When national security organisations use electronic equipment in sensitive environments, they must be sure every element has been properly assured.

In its latest challenge, HMGCC Co-Creation wants organisations to get involved in a five-month project, developing ways to robustly assure printed circuit boards (PCBs).

The innovative methods used need to image and verify the complete manufactured PCB stack-up, providing assurance they will function where and when they are most needed.

HMGCC Co-Creation will provide funding for time, material, overheads, and other indirect expenses.

Key information

Budget up to £80,000
Project duration 5 months
Competition opens Monday 15 July 2024
Competition closes Thursday 29 August 2024 at 5:00pm

Context of the challenge

All organisations associated with national security undertake sensitive and classified daily tasks, and there is the invariable need to use electronic equipment. Sensitive equipment may be sourced from a range of suppliers varying from bespoke construction by HMGCC to less well-established third-party routes. With all routes, there is a requirement to conduct due diligence on the constituent parts of an electronic system – ensuring functionality and security.

The focus of this challenge is to non-destructively image and verify printed circuit boards (PCB), specifically focusing on analysing copper traces through both the external and internal stack-up layers of complex multi-layer FR4 PCBs.

Who should apply?

This challenge is open to sole innovators, industry, academic and research organisations of all types and sizes. There is no requirement for security clearances.
Solution providers or direct collaboration from countries listed by the UK government under trade sanctions and/or arms embargoes, are not eligible for HMGCC Co-Creation challenges.

Evaluation criteria

All proposals, regardless of the application route, will be assessed by the HMGCC Co-Creation team. Proposals will be scored 1–5 on the following criteria:

Scope: Does the proposal fit within the challenge scope, taking into consideration cost and benefit?

Innovation: Is the technical solution credible, will it create new knowledge and IP, or use existing IP?

Deliverables: Will the proposal deliver a full or partial solution, if a partial solution, are there collaborations identified?

Timescale: Will the proposal deliver a minimum viable product within the project duration?

Budget: Are the project finances within the competition scope?

Team: Are the organisation / delivery team credible in this technical area?

HMGCC Co-Creation supporting information

HMGCC works with the national security community, UK government, academia, private sector partners and international allies to bring engineering ingenuity to the
national security mission, creating tools and technologies that drive us ahead and help to protect the nation.

HMGCC Co-Creation is a partnership between HMGCC and Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory), created to deliver a new, bold and innovative way of
working with the wider UK science and technology community. We bring together the best in class across industry, academia, and government, to work collaboratively on national security engineering challenges and accelerate innovation.

HMGCC Co-Creation is part of the NSTIx Co-Creation network, which enables the UK government national security community to collaborate on science, technology
and innovation activities and to deliver these in partnership with a more diverse set of contributors for greater shared impact and pace.

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.