration between organisations for this competition. If you are interested in collaborating with another organisation, please complete the supplier collaboration survey by 4 February 2025. Your details (including your business email address) will be circulated among other potential suppliers who have completed the survey and are interested in collaborating. The sharing of details will only be done after an initial screening process has taken place, we reserve the right to not share all details.

If you choose to complete the supplier collaboration survey, please be aware all the information you submit in the survey may be provided to other suppliers who also complete the survey. All industry collaboration for proposal submissions is on an industry-industry basis. Inclusion or absence of any individual supplier organisation will not affect assessment, which will be solely on technical evidence in the proposal.

4. Competition Scope

4.1 Background – Strategic Context for the UK

The 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy aims to implement a UK-wide approach to biosecurity which strengthens deterrence and resilience, projects global leadership, and exploits opportunities for UK prosperity and S&T advantage. The UK envisions that by 2030 it will be more resilient to a spectrum of biological threats and a world-leader in responsible innovation, making a positive impact on global security, economic and health outcomes.

In support of these overarching aims, as part of the Detect Pillar of the Biological Security Strategy, the United Kingdom Microbial Forensics Consortium (UKMFC) is being developed. The UKMFC is One Health^{[footnote 1]} in doctrine and, when fully operational, will comprise a network of biosurveillance laboratories from all four nations of the UK with additional support from other institutes, academia, and industry.

The UKMFC, which was initiated in July 2023 and is being led by Dstl, is underpinned by extensive cross-sector cooperation and delivery. Overall, the three main strategic goals of the UKMFC are:

• creation of the UKMFC laboratory network as a world leading One Health^{[footnote 1]} approach to investigating outbreaks, improved UK preparedness in this area is seen as a benchmark
• development of an agreed set of cross-sector working practises enabling the development of a cadre of suitably qualified and experienced personnel in microbial forensics
• early detection and attribution by the UKMFC will serve as a deterrent to the misuse of biological materials

This competition represents an opportunity for the wider research base (academia / small-medium enterprises / industry) to contribute to the aims and objectives of the UKMFC.

Microbial Forensics, an emerging area of biology

Microbial Forensics aims to determine whether an outbreak has occurred through a natural event or as a consequence of the misuse of a biological material (e.g. nefarious activity). The approach therefore requires more than the identification of an organism. A robust microbial forensic capability could, for example, yield evidence of deliberate biological engineering or prior laboratory growth, presence of anti-microbial resistance, source attribution (e.g. provenance), enhanced pathogenicity, or any other information that may be useful in the response to an incident.

In the context of this competition the term, ‘microbe’ includes any biological agent (e.g. bacteria, virus, fungi, insect pest, toxin or others) which if misused has the potential to be detrimental to the UK.

The production, stockpiling or use of hazardous biological materials for nefarious purposes is prohibited under the international Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the UK Biological Weapons Act (1974). A detailed analysis of a biological material would therefore inform wider investigations into an incident and help bring the perpetrators of such a crime to justice.

This “Detect to attribute” concept requires a robust capability to be in place to trace the source of the biological material. The creation of the United Kingdom Microbial Forensics Consortium (UKMFC) laboratory network represents a step towards addressing this need. It comprises critical frontline biosurveillance laboratories from the clinical, veterinary, plant, food and aquaculture sectors across all four nations of the UK. Each laboratory is well-resourced, has a strong technological infrastructure, and is staffed by subject matter experts with international research reputations in biosurveillance.

Genomics and Bioinformatics - the generation of genetic information from samples and the use of computational tools to interpret this information - is a core strength for the UK and each UKMFC laboratory has existing expertise in this area. To leverage this a UKMFC Bioinformatics Working Group (BWG) has been formed. This group, comprising leading bioinformaticians from across the UK, is developing new pathogen-agnostic tools and workflows that will be used, in parallel with business as usual (BAU) genomic workflows, in order to provide a seamless new alert system for the UK.

Examples of previous investigations which have involved the use of Microbial Forensics analytical procedures are:

2001 Amerithrax Incident

2008 US Ricin incident

Concept-of-Operations for the UKMFC laboratory network

The Concept-of-Operations is that an alert (identifying a potential biological anomaly) will be generated by a sector-specific UKMFC laboratory. This may be after an initial laboratory identification of a pathogen (following a specific presentation / observation of host symptoms) or as part of other biosurveillance activities. Expert oversight and interpretation of results will be required to confirm the presence of the identified anomalies (e.g. evidence of genetic engineering). Using an agreed set of shared working practises, initial tools developed by the UKMFC will focus on genomic data and run in parallel with BAU workflows to enable rapid assessments to be made. Future tools and methods looking at other data sources (e.g. proteomics) will open up new areas of Microbial Forensic analysis.

A diversity of samples types (e.g. clinical, veterinary, plant, food and aquaculture) are being processed and analysed by UKMFC laboratories and therefore new approaches that aid the development of further standardised working practises will be required. It is also important to recognise that the biological materials being analysed by the UKMFC laboratory network could potentially have passaged through another organism (e.g. infected host, vector) and therefore we are especially interested in identification of robust biological signatures that are retained post-infection. 

It is envisaged that the UKMFC alert system may trigger and / or support existing investigations (e.g. Public Health, and / or Criminal investigations.

Overall, new innovative analysis techniques that are either supportive or augment existing capabilities (e.g. genomics) or those that could open up new areas for Microbial Forensic analysis (e.g. looking at non-genomic omic data) are being sought as part of this competition.

4.2 Scope: We want new technology options to enhance the Microbial Forensic capability

Where will new technology options be used?

The aim of the competition is to strengthen the UK capability in the field of Microbial Forensics. Novel technology options are required to function within the context of the UKMFC laboratory network; an appropriately resourced, high technological infrastructure, staffed by subject matter experts in biosurveillance. Innovations that either augment current approaches (e.g. increasing the speed and / or opportunity for anomaly detection through genomics) or that provide completely new avenues for a Microbial Forensic investigation are of interest.  

Any new capability should not increase the risks encountered in the day-to-day activities of a laboratory, or significantly increase the financial burden encountered by a laboratory (above normal investment patterns). There is no interest in technology development that would provide a solely mobile Microbial Forensic capability or enhance a laboratory’s ability to simply identify a pathogen.

What are the technology challenges we would like addressed?

There is particular interest in funding new research in the following areas:

1. Computational tools that improve the opportunity to detect anomalies in genome sequencing data, including evidence of biological engineering.

2. Technologies that allow the identification and / or computational analysis of other omic signatures for novel Microbial Forensic capabilities.

Ideally, any new capability would be agnostic of the sector, sample type, and class or type of biological agent being analysed. However, technical approaches that are specific to certain types or classes of biological agent may be considered. We are also interested in proposals that develop or repurpose existing technologies used in other scientific disciplines.

We are looking for innovations that will form the basis of the next generation of Microbial Forensic capability, potentially enhancing our ability to use any branch of science under the omics banner in a Microbial Forensic investigation, and fundamentally improve our understanding of an encountered pathogen.

Proposals must address at least one of the challenges and move technologies through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Innovations must start at a minimum of TRL 2 and progress up to a minimum of TRL 4 and a maximum of TRL 6. The project duration can be up to 18 months and the project must end by 31 December 2026. The contract value must be up to a maximum of £250,000.

4.3 Expressions of interest

If you are uncertain of the relevance of your innovation you are strongly recommended to contact your DASA Innovation Partner to discuss sending a one-page expression of interest. Your expression of interest should be no more than 500 words and include:

• what your idea is

• which challenge you are interested in

• what problem it solves for Defence and Security and what makes it innovative

Please send one idea per expression of interest.

Expressions of Interest must be submitted to your DASA Innovation Partner; you should receive a response within two weeks, confirming whether or not your idea is in scope. The competition closes on 18 February 2025, so DASA cannot guarantee a response to an expression of interest received after 4 February 2025.

5. Competition Challenges

This competition has two challenge areas which are detailed below. Suppliers may address one or both of these challenges. We would also welcome joint bids from two or more suppliers that could provide an enhanced response to one or both of these challenges. 

5.1 Challenge 1: Novel computational analysis tools for genomic data

In this challenge we are looking for additional computational tools, potentially exploiting artificial intelligence and / or machine learning. These could enhance the opportunity to detect anomalies in genome sequencing data (e.g. evidence of biological engineering, presence of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) markers, information regarding source etc.), and augment the existing UK strength in genomics and the activities of the UKMFC Bioinformatics Working Group. The tools could be applied to genomes of isolated pathogens and / or complex metagenomics backgrounds. The expectation is that any computational tools will be easily integrated into analysis pipelines running on Linux-based operating systems, be command-line executed, and written in a widely used programming language such as Python or C. 

Ideas that could help solve this challenge area include (but would not be limited to):

• approaches that highlight evidence of genetic engineering / manipulation, noting there are numerous described methods by which the genome of a biological agent may be altered

• the generation / curation / improvement of additional databases that provide further understanding of microbiological or synthetic biology backgrounds aiding anomaly detection

• computational procedures that enable expedient analysis of large / complex data sets; for example, traditional or machine learning approaches to interrogate microbial sequencing data, environmental metagenomics data and / or downstream processed outputs

• additional ways of working that enable the identification and / or characterisation of “unknowns” (e.g. organisms that do not map to an established reference database) within genome sequencing data

5.2 Challenge 2: Approaches for the identification and / or computational analysis of other omic signatures

In this challenge we are looking for technologies that could either generate and / or provide computational tools to analyse omic signatures other than genomics (e.g. proteomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, metabolomics, other). Ideally, these markers are required to be robust enough such that they remain present even following passage through a host.  

Ideas that could help solve this challenge area include but would not be limited to:

• approaches that generate omic data providing new opportunities for microbial forensics investigations (e.g. epigenetics)

• technology platforms that provide new ways of identifying novel biological materials and complement existing analytical procedures (e.g. protein sequencing)

• computational tools to identify synthetically designed biological signatures (e.g. novel proteins) including within complex samples or matrices

• development of novel microbial forensic approaches that provide an indication of the provenance (e.g. source attribution) of an outbreak at any phenotypical or omic level

• the development of technologies that offer the potential for identification of the means of production and / or signatures of laboratory manipulation; including irrespective of whether the biological material collected has been passaged through another organism (e.g. infected host)

• any other approach (including data science) that enables the differentiation between a natural outbreak and nefarious release of a biological material

5.3 We are interested in…

We are looking for ideas that would benefit end-users working in UK biosurveillance laboratories undertaking Microbial Forensic analyses. We are interested in proposals that:

• offer innovation or novel approaches to existing methods that would represent a step change in Microbial Forensics capability

• clearly demonstrate how the proposed work can function in the context of One Health^{[footnote 1]} and Microbial Forensics

• provide evidence that your innovation has the potential of being translated into a practical demonstration in the future, whether it be method / technical advancement or proof of concept research

• propose to utilise innovations from a different industry / discipline that might address this problem (i.e. application of existing techniques in the context of a Microbial Forensic investigation)

• address at least one of the specified challenges (proposals do not need to address both challenges)

• include evidence of a robust supply chain for all of the key elements of the proposal to ensure there is an enduring availability

• include evidence of the approach being robust enough that the developed technology can feasibly be transferred to a network of analytical laboratories.

• have the potential to be fully validated and accredited to an appropriate quality standard (i.e. ISO/IEC IS017025:2017)

5.4 We are not interested in…

We are not interested in proposals that:

• offer technologies that only develop new ways of sequencing nucleic acids

• offer technologies that only derive information that would facilitate the identification of a pathogen

• offer technologies that could only offer a mobile Microbial Forensic capability

• require the completion and attainment of ethical favourable opinion from the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee (MODREC)

• are consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation

• are unsolicited resubmissions of a previous DASA bid

• offer demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development (unless applied in a novel way to the challenge)

• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into UK biosurveillance laboratories undertaking a Microbial Forensics analysis

• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions

6. Accelerating and exploiting your innovation

It is important that over the lifetime of DASA competitions, ideas are matured and accelerated towards appropriate end-users to enhance capability. How long this takes will depend on the nature and starting point of the innovation.

6.1 A clear route for exploitation

For DASA to consider routes for exploitation, ensure your deliverables are designed with the aim of making it as easy as possible for collaborators / stakeholders to identify the innovative elements of your proposal.

Whilst DASA recognises that early identification and engagement with potential end users during the competition and subsequent development work are essential to implementing an exploitation plan, during the competition phase all correspondence must be via the DASA Help Centre ([email protected]), or your local Innovation Partner.

All proposals to DASA should articulate the expected development in technology maturity of the potential solution over the lifetime of the contract and how this relates to improved capability against the current known (or presumed) baseline.

6.2 How to outline your exploitation plan

A higher technology maturity is expected in subsequent development of innovations. Include the following information to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans to date:

• the intended defence or security users of your final product and whether you have previously engaged with them, their procurement arm or their research and development arm

• awareness of, and alignment to, any existing end user procurement programmes

• the anticipated benefits (for example, in cost, time, improved capability) that your solution will provide to the user

• whether it is likely to be a standalone product or integrated with other technologies or platforms

• expected additional work required beyond the end of the contract to develop an operationally deployable commercial product (for example, “scaling up” for manufacture, cyber security, integration with existing technologies, environmental operating conditions)

• additional future applications and wider markets for exploitation

• wider collaborations and networks you have already developed or any additional relationships you see as a requirement to support exploitation

• how your product could be tested in a representative environment in later stages of development

• any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

6.3 Is your exploitation plan long term?

Long term studies may not be able to articulate exploitation in great detail, but it should be clear that there is credible advantage to be gained from the technology development.

Include project specific information which will help exploitation. This competition is being carried out as part of a wider MOD programme and with cognisance of cross-Government initiatives. We may collaborate with organisations outside of the UK Government and this may provide the opportunity to carry out international trials and demonstrations in the future.

7. How to apply

Submission deadline

12:00 midday on 18 February 2025 (GMT)

Eligibility

This competition is open to all innovators; submissions are welcome from the private sector, academia, public sector research establishments or any innovator. There are no nationality restrictions.

Laboratory network members of the UKMFC are eligible to apply to the competition. In this instance, the submitting organisation will not assess any proposals submitted to the competition.

The UKMFC has an Advisory Board, comprising senior scientists and sector leaders from across the UK, which has approved the competition themes. Advisory Board members must therefore not have been involved in any discussions regarding the drafting of a proposal and are excluded from submitting a proposal. Bidders shall be asked to confirm that proposals have been written without input from any Advisory Board member; your proposal shall be sifted out if this condition has not been met.

Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will be required to register.
Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

Please note that this competition has an additional question on top of those listed on Submit a proposal. This question asks you to confirm that no UKMFC Advisory Board member has been involved in the discussion about or drafting of your proposal, which is part of this competition’s pre-sift criteria.

Total funding available

The total funding available for this competition is £1 million (excluding VAT).

How many proposals will DASA fund

We are looking to fund a minimum of 4 and up to 10 projects, each up to a maximum value of £250,000.

For further guidance

Click here for more information on our competition process and how your proposal is assessed.
Queries should be sent to the DASA Help Centre – [email protected].

7.1 What your proposal must include

• the proposal should focus on the competition requirements but should also include a brief (uncosted) outline of the next stages of work required for exploitation

• when submitting a proposal, you must complete all sections of the online form, including an appropriate level of technical information to allow assessment of the bid and a completed finances section

• completed proposals must comply with the financial rules set for this competition. The upper-limit for this competition is £250,000 (excluding VAT). Proposals will be rejected if the financial cost exceeds this capped level

• you must include a list of other current or recent government funding you may have received in this area if appropriate, making it clear how this proposal differs from this work

• a project plan with clear milestones and deliverables must be provided. Deliverables must be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan and the end-point for this competition; they must include a final report

• you should also plan for attendance at a kick-off meeting at the start of the project, as well as regular reviews with the appointed Dstl Technical Partner and Project Manager; all meetings will be in the UK. Meetings may also take place virtually. Any slides presented at these meetings need to be made available. You will also be invited to an end of project Stakeholder Event at the end of the project, which will involve attending an in-person event in London in January / February 2027 at which you will present the work of your entire project to relevant stakeholders. Please refer to Table 1, which outlines the required reporting and meeting attendance; these should be detailed in your proposal.

Deliverable	Attendees	Frequency	Venue	Deliverable Type / format
Kick-Off Meeting	Technical Partner; Supplier; Dstl project team	Once, within one month of contract start	Virtual or In-Person	PowerPoint and project plan
Host an onsite in-person meeting	Technical Partner; Supplier; Dstl project team	Once during the course of the contract	Supplier’s laboratory	PowerPoint
Progress meeting	Technical Partner; Supplier; Dstl project team	Monthly	Virtual	PowerPoint and / or report
Mid-project reporting	Technical Partner; Supplier; Dstl project team	Once, at the mid-point of project	Virtual	PowerPoint and / or report
End of project report	N/A	Once, at end of project	N/A	Report detailing all findings and progress
In-person presentation / demonstration at a Stakeholder Event	All suppliers from the competition; Dstl project team; relevant stakeholders	Once (date TBC; anticipated for FY26/27)	In-person, UK (London)	PowerPoint

Table 1: The required reporting and meeting attendance for your project; these should be detailed in your proposal.

• your proposal must demonstrate how you will complete all activities / services and provide all deliverables within the competition timescales (up to 18 months; the project must be completed by 31 December 2026). Proposals with any deliverables (including final report) outside the competition timeline will be rejected as non-compliant.

7.2 What your resourcing plan should include

Your resourcing plan must identify, where possible, the nationalities of proposed employees that you intend to work on your project.

7.3 If your proposal is recommended for funding

In the event of a proposal being recommended for funding, the DASA reserves the right to undertake due diligence checks including the clearance of proposed employees. Please note that this process will take as long as necessary and could take up to 6 weeks in some cases for non-UK nationals.

You must identify any ethical / legal / regulatory factors within your proposal. As stated in We are not interested in, you must make it clear in your proposal that you DO NOT require the completion and attainment of ethical favourable opinion from the Ministry of Defence Research Ethics Committee (MODREC). Due to the timescales for this project, if MODREC approval is required your proposal will be rejected. If you are unsure if your proposal will need to apply for MODREC approval, then please refer to the MODREC Guidance for Suppliers or contact your Innovation Partner for further guidance. For clarity, MODREC approval applies in every instance where the research involving human data is to be MOD-funded. It is required even if you have obtained previous research ethics committee or panel approval because MODREC still needs to be satisfied that the research is ethically compliant.

You must identify the risks associated with any ethical, legal or regulatory factors and how they will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received. Requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA), for example, information, equipment, materials and facilities, may be included in your proposal. DASA cannot guarantee that GFA will be available. If you apply for GFA, you should include an alternative plan in case it is not available.

Failure to provide any of the above listed will automatically render your proposal non-compliant.

7.4 Export control for overseas partners

All relevant export control regulations will apply if a company ultimately wants to sell a developed solution to a foreign entity. All innovators must ensure that they can obtain, if required, the necessary export licences for their proposals and developments, such that they can be supplied to the UK and other countries. If you cannot confirm that you can gain the requisite licences, your proposal will be sifted out of the competition.

Additionally, if we believe that you will not be able to obtain export clearance, additional checks may be conducted, which may also result in your proposal being sifted out of the competition.

7.5 Cyber risk assessment

Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ)

On receipt of a ‘Fund’ decision, successful suppliers must prove cyber resilience before the contract is awarded. The start of this process is the submission of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ allows suppliers to demonstrate compliance with the specified risk level and the corresponding profile in Def Stan 05-138, and the level of control required will depend on this risk level.

To expedite the contracting time of successful suppliers we ask all suppliers to complete the SAQ before they submit their proposal. The SAQ can be completed here using the DASA Risk Assessment RAR-241016B02. and answer questions for risk level “Very Low”. In the form, for the contract name please use the competition title and for the contract description please use the title of your proposal.

Defence Cyber Protection Partnership

The Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP) will review your SAQ submission and aim to respond within 2 working days with a reference number and an indication of your compliance status. They welcome emails if you think a response has not been provided in this time. The resulting email response from DCPP should be attached (JPG or PNG format) and included within the DASA submission service portal when the proposal is submitted. You will also be asked to enter your SAQ reference number. Please allow enough time to receive the SAQ reference number prior to competition close at 12:00 midday on 18 February 2025 (GMT).
The SAQ will be evaluated against the CRA for the competition, and it will be put it into one of the following categories:

1. Compliance Status Met – no further action

2. Compliance status Not Met – if successful in competition and being funded, the innovator 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.

Innovators can submit a proposal without all controls in place, but are expected to have all the cyber protection measures necessary to fulfil the requirements of the contract in place at the time of contract award, or have an agreed Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP).

The CIP provides evidence as to how and when potential innovators will achieve compliance. Provided the measures proposed in the Cyber Implementation Plan do not pose an unacceptable risk to the MOD, a submission with a Cyber Implementation Plan will be considered alongside those who can achieve the controls.

A final check will be made to ensure cyber resilience before the contract is placed.  Commercial staff cannot progress without it. This process does not replace any contract specific security requirements.

Additional information about cyber security can be found at: DCPP: Cyber Security Model industry buyer and supplier guide.

7.6 Public facing information

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a title, Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and a short abstract. The title, PVPS and abstract you provide will be used by DASA, and other government departments, to describe your project and its intended outcomes and benefits. They may be included at DASA events in relation to this competition and in documentation such as brochures. As this information can be shared, it should not contain information that may compromise Intellectual property.

7.7 How your proposal will be assessed

At Stage 1, all proposals will be checked for compliance with the competition document and may be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply. Only those proposals that demonstrate compliance against the competition scope and DASA pre-sift criteria will be taken forward to full assessment. For more information on how your proposal will be assessed please read Assessment process and criteria.

Pre-Sift Criteria
The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition	Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The proposal fully explains all three sections of the DASA submission service, how it meets the DASA criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) and competition scope	Pass / Fail
The proposal must contain a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan which demonstrate how the work proposed will be completed	Pass / Fail
Your deliverables include a written final report	Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal is £250,000 (excluding VAT)	Pass / Fail
The final deliverable month indicated must be less than or equal to 18 months from T0 where T0 is the date the contract is agreed by both parties; the project must be completed by 31 December 2026	Pass / Fail
Innovations must start at a minimum of TRL 2 and reach a minimum of TRL 4 and a maximum of TRL 6 by the end of the project	Pass / Fail
The proposal confirms there is no need for MODREC	Pass / Fail
No UKMFC Advisory Board member has been involved in any discussion about or drafting of the proposal	Pass / Fail

Proposals that pass Stage 1 will then be assessed against the standard DASA assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), other government departments, including government laboratory members of the UKMFC, and the front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to view or comment on assessors’ recommendations.

DASA reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from innovators during the procurement process, which includes the full proposal, to any third party engaged by DASA for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting DASA in the evaluation of your proposal. In providing such information you consent to such disclosure. Appropriate confidentiality agreements will be put in place.

Further guidance on how your proposal is assessed is available on the DASA website.

After assessment, proposals will be discussed internally at a Decision Conference where, based on the assessments, budget and wider strategic considerations, a decision will be made on the proposals that are recommended for funding.

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

Proposals that are unsuccessful will receive brief feedback after the Decision Conference.

7.8 Things you should know about DASA contracts: DASA terms and conditions

Please read the DASA terms and conditions which contain important information for innovators. For this competition we will be using the Innovation Standard Contract (ISC), link to the contract: Terms and Conditions. We will require unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions; if applicable, please ensure your commercial department has provided their acceptance.

More information on DEFCON 705 can be found by registering on the Knowledge in Defence.

Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to monitor the project) and a Dstl Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact). In addition, the DASA team will work with you to support delivery and exploitation including, when appropriate, introductions to end-users and business support to help develop their business.

We will use deliverables from DASA contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract terms and conditions, including sharing with the UKMFC Laboratory Network, in confidence, for information purposes, and potentially for adoption or implementation to meet the requirements of the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy.

For this competition, £1 million (excluding VAT) is currently available to fund proposals. Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded, DASA may 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 may 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 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.

8. Key dates

Dial-in	9 January 2025
Pre bookable 1-1 telecom sessions	15 & 21 January 2025 (Registration details to be published the day after the dial in session, i.e. on 10 January 2025)
Competition closes	12:00 midday on 18 February 2025 (GMT)
Feedback release	30 April 2025
Contracting	Aim is for contracts to commence by the start of June 2025 and end by 31 December 2026

9. Help: Contact the DASA Help Centre

Competition queries including on process, application, commercial, technical and intellectual property aspects should be sent to the DASA Help Centre at [email protected], quoting the competition title. If you wish receive future updates on this competition, please email the DASA Help Centre.

While all reasonable efforts will be made to answer queries, DASA reserves the right to impose management controls if volumes of queries restrict fair access of information to all potential innovators.

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For definitions of One Health see:

World Health Organisation

World Organisation for Animal Health

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