DASA challenge: Future-proofing Biosecurity by Strengthening the UK’s Microbial Forensics Capability
DASA seeks proposals that address challenges within the field of Microbial Forensics.
Opportunity Details
When
Registration Opens
12/12/2024
Registration Closes
18/02/2025
Award
DASA are looking to fund 4-10 projects, each up to a maximum value of £250,000 (total funding available is £1m).
Organisation
DASA
DASA, in conjunction with Dstl, is seeking innovative proposals that will strengthen the UK’s Microbial Forensics Capability. The following research areas are of particular interest for this competition:
- Computational tools that improve the opportunity to detect anomalies in genome sequencing data, including evidence of biological engineering.
- Technologies that allow the identification and / or computational analysis of other omic signatures for novel Microbial Forensic capabilities.
(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.)
DASA encourage collaboration between organisations for this competition.
Industry collaboration survey during proposal preparation
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.
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DASA submissions are welcome from businesses in the private sector, academia, individuals (i.e. sole traders) and Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs).
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. Innovate UK Business Connect’s security & defence team can provide advice if you are new to the area.
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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.
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).
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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 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.
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.
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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.
If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, complete the industry collaboration survey above, or contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s security & defence or biotechnology teams.