HMGCC Co-Creation challenges
Collaborate with industry and academic experts on national security engineering challenges and innovations.
Collaborate with industry and academic experts on national security engineering challenges and innovations.
HMGCC Co-Creation is a partnership between His Majesty's Government Communications Centre (HMGCC) and DSTL (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory), created to deliver a new way of working with the wider UK science and technology community. It aims to bring together the best in class from industry, academia, and government to collaborate on national security engineering challenges and accelerate innovation.
HMGCC Co-Creation aims to work collaboratively with the successful solution providers by utilising in-house delivery managers working Agile by default. This process will involve access to HMGCC Co-Creation's technical expertise and facilities to bring a product to market more effectively than traditional customer-supplier relationships.
You can find current open challenges below.
Tracking solutions for alternative positioning, navigation and timing
There are many situations in which global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) may not be possible to use when tracking government staff around the world.
These systems can be disrupted by deliberate jamming measures, environmental factors such as weather, or location-based factors such as underground locations, urban canyons or in a mountainous area.
Areas where GNSS is unreliable can pose safety concerns as they make it tougher to keep track of UK government assets and representatives. This challenge is focused on exploring a variety of alternative options for tracking systems without using GNSS.
Organisations can access up to 拢60,000, and consortia up to 拢120,000, to develop and demonstrate technology to meet this challenge.
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Applications will close at 5pm on Thursday 15 May 2025.
Surveillance challenge using edge AI
Surveillance cameras are vital tools for use in national security, but they are often battery-powered, power-hungry and run for a long time to capture the right footage.
HMGCC Co-Creation wants to hear from organisations capable of enabling visual surveillance systems to operate with less power using edge AI. This challenge is based on the idea that edge AI, which deploys AI algorithms directly onto devices, could help intelligently reduce the power needed by enabling the use of trigger sensors.
Organisations can access up to 拢60,000 to develop and demonstrate technology to meet this challenge.
Applications will close at 5pm on Thursday 29 May 2025.
Personal electronics detector to stop data leak risk
UK government, international allies and strategic partners have facilities with high classification areas, with an increased level of security in place. In these locations, it is vital to ensure that no secret recording with prohibited devices like phones or smartwatches is allowed.
HMGCC wants to hear from organisations which have or could develop a PED detector to alert people to the presence of a banned device.
Organisations can access up to 拢60,000 to develop and demonstrate technology to meet this challenge.
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Applications will close at 5pm on Thursday 25 June 2025.
First published 12 May 2025