UK Defence Innovation (UKDI): standard terms, conditions and contract guidance

Guidance on UKDI terms and conditions for funding, contracts and intellectual property rights.

The guidance below will help you to understand who can apply for funding, the sort of projects
UKDI
funds, and the terms and conditions of
UKDI
contracts.
Who can apply
UKDI
submissions are welcome from the private sector, academia and Public Sector Research Establishments (
PSRE
’s).
UKDI
will examine the legal status of organisations prior to placement of any contract or agreement. In most cases there are no nationality restrictions, however
UKDI
individual competition documents will detail any necessary restrictions.
Excluding ineligible suppliers
We expect our suppliers to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in their business dealings and adhere to the laws of the countries where they operate.
We reserve the right to exclude a supplier who’s been convicted of any of the offences or misconduct listed in the ‘statement relating to good standing’ that will be sent to you if you’re successful under a
UKDI
competition.
What
UKDI
funds
We fund innovative and exploitable ideas that could lead to an advantage for UK armed forces and national security, and support UK prosperity.
We use technology readiness levels (
TRL
) to give an indication of an innovation. See the table below for guidance.
TRL
Ministry of Defence (
MOD
) definition
1
Basic principles observed and reported
2
Technology concept and/or application formulated
3
Analytical and experimental critical function and/or characteristic proof of concept
4
Technology basic validation in a laboratory environment
5
Technology basic validation in a relevant environment
6
Technology model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment
7
Technology prototype demonstration in an operational environment
8
Actual technology completed and qualified through test and demonstration
9
Actual technology qualified through successful mission operations
If you have a product and are looking to become a defence supplier, you may wish to speak to the
MOD
Defence Suppliers’ Service.
What
UKDI
does not fund
UKDI
generally does not fund the following unless explicitly stated in the competition document.
projects or manpower that is currently receiving funding or has already been funded from elsewhere in government
solutions at
TRL
9, unless explicitly stated in the competition document
concepts which are not novel or innovative
consultancy
ideas from within Government (excluding  Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs).
commercialisation of ideas
Our Competitions
You can apply for funding via a themed competition or the Open Call for Innovation.  All open opportunities are listed on the
‘Competition Services’ page.
In addition to the guidance on this page you must refer to the relevant competition document for the competition specific terms and conditions, including the specific contract.
Your Proposal
UKDI
recognises the value of your intellectual property (
IP
). We use a number of safeguards to protect the information you provide to us in your proposals, whilst allowing proper scrutiny of your submissions by our expert assessors, facilitating effective collaboration, and achieving appropriate transparency of how public money is being spent.
Unless stated otherwise below or in the relevant competition document, all information you provide to us as part of your proposal, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in confidence. This information will only be used for the purposes for which it is provided to us. It won’t be used for other purposes, without us having obtained the necessary rights and permissions to do so.
UKDI
reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from you during the procurement process, which includes the full proposal, to any third party engaged by
UKDI
for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting
UKDI
in the evaluation of your proposal. In providing such information you consent to such disclosure.  Appropriate confidentiality agreements will be put in place.
Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded,
UKDI
will continue to seek funding and shall consider your proposal fundable for 12 months from the date of the feedback release.
We will share the abstract, Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and title of your proposal with partners across His Majesty’s Government  that may express an interest in funding the proposal through
UKDI
, in accordance with the competition document. We may also share this information on our cross-government Ideas Marketplace platform to foster collaboration and attempt to elicit funding. If partners across His Majesty’s Government wish to read the full proposal to decide if they will fund it, we will share the full proposal with them without seeking your permission if it is within 60 days of the feedback release date. If it is over 60 days since the feedback release date 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 feedback release date.
As part of your proposal you will be required to provide a proposal title, PVPS and a short abstract that you permit us to publish and use freely.
We will keep the title; PVPS; abstract; total price; technology area; organisation; and any related prior submission reference number, detailed in your proposal.
We will make sure all proposals which are downloaded by us from our online submission service are appropriately classified and get a digital watermark. The watermark names the person who will assess the proposal, along with the date and time it was downloaded.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We may use the information you provide to develop, test, validate, and improve analytical and AI-enabled tools used within our organisation. Where practicable, data will