UK Defence Innovation (UKDI): how to submit a proposal — guidance

How to submit a proposal to UKDI

Before submitting a proposal, you should ensure you have fully read and understood the relevant competition document. You can access the competition document by clicking on the relevant competition on the
UKDI
Competition Services
page.
We would also recommend you read all our other guidance material before submitting a proposal.
Innovators are strongly advised to submit their proposal at least one hour before the deadline stated on the competition document. Proposals submitted close to the deadline risk encountering issues that cannot be resolved in time. Responsibility for timely submission rests entirely with the innovator, no extensions will be made.
Get started
The only way to submit a research proposal to
UKDI
is online via the
UKDI
online submission service
We recommend you use a Google Chrome browser when accessing the
UKDI
online submission service.
Register for a
UKDI
online submission service account here.
If you already have a
UKDI
online submission service account log in here.
Once you have logged in to the
UKDI
online submission service, you will be taken to your supplier dashboard where you can begin new proposals as well as track the progress of your draft and submitted proposals.
All proposals through our
UKDI
online submission service must be completed in accordance with our
acceptable use policy.
You must not submit any information classified above Official. Please contact
UKDI
accelerator@dstl.gov.uk
well in advance of the competition closing date if you have any questions.
Cyber Security
The
Cyber Security Model
(CSM) is how Defence builds cyber security into its supply chain.
On receipt of a FUND decision, successful innovators (and their sub-contractors) 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 innovators to demonstrate compliance with the Cyber Risk Profile (CRP) of the competition. See
Def Stan 05-138
for details on CRPs.
To expedite the contracting time of successful innovators we ask innovators of some competitions to complete the
SAQ
before they submit their proposal (this is not mandated). Please check the competition document.
The
SAQ
will be automatically scored against the CRP and you will be immediately informed of the outcome, compliant or not compliant.
If non-compliant, you will be required to complete a Cyber Improvement Plan (
CIP
) before the contract is placed which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager. The
CIP
template can be found here.
Before you start your
SAQ
you will need:
the Risk Assessment Reference (RAR) RAR-XXXXXXXX
a
D-U-N-S number
(a unique identifier for your organisation)
a
GOV.UK One Login
Submitting a proposal
From your supplier dashboard, click on ‘Start now’ and you will be taken to a page where you can begin your submission to the relevant competition.
There are six overall steps to complete, as outlined below. As you progress through the various steps, you will have the ability to save your work in order to return to it later. We recommend you save your application form regularly. In addition, once you have started a proposal you will receive email alerts notifying you of how much time remains before the competition close date.
Proposal attachments are limited to .png, .jpg, or.jpeg files only. Please provide full answers on the (Desirable/Feasible/Viable) criteria for your Innovation in the boxes provided. Proposals received with Desirable/Feasible/Viable answers provided as attachments will be considered non-compliant and sifted out of the competition.
Step 1 - Service
Firstly, you should select the competition type you are submitting to from the list.
If you select Themed Competition, you will then be given the option to choose the specific Themed Competition you are entering. Once you have selected your competition, some options will appear under the heading ‘Challenge’. Select those challenges which are relevant to your proposal. If there are no challenges then you should select the box which states ‘there are no specific challenges for this competition’.
If you select Open Call for Innovation, you will be given the option to identify which Open Call competition you wish to submit to. You will be asked for brief details about any interaction you have had with your
UKDI
Innovation Partner.
You will be asked to state whether the proposal is a new one or a resubmission of an earlier proposal. You will also be asked to confirm you have read and accepted
the
UKDI
terms and conditions.
Step 2 - Summary
You will then progress to the summary page. A unique proposal identification code beginning ACC will be automatically generated for you. Please use this code in any correspondence with
UKDI
regarding your proposal.
In this step we require you to include a brief Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and abstract or summary of your proposal. The information you provide here is used to help us identify suitable assessors to look at your proposal. The PVPS will also help identify potential end users of your innovation.
Next we ask you to provide a commercial point of contact in your organisation. This person will be contacted if your proposal is successful to arrange the placement of the contract.
You will then need to indicate the current
Technology Readiness Level
(
TRL
) of your idea, and expected
TRL
at the close of the contract.
Finally, you will be asked to select the technology areas that are relevant to your proposal. This is an additional tool to allow us to identify suitable assessors.
Step 3 - Innovation details
In this step, we ask for the detail about what you are proposing to do, how you propose to do it, and what the benefits are to our customers.
You will be required to complete a series of text entry boxes (associated word limits will be shown under each box). Associated with each text box is some supporting guidance on wha