Procurement details: RM1043.8-1- AI and Autonomy for the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Enterprise - Project Office partner

• Term or acronym:

  AI

• Definition:

  Artificial Intelligence

• Term or acronym:

  ISR

• Definition:

  Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance

• Term or acronym:

  GAN

• Definition:

  Generation after next

• Term or acronym:

  A²ISR

• Definition:

  Autonomy and AI for the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaisance (Enterprise)

• Term or acronym:

  PED

• Definition:

  Processing Exploitation and Dissemination

• Summary of work:

  The AI and Autonomy for the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Enterprise (A²ISR) Project Office will enable the delivery and integration of generation after next science and technology to release capacity and maximise understanding in the future UK ISR enterprise in order to realise a state of Information Advantage. This project seeks to release capacity (of analysts and systems) and maximise understanding in our ISR enterprise in order to maintain Information Advantage over our adversaries. Specifically it will demonstrate generation-after-next (GAN) in: 1) ISR capability, closely coupling ‘exploit’ and ‘collect’ throughout the ISR hierarchy, enabling collection tasking to be created dynamically and opportunistically, and AI enhanced PED from the core to the edge; 2) data-led and AI-enabled Intelligence Analysis function constrained by the available data, algorithms and computational power, rather than capacity of human operators; and the 3) demonstration of technologies to enable Defence to undertake 'ISR' of the sub-threshold information domain (sub-threshold, often referred to as the ‘grey zone’, where states and non-state actors compete in a hostile manner using a variety of tactics but below the threshold of war)

• Where the supplied staff will work:

  No specific location (for example they can work remotely)

• Why the work is being done:

  Developing the Science & Technology required to enable distributed analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on edge computing platforms (from servers to embeded devices) in adversarial and degraded communications environments and with partners (including international). The work contributes to addressing the core capability challenge of “pervasive, full spectrum, multi domain Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)” identified in the 2020 MOD Science and Technology Strategy, and seeks to work with cutting edge and innovative suppliers in industry and academia. It is focused on maturing emerging concepts (TRL 2-4+); and must be completed within 2 years.

• The business problem:

  The supplier team will work with Dstl to lead the delivery and integrate generation after next science and technology. The project office will provide the capability to initiate and partner research with industrial and academic suppliers, integrate the research against stated outcomes (including in a project office delivered and managed 'test and simulation environment') and provide critical services such as benefits definition and management, stakeholder engagement and demonstration. Dstl requires a partner to provide a multi-disciplinary team (drawn from a range of suppliers) with experience of research and integration in ISR and intelligence science and technology.

• User type:

  Defence Scientist

• Definition:

  As a Defence Scientist, I need to bring together the technical and functional expertise required to deliver generation after next science and technology so that I can equip future UK ISR and Intelligence capability with battle winning technology that supports an enduring state of Information Advantage.

• User type:

  Military User

• Definition:

  As a Military User, I need to be able to understand how to exploit generation after next science and technology so that I can equip future UK ISR and Intelligence capability with battle winning technology that supports an enduring state of Information Advantage

• Work done so far:

  Three phases (~30 months) of an A²ISR project office will have completed by end September 2023. The following services have been delivered and an overview will be provided in support of Phase 2 bids: 1) Strategy - strategic planning, engagement, communications and benefits realisation, Project office governance, research lifestyle definition; 2) Delivery - research delivery, project office planning and controls, information management and assurance; 3) Capability - standards, process and methods, best practice, organisational development, 18 months of development (alongside earlier design work) will also have been completed for the A²ISR test and simulation environment, which will be made available as GFX at the start of the contract. The current ways of working should not limit thinking and design of the future project office. Current emphasis of work is on delivery and assurance; in FY2425 the emphasis of the project will move to benefits and exploitation of the research. Changes may also be needed in response to changes by our owning programme.

• Which phase the project is in:

  Live

• Existing team:

  The supplier will be working with a mixed team of Dstl specialists, stakeholders from across defence and other contracted parties under the A²ISR project. Principal engagement on this task will be with the Dstl Project Manager, Dstl Project Technical Authority, Dstl Cross cutting concept leads, Dstl Lead Technical Reviewer, Military Advisor and Work package leads (Dstl, or other organisations), External stakeholders in Defence and other Dstl projects.

• Address where the work will be done:

  Largely remote but with regular and frequent attendance at Dstl Porton Down (SP4 0JQ) and regular travel to stakeholders and suppliers around the UK.

• Working arrangements:

  It is expected that the whole project office (supplier and Dstl team) will come together face-to-face at least once a month for collaborative working at a suitable Dstl or supplier site. This has generally alternated between Dstl and a site supplied by the project office. Face-to-face meetings at work package level are also expected in addition to visits to supplier venues. Day-to-day engagement, including a weekly 'stand-up' will be virtual. We required a collaborative working area for file sharing (up to Official-Sensitive) to be supplied by the project office, alongside joint MS Team chat rooms. For research tasks delivered within the project office, integration activities and the development of the test and simulation environment, Agile working practices are expected. In September it is expected that there will be at least two two-day hand over meetings at a suitable Dstl/ supplier site, which the majority of the new project office staff will be expected to attend in person.

• Security and vetting requirements:

  Security Check (SC)

• Security and vetting requirements:

  Developed Vetting (DV)

• More information about the Security requirements:

  Security Check level of clearance is required for majority of team. Some personnel with DV clearance would be advantageous. The supplier is expected to process and hold their own clearances. Clearances can be managed by 3rd parties. The authority will not hold or sponsor clearances.

• Latest start date:

  4 September 2023

• Contract length:

  1 years 6 months 27 days

• special term or condition:

  Work is to be delivered under DOS Framework. DEFCON 703 shall apply throughout with all data, methods, interfaces and full workings to be supplied as necessary under DEFCON 703. To enable sharing with future suppliers, other government departments and internationally. A full Cyber Risk Assessment (DCPP) will be required prior to contract.

• Indicative maximum:

  £5350000

• Indicative minimum:

  The contract value is not specified by the buyer

• Further information:

  Total Limit of Liability is £5.35M (ex VAT), comprising FY23/24: £3.25M, FY24/25: £2.1M. This contract provides Dstl the ability to place up to £5.35m worth of work with the chosen supplier. This amount represents a limit of liability cap and is therefore not guaranteed to be spent. Dstl will be evaluating the price based on supplier responses to this task. This price will form the rate card for the duration of the contract so the hour/day rates will remain firm for the duration of the contract. *Option 1 – expanding TSE capacity (within FY2425) As detailed above in requirement 2b: Provision of sustained capacity to the TSE in the last 6 months of the contract (October 2024 – March 2025). *Option 2 – expanding capacity (within FY2425) Subject to future funding decisions, please provided costed options to increase capacity in FY2425 by up to 50% of FY2425 Limit of Liability; in order to continue maturing the research and providing ongoing technical demonstrations. *Option 3– extending capacity (beyond current contract) Please provide an estimated Limit of Liability for extending the life of the project office beyond 31st March 2024 by 25% (~ 4 months timescale) and 50% (~ 9 months, timescale), in order to surge the work to increase the pace of exploitation or support additional research activity. *The current A²ISR project office is in place until end September 2023. The new project office contract will need to start up no later than the 4th September for a month handover period and to transfer documentation from the current joint SharePoint (owned by the current supplier). A²ISR Project currently has funding until 31st March 2025.

• Contracted out service or supply of resource?:

  Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply

• How many suppliers to evaluate:

  5

• Technical Competence:

  50%

• Cultural fit:

  20%

• Social values:

  10%

• Price:

  20%

• Essential skills and experience:

  25%

• Nice-to-have skills and experience:

  5%

• Technical questions:

  70%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant experience of running ‘project offices’ to support research for the delivery of military capability or related technology (in particular benefits realisation). Including: A) project management and information management

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant experience of running ‘project offices’ to support research for the delivery of military capability or related technology (in particular benefits realisation). Including: B) benefits realisation and exploitation and military stakeholder management, including understanding of defence structures

• Weighting:

  15%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant experience of running ‘project offices’ to support research for the delivery of military capability or related technology (in particular benefits realisation). Including: C) technical management and support planning and delivery of demonstrations.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of algorithms to support bidding and optimisation, goal decomposition in relation .

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of cloud/edge architectures or edge analytics.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of exploiting business-process data to deliver insights and improvements to business or military functions.

• Weighting:

  5%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years applying AI to intelligence analysis, including concepts like multi-agent systems and human-machine teams.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of the Agile delivery of virtual test and simulation environments.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of integrating technical concepts and supporting the definition of assumptions and architectures for ISR and Intelligence capabilities.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of quantum information processing technologies.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  1. Demonstrate additional experience in the context of military capability, in the past five years for either: - algorithms to support bidding and optimisation, and goal decomposition in relation to AI or autonomous systems; - or, cloud/edge architectures or edge analytics.

• Weighting:

  20%

• Description:

  Demonstrate additional experience in the context of military capability, in the past five years for either; - exploiting business-process data to deliver insights and improvements to business or military functions - or, applying AI to intelligence analysis, including concepts like multi-agent systems and human-machine teams

• Weighting:

  20%

• Description:

  Demonstrable relevant expertise in the past five years of the Agile delivery of virtual test and simulation environments with VBS4 (although similar capabilities may be acceptable) and/or in the context of the ISR enterprise.

• Weighting:

  20%

• Description:

  Demonstrable experience of military environments and working with uniformed personnel.

• Weighting:

  20%

• Description:

  Demonstrable experience of integrating research into exploitable outcomes.

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  Q1.Technical proposals will be assessed based on your description of how you will deliver the following requirements: Requirement 1 – Provision of strategy services to support Dstl in monitoring and implementing the vision of the A2ISR project office (ensuring we are doing the right thing).

• Weighting:

  25%

• Question:

  Q2.Technical proposals will be assessed based on your description of how you will deliver the following requirements: Requirement 1a – Provision of benefits management to support full utilisation and exploitation of the research delivered by the project. Note - although this is a specific requirement within the provision of strategy services it is highlighted as an explicit sub-requirement of requirement 1 to illustrate its importance and focus.

• Weighting:

  25%

• Question:

  Q3.Requirement 2 – Provision of delivery services to A2ISR work packages, including leadership and industry teams delivering though the research life cycle (ensuring things are done the right way).

• Weighting:

  25%

• Question:

  Q4.Requirement 2a – Provision of the A2ISR Test and Simulation Environment (TSE) to support the delivery of project concepts. Note - although this is a specific requirement within the provision of delivery services it is highlighted as an explicit sub-requirement of requirement 2 to illustrate its importance and focus. Suppliers should also note that we expect that work on the TSE will significantly reduce in the last 6 months of the contract. *Requirement 2b (Costed Option) – Provision of sustained capacity to the TSE in the last 6 months of the contract.

• Weighting:

  15%

• Question:

  Q5.Requirement 3 – Provision of capability services in support of the wider ISR enterprise and Dstl project community (ensuring we can do what needs to be done).

• Weighting:

  10%

• Question:

  Requirement 4: The cultural fit of the proposed team 1. Demonstrate with evidence the ability to create effective supporting governance to nurture collaboration and learning across multiple technical teams.

• Weighting:

  25%

• Question:

  2. Demonstrate with evidence working collaboratively as 'one team' with client and other suppliers, or strategies that will be used.

• Weighting:

  25%

• Question:

  3. Demonstrate with evidence being transparent and collaborative when making decisions.

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  4. Demonstrate with evidence a no-blame culture with encouragement for people to learn from their mistakes.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Question:

  5. Demonstrate with evidence taking responsibility and embracing accountability for their work, and respond to feedback.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Question:

  6. Demonstrate with evidence of sharing knowledge and experience with other team members.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Question:

  Social value theme - Tackling economic inequality. Describe the commitment your organisation will make to ensure that opportunities under the contract demonstrate collaboration throughout the supply chain, and a fair and responsible approach to working with supply chain partners in delivery of the contract. These include but are not limited to; understanding of opportunities to drive greater collaboration in the supply chain and measures to ensure supply chain relationships relating to the contract will be collaborative, fair and responsible.

• Weighting:

  50%

• Question:

  Social value theme - Equal opportunity. Describe the commitment your organisation will make to ensure that opportunities under the contract demonstrate action to identify and tackle inequality in employment, skills and pay in the contract workforce and support in-work progression to help people, including those from disadvantaged or minority groups, to move into higher paid work by developing new skills relevant to the contract.

• Weighting:

  50%

• Pricing model:

  Capped time and materials

• Additional assessment methods:

  Presentation

  Reference

  Case study

  Work history

• Level:

  Exceeded

• Score:

  3

• Description:

  The response exceeds requirements, providing detail that minimises risks to delivery. The response is comprehensive and unambiguous, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the requirements and providing details of how the requirement will be met in full without additional support from the Contracting Authority, other than that outlined within the Statement of Requirements.

• Level:

  Met

• Score:

  2

• Description:

  The response is acceptable and meets all the basic requirements. However, the response is not sufficiently detailed to minimise risk and / or the proposed approach may require additional support (in addition to that outlined in the Statement of Requirements) from the Contracting Authority to meet its deliverables.

• Level:

  Partially met

• Score:

  1

• Description:

  The response has met some, but not all elements of the requirement, which poses risk that the proposal will not meet the deliverables required. The response does not demonstrate a full understanding of the requirement posing major concerns.

• Level:

  Not met

• Score:

  0

• Description:

  The response does not meet any of the requirements or no response has been provided. An unacceptable and / or non-compliant response with serious reservations, demonstrating no understanding of the requirement.

• Publication of stage 1:

  18/05/2023

• Clarification period closes:

  24/05/2023 17:00

• Deadline for suppliers to submit their stage 1 responses:

  01/06/2023 16:00

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