When talking online, how do we know that the person we’re talking to is who we think they are? Can we tell if a piece of writing has been changed by a different author?

These questions are at the heart of the latest national security challenge launched by HMGCC Co-Creation, which is looking for tech solutions founded in forensic linguistics, to help ensure the identity of online authors. A key requirement is to automate processes with explainable and defensible decisions.

HMGCC Co-Creation will provide funding for time, materials, overheads and other indirect expenses for applicants successful in phase 2 of the competition.

Technology themes
Artificial intelligence, behavioural and social sciences, communication systems, data science and engineering, machine learning, software development.

Key information

HMGCC Co-Creation will be hosting a two-stage competition process.

• 1) Phase 1. The objective is to rapidly assess brief proposals. Those unsuccessful will be informed with feedback. Successful applicants will be invited to phase 2. For further information please see How to apply – Phase 1.
• 2) Phase 2. Following a feedback phase, successful phase 1 applicants will be requested to submit a proposal directly to cocreation@hmgcc.gov.uk. For further information please see How to apply – Phase 2.

Budget, up to £60,000
Project duration 12 weeks
Phase 1 competition opens Monday 1 September
Phase 1 competition closes Thursday 25 September at 5pm
Assessment and feedback window 6 working days
Phase 2 competition opens Tuesday 7 October
Phase 2 competition closes Friday 24 October at 5pm

Context of the challenge

HMGCC Co-Creation is launching a challenge on behalf of national security to find a solution that detects changes in authorship within online communications and provide a detailed explanation of the detected differences.

UK government departments, like many private sector organisations with a global reach, conduct significant communication online. By communicating only via online text, there is a need for assurance that the person being messaged is the intended recipient, using writing style, motivation, mood and attitude changes as clues to their identity, with any changes needing to be understood in the context of national security concerns.

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 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.