DEMC BattleLab Breakfast Event February 2022 – Synopsis
It was an early start for many DEMC members to get to the BattleLab at Dorset Innovation Park for a 07:45 start, but the event was at capacity with 85 delegates and speakers.
Breakfast was kindly sponsored by KDC Group, provided by The Posh Partridge and well-receive by all. A hot coffee and a bacon and sausage butty were just the ticket to set us all up for an early event.
Adrian Trevett, Chair of the DEMC Steering Group and Head of Economic Development at BPC Council opened proceedings with a warm welcome and a few words about the DEMC and its objectives, and thanks to those who conceived and organised the event.
The MoD Defence BattleLab – an introduction
The first guest speakers were Capt. Ed Ebbern, Head of Innovation and Col. Tom Ryall MBE RM, Head of NavyX and Navy BattleLab representing the Army and Navy respectively.
Ed began with how historically the military had developed all its new technologies but how in recent times they have moved to embrace the potential of leveraging technologies developed in the commercial sector with the advantages of risk taking, agility and speed this can bring. This shift has moved to the creation of the world-leading innovation hub that we now found ourselves in, known as the Defence BattleLab. Ed explained that the purpose of the Defence BattleLab was to bring Primes, SME’s and academia together to engage and collaborate with the MoD on all types of technologies.
Tom took over to explain the reasons for locating the BattleLab at Dorset Innovation Park, showing that it occupied a space at the junction of two perpendicular lines drawn through the key defence facilities across the south of England. Tom went on to highlight the main features of the BattleLab including access to cleared airspace and a variety of land and marine testing areas, and listed the benefits including private 5G network, access to a large UK defence cluster, and Enterprise Zone status. Tom finished the joint presentation with an open invitation for businesses to engage and become part of the defence innovation ecosystem.
The South West Region Defence and Security Cluster – an overview
Next up was Charlie Heard in his capacity as South West Regional Defence and Security Cluster (SWRDSC) Programme Lead, and who is also Head of Supply Chain for Babcock International Group.
Charlie explained how the SWRDSC was developed by SMEs and large primes, LEPs and academia to offer a route into Defence supply for non-traditional SMEs and raise the profile of regional Defence & Security capability. Charlie took us through the aims of the SWRDSC (encouraging collaboration, fostering and incubating innovation, Championing the SW region, providing a sector voice and representation, and investing in people); how and why to become a member; the profile of its current membership; and the channels it uses to promote events and news about the sector. Charlie closed with a list of upcoming events and activities and contact details for the team.
HMG Defence and Security Accelerator
We then heard from Mike Madden, DASA Innovation Partner Southwest of England, who gave an overview of the Defence and Security Accelerator.
Mike began with the main objective of DASA, to find and fund exploitable innovation to support UK Defence and Security, and support UK prosperity. Mike then explained the model that DASA works within between MoD and other Security departments providing the problems and funding, and SME’s, large suppliers, and academia providing innovative solutions. Mike highlighted the kinds of innovation that DASA funds and the benefits of entering their funding competitions, including 100% funding, retention of IP and access to end users and technical advice.
Mike went through the achievements of DASA both nationally and in the Southwest including estimates £60m of funding nationally for 2021/22 and £10m for the SW. Mike listed the main ways of getting involved with DASA through market explorations, competitions (both themed and open calls), networking events, and mentoring and finance services. Mike explained more about themed and open call competitions with some examples of previous themes and also mentioned Defence Innovation Loans as an alternative to funded competitions aimed at SMEs who can’t access traditional finance to help later-stage development and commercialisation.
Mike went on to talk about the development of regional Defence & Security clusters (of which SWRDSC was one of the first) and how they will capitalise on regional strengths and capabilities within the sector and can be used as an efficient and effective way to communicate and engage with DASA and the MoD. Mike closed with an overview of the national DASA regions and contact details for the Southwest.
Enterprise Zone status explained
Following a very worthwhile break for networking and a reasonable grilling of the previous speakers, the event reconvened with an explanation of Dorset Innovation Park’s Enterprise Zoe status from Cecilia Bufton, Chair of the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (Dorset LEP), and John Sutcliffe, of the LEP’s Enterprise Zone Committee. Cecilia and John took us through the vision for Dorset Innovation Park with its primary focus on tech innovation, bringing in organisations such as Atlas Elektronik UK, QinetiQ, Norco, draperVENT, and the MoD. They explained that the purpose of Enterprise Zone status is to stimulate and accelerate growth by providing tax breaks, excellent infrastructure, and access to skills. Cecilia highlighted some of the key successes so far including 30 businesses on site, 290 jobs created, and 504 jobs safeguarded. Cecilia and John closed with the suggestion that with the opening of the new Defence BattleLab, now was an exciting time to join the Dorset Innovation Park community.
Networking and Close
Unfortunately, the Stemmettes were unable to make the event so we didn’t hear about the wonderful work they are doing to support young women and non-binary people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers, but hopefully we can hear from them at a future DEMC event
Adrian Trevett closed the event with a summary of what we had heard and a thank you to all those involved. Many stayed on for a further opportunity to network until the event closed at 11:15.
All in all, a great line-up of speakers with some really useful inspiration, information and guidance about how to become a supplier to the Defence and Security sector
See the full presentation slides on the attached document below