Summary: The MOD is encouraging both small and big businesses to team up to develop innovative ideas for the defence and security of the UK.
Speaking at the Centre for Defence Enterprise marketplace event, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne said that the event was an opportunity for small firms and prime contractors to ‘grasp the opportunities’ available through the MOD.
This second Marketplace event was hosted in London by the Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE), part of the MOD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
Mr Dunne said that, since the first Marketplace in 2012, there had been a number of successful projects agreed between the private sector and the MOD.
Future of defence procurement
Looking ahead to the future of defence procurement, Mr Dunne said that the MOD must utilise the innovation and resourcefulness of UK firms in order to maintain ‘the UK’s decisive military and technological edge in a world of ceaseless technological advance and shrinking budgets and in which our future superiority is no longer a given.’
In order to encourage this innovation and ensure that firms are working towards UK security as well as the country’s economic prosperity, Mr Dunne announced that the MOD will be demanding that defence contractors build exportability into their thinking from the outset, actively considering it early on in the MOD acquisition cycle and developing and procuring equipment with partners.
Winning MOD business
This means that the UK industry must ‘up its game and become more innovative if it is to win [MOD] business’. For businesses looking to win with the MOD, it is therefore crucial that you have a full understanding of the changes in the marketplace.
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