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The NSW Defence Innovation Network’s (DIN) next round of seed funding is available for SMEs to collaborate with academic partners to accelerate development of early-stage technology concepts.
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The DIN brings together NSW industry, universities, the state government and the Defence Science and Technology Group to help make NSW businesses more competitive and innovative on a global scale, and better able to respond to national objectives for defence industry research and development by harnessing the research capabilities available within the NSW university system.
DIN support for seed projects is based on a co-investment model, where seed funding of up to $50,000 per project will be made available on a competitive basis, and will require commitment of matching funds from the industry partner.
A successful proposal will see pairing of the industry partner with one or more university research teams that have the expertise and capacity to deliver project outcomes in collaboration with industry capability. DIN can assist to locate such expertise among member universities, on request.
To be successful, industry proposals for seed projects must meet the DIN’s selection criteria below. Areas deemed to have the greatest potential for defence innovation fall into the Next Generation Technologies Fund, including:
- Medical countermeasures;
- Hypersonics;
- Directed energies and advanced sensors;
- Multi-disciplinary materials science;
- Enhanced human performance;
- Trusted autonomous systems;
- Quantum technologies;
- Aerospace; and
- Cyber and intelligence.
Projects should be scoped to deliver outcomes within six to eight months and, to ensure substantive progress towards realistic goals, may be aimed towards a long-term program of research that will be well-placed for future funding initiatives.
Key selection criteria include:
- Identified need in Defence (technology or capability);
- Novelty and potential to become world leading;
- Technical/scientific merits, scientific and technical risk, best collaborative team;
- Potential for impact and implementation pathway; and
- Capacity and capability of the SME to commercialise project IP.
The DIN is made up of NSW universities, including UNSW, University of Sydney, Macquarie University, University of Wollongong, Western Sydney University, University of Newcastle and UTS.
SMEs wanting to apply for grants need to lodge full proposals by 4 March 2019. Any queries and completed proposals should be submitted here.
