ISCF DIGITAL SECURITY BY DESIGN – BUSINESS LED DEMONSTRATORS PHASE 1- FUNDING

1. Title: ISCF DIGITAL SECURITY BY DESIGN – BUSINESS LED DEMONSTRATORS PHASE 1- FUNDING2. Awarding Authority: Innovate UK, GB Tel: 0300 321 4357. Email: support@innovateuk.ukri.org.3. Contract type: Service contract4. Description: UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £6 million to collaborate on market demonstrator projects showcasing the use and adoption of digital security by design technologies. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.ISCF will work with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, to invest £6 million in innovation projects.The aim of this competition is to develop demonstrators of a product or service in which capability enabled hardware will be used to provide a more secure solution.‘Capability enabled hardware’ includes security features or safeguards that are built in the processor architecture and hardware system so that it becomes more secure in the face of a range of security vulnerabilities.The objectives of the competition are to:develop market demonstrators showcasing the new security capability in a vertical industry segment(s) or in applications that may cut across several vertical industry segmentsenable innovators developing secure products or services to work alongside early technology providerswiden the pool of technology and research providers in order to expand the impact of capability enabled hardwareYour project must use the DSbD technology platform prototype and specify the quantity of prototype hardware boards that are needed in your demonstrator.This is phase 1 of a 2-phase competition. Phase 1 is an expression of interest (EoI) for which no funding will be allocated.The success of phase 1 applications will be subject to the outcome of a scope check, and an interview process involving a panel of experts. Successful applicants in phase 1 will be invited to proceed to phase 2 and apply for funding.In phase 2 short-listed consortia will be invited to prepare and submit a full project proposal. Phase 2 will involve a portfolio approach for the selection of demonstrator projects.In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated.5. CPV Code(s): 73110000, 73100000, 79400000, 732200006. NUTS code(s): UKK, UKK1, UKK147. Main site or location of works, main place of delivery or main place of performance: South West (England), Gloucestershire, Wiltshire And Bristol/Bath Area, Swindon.8. Reference attributed by awarding authority: Not provided.9. Estimated value of requirement: Project size: Your project’s total eligible costs must be between £1.5 million and £4 million.FundingWe have allocated up to £6 million to fund 2-3 demonstrator projects at the end of this two-phase competition. There is no funding available for this EOI phase.If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.For industrial research projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisationup to 60% if you are a medium-sized organisationup to 50% if you are a large organisationWe may be in a position to offer higher intervention rates at phase 2.The research organisations in your consortium undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 50% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them.The consortium must be appropriately balanced to justify that the objectives and eligibility conditions of the competition are fully met and do not breach subsidy control rules.10. Competition closes: 26.5.2021 (11:00:00).11. Address to which they must be sent: For further information regarding the above contract notice please visit: 12. Other information: Funding type GrantWho can applyYour projectYour project must:have total eligible costs between £1.5 million and £4 millionstart on or after 1 February 2022end by 31 January 2025last between 24 and 36 monthsIf your project’s total eligible costs or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@innovateuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will not count towards the total eligible project costs. You can include their additional costs and related activities in an appendix to question 4.Lead organisationTo lead a project your organisation must:be a UK registered business of any sizecollaborate with other UK registered businesses, research organisations, public sector organisations or charitiescarry out its project work in the UKintend to exploit the results from or in the UKResearch organisations cannot lead or work alone.The lead organisation must show one of the following:that they operate in an industry sector requiring secure products or servicesevidence of a credible and recognisable influence that they have on the target market or marketsthat they can lead on a new market or sectorProject teamThe project team must consist of at least 2 partners, including the lead organisation.To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must:be a UK registered business, research organisations, public sector organisations or charitiescarry out its project work in the UKintend to exploit the results from or in the UKbe invited to take part by the lead applicantA typical consortium may be constructed with the involvement of:one or more partners responsible for the new product or servicethe partner responsible for the adoption or use of the product or serviceEach partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account in the Innovation Funding Service.SubcontractorsSubcontractors are allowed in this competition.Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in question 4 for why you could not use suppliers from the UK.We expect all subcontractor costs to be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.Number of applicationsA UK registered business of any size can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in one further application..A named individual at any academic institution, RTO, public sector organisation or charity cannot collaborate on more than 2 applications.Any organisations taking part in 2 applications, as a lead and collaborator or as a collaborator must show that they are working on different topics.Previous applicationsYou cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.We will not award you funding if you have:failed to exploit a previously funded projectan overdue independent accountant’s reportfailed to comply with grant terms and conditionsSubsidy control (and State aid where applicable)This competition provides funding in line with the UK’s obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control. Further information about the UK Subsidy Control requirements can be found within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation agreement and the subsequent guidance from the department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.European Commission State aidYou must apply under European Commission State aid rules if you are an applicant who is conducting activities that will affect trade of goods and/or electricity between Northern Ireland and the EU as envisaged by Article 10 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the EU Withdrawal Agreement.In certain limited circumstances, the European Commission State aid rules may also apply if you are an organisation located in England, Wales, or Scotland and conduct activities that affect the trade of goods and electricity between Northern Ireland and the EU. For further information, please see section 7 of the BEIS technical guidance.For further information see our general guidance on state aid and BEIS guidance on the Northern Ireland Protocol.For applicants subject to the European Commission State aid rules, applicants will be required to prove that they were not an “Undertaking in Difficulty” on the date of 31 December 2019 but became a UID between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2021. We will ask for evidence of this.Further InformationIf you are unsure about your obligations under the UK Subsidy Control regime or the State aid rules, please take independent legal advice.You must make sure at all times that the funding awarded to you is compliant with all current Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to or actually distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.If there are any changes to the above requirements that mean we need to change the terms of this competition, we will tell you as soon as possible.Your proposalThe ISCF Digital Security by Design (DSbD) challenge aims to update the digital computing infrastructure by creating a new, more secure hardware and software ‘ecosystem’. These new security capabilities will underpin future digital products and services.The aim of this competition is to develop demonstrators of a product or service in which DSbD technologies will be used to provide a more secure solution. These demonstrators must showcase DSbD’s new security approach in a vertical industry segment(s) or in applications that may cut across several vertical industry segments.This approach is expected to increase the breadth of use-cases against which DSbD technologies can be proven and ultimately increase pathways to market adoption and to economic impact.Industry segments can include:those that require secure system operation with safety and resiliency business requirementsthose that include high-value data assets the compromise of which may cause serious economic or personal harmYour proposal must describe:the use case or use cases and why and how it will benefit from the proposed demonstratorhow you will justify the social and economic benefits realised by the demonstratorhow you will assess potential productivity increase using the demonstratorhow you expect the results of the demonstrator to affect future products or servicesYou should explain how the consortium will engage with the DSbD’s ‘Discribe’ Social Science Hub+ activities, including a bi-annual eventResearch categoriesWe will fund industrial research projects as defined in the as defined in the guidance on categories of research.Projects we will not fundWe are not funding:projects that do not construct a physical demonstrator using the technology platform prototypeproject deliverables that are not demonstrated in the context of capability enabled hardware as specified in the DSbD challengeprojects that do not demonstrate the need for more secure products or servicessubsidies dependent on export performance – for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that they export a certain quantity of bread to another countrysubsidies dependent on domestic inputs usage- for example giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that they use 50% UK flour in their productDates1 March 2021:Competition opens9 March 2021: Online briefing event 12:30pm – register here26 May 2021 11:00am: Competition closes2 June 2021: Invite to interview21 June 2021: Interview panel28 June 2021: Applicants notifiedBefore you startYou must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.Phase 1 expression of interest applications will be checked against the competition’s scope and then assessed through an interview process.InterviewsIf your written application is deemed to be within the scope of the competition, you will be invited to attend an online interview, where you must give a presentation before an interview panel of experts.Before the interview, by the deadline stated in the invitation email, you:must send a list of who will attend the interviewmust send your interview presentation slidesList of attendeesAgree the list with your consortium. Up to 3 people can attend, of whom one must be from the lead organisation and one from the consortium member responsible for the adoption or use of a product or service. They must all be available on all published interview dates. We are unable to reschedule slots once allocated.Presentation slidesYour interview presentation must:use Microsoft PowerPointbe no longer than 20 minuteshave no more than 20 slidescover all the application questionsnot include any video or embedded web linksAdditional information such as charts or diagrams can be included in your presentation, subject to the maximum allowable slides.You cannot change the presentation after you submit it.InterviewAfter your presentation, the panel will spend 30 minutes asking questions. You will be expected to answer based on the content of your application form.FeedbackFollowing the interview, you will receive feedback from Innovate UK on the published notification date. The notification will also state whether you will be invited to phase 2 in order to prepare and submit a full project proposal.What we ask youThe application is split into 2 sections:Project details.Application questions.1. Project detailsIf your written application is deemed to be within the scope of the competition, you will be invited to attend an online interview, where you must give a presentation before an interview panel of experts.Before the interview, by the deadline stated in the invitation email, you:must send a list of who will attend the interviewmust send your interview presentation slidesList of attendeesAgree the list with your consortium. Up to 3 people can attend, of whom one must be from the lead organisation and one from the consortium member responsible for the adoption or use of a product or service. They must all be available on all published interview dates. We are unable to reschedule slots once allocated.Presentation slidesYour interview presentation must:use Microsoft PowerPointbe no longer than 20 minuteshave no more than 20 slidescover all the application questionsnot include any video or embedded web linksAdditional information such as charts or diagrams can be included in your presentation, subject to the maximum allowable slides.You cannot change the presentation after you submit it.InterviewAfter your presentation, the panel will spend 30 minutes asking questions. You will be expected to answer based on the content of your application form.FeedbackFollowing the interview, you will receive feedback from Innovate UK on the published notification date. The notification will also state whether you will be invited to phase 2 in order to prepare and submit a full project proposal.What we ask youThe application is split into 2 sections:Project details.Application questions.2. Application questionsYour answer to each question can be up to 400 words long. Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.Question 1. Project partners (not scored)Please state the name of each organisation along with its full registered address. If you are working with an academic institution this does not need to be included.Your answer can be up to 400 words long.Question 2. Project outlineWhat is the need for your proposed demonstrator and how you will assess your demonstrator?Describe or explain:the use case or use caseswhy and how it will benefit from the proposed demonstratorhow you will justify the social and economic benefits realised by the demonstratorhow you will assess potential productivity increase through the use of the demonstratorhow you expect the results of the demonstrator to affect future products or servicesDescribe how the consortium will engage with the DSbD’s ‘Discribe’ Social Science Hub+ activities, including a bi-annual eventQuestion 3. Project teamWho is in the project team and what are their responsibilities?Describe or explain the profile, responsibilities, skills and experience of all members of the project team including any subcontractor activities pertinent to the competition’s scope and the application’s objectives.You can submit one appendix describing the skills and experience of the main people working on the project to support your answer.It must be a PDF and can be up to 4 A4 pages long and up to 10 MB file size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.Question 4. Project resourcesWhat is the size of your project, the total eligible costs and the anticipated grant request? How will you use the technology platform prototype?Describe or explain:a high-level breakdown and partner allocation for the required resources and associated coststhe size of your project, the total eligible costs and the anticipated grant requesta justification of your use of the technology platform prototype for the development of the demonstratorhow you specify and justify the required quantity of prototype hardware boards as part of your integration plan for the identified use case or use cases.You can submit one appendix to describe the activities and associated self-financing costs from partners that are not claiming funding from this competition. It must be a PDF and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.Background and further informationThe Digital Security by Design (DSbD) Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) challenge aims to radically update the foundation of the UK’s insecure digital computing infrastructure. The challenge will:increase cyber security for businesses, government and the wider public and economyincrease productivity for the UK through reduction of days lost to cyber-attacksmake the UK a market leader through new capabilities fostering the trust that is necessary for successful adoption of future digital services in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT)The challenge is being delivered through a £70 million programme funded by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund that is matched by industry funding of over £117 million.About DSbD technologiesThe Digital Security by Design (DSbD) programme produces technologies that have the potential to create a step-change in addressing security from the central hardware up through the software stack of digital systems.DSbD technologies enable fine grained memory protection and software compartmentalisation on top of a memory-managed processor. For example, a processor that uses a Memory Management Unit (MMU).They offer an approach to containerise and protect access of data in digital systems with a potential to greatly increase robustness and resilience against cyber-attacks.The DSbD technology platform prototype uses an Arm 64-bit processor that incorporates the DSbD technologies and the concepts of the Capability Hardware Enhanced Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) Instructions (CHERI) protection model.CHERI comprised security features and safeguards that are built into the processor architecture so that the hardware system and associated software become more resilient and therefore more secure, against a range of software vulnerabilities.DSbD workshops – video recordingsWe encourage you to familiarise with DSbD technologies by accessing a range of video recordings from previously held DSbD workshops. This will help your chances of submitting a relevant and quality application.Contact usIf you need more information about how to apply email support@innovateuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.Our phone lines are open from 9am to 11:30am and 2pm to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).Innovate UK is committed to making support for applicants accessible to everyone.We can provide help for applicants who face barriers when making an application. This might be as a result of a disability, neurodiversity or anything else that makes it difficult to use our services. We can also give help and make other reasonable adjustments for you if your application is successful.If you think you need more support, it is important that you contact our Customer Support Service as early as possible during your application process. You should aim to contact us no later than 10 working days before the competition closing date.Finding a project partnerIf you want help to find a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network.Support for SMEs from Innovate UK EDGE If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK EDGE. This service forms part of our funded offer to you.These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale.We encourage you to engage with EDGE, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you.TKR-202132-EX-1566070# funding opportunity