The private sector is to get the chance to participate more directly in work supporting the Ministry of Defence research programme, Defence Procurement Minister Baroness Symons announced today.
The MOD's 400 million pound sterling a year research programme is currently allocated to the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) on a non-competitive basis, with DERA sub-contracting about a quarter of this work to industry or academia. In a pilot scheme to be launched shortly, parts of the research programme will be thrown open directly to competitive tender from the private sector.
Baroness Symons said: "MOD attaches immense importance to defence science and technology. In a world where technology is evolving rapidly, we are always searching for ways to improve access to the best ideas and the best researchers in order to ensure that our Armed Forces continue to be supplied with equipment containing high but proven technology. "esearch competition is a way for MOD to gain access to the widest possible body of knowledge. The lessons learned during the pilot competition for limited areas of research will be studied carefully and will guide our thinking on further use of competition for research in the future. "This pilot exercise represents a genuine opportunity for industry, academia and the wider scientific community to contribute directly to the MOD's research programme at the primary level."
Background Notes: **Pilot projects will be let in the financial year 2000/01 and will involve up to 20 million pounds sterling of work, less than 5% of the total annual defence research programme. The final selection of projects to be competed is still under review, but will range from longer term inventive work at the cutting edge of technology to more immediate applied research to identify technology options for future Armed Forces equipment. Requests for Declarations of Interest for specific projects will be sought from next month onwards. **Further information on the Research Competition Pilot may be obtained from the Research Competition Support Cell at Room 3188, Ministry of Defence Main Building, Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB. (Tel: 0171 218 9906/7, Fax: 0171 218 9905, E-mail: RCSC.DGRT@gtnet.gov.uk.)
