Defence is seeking expressions of interest from Australian research partners to contribute as advisors to the co-design, implementation and quality assurance of the 'Operating in CBRN Environments' STaR Shot' research program.

The threat of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) attacks against military forces and civilian populations is growing.

State and non-state actors are increasingly willing to use these indiscriminate methods, and knowledge of CBR agent manufacturing processes is proliferating. The ADF has the ability to survive the surprise created by CBRN weapons and improvised CBR devices, but there is a need to do more.

Our forces must be able to respond faster and more flexibly to CBRN events; achieve enhanced situational awareness; and manoeuvre safely, effectively and unimpeded in complex contaminated environments for prolonged periods of time. For this reason, a new ten-year Science, Technology and Research (STaR) program has been initiated by the Australian Department of Defence: the Operating in CBRN Environments (OCE) STaR Shot.

To meet its ambitious innovation targets, the OCE STaR Shot intends to create a Community Advisory Group that will be engaged in activities relating to the development, implementation and quality assurance of the STaR Shot research and innovation program.

This call for Expressions of Interest invites Australian universities, Australian research organisations and industry to partner with Defence and form a Community Advisory Group that will support and assist the development, implementation and quality assurance of activities under the OCE STaR Shot. The Advisory Group will assist the OCE STaR Shot leadership in the ongoing development of the OCE STaR Shot program; talent and activity identification; selection of implementation approaches; evaluation of STaR Shot products; and setting the direction of future research. The Community Advisory Group will be distinct from the OCE STaR Shot Community of Practice, which will provide members with a safe environment for collaboration. All entities across the national science and technology community with an interest in this STaR Shot will be able to join the Community of Practice, however only a selected team of domestic experts will make up the Community Advisory Group.

Participation in the Community Advisory Board does not disqualify the participating organisation from involvement in other STaR Shot activities.

Background

Operating in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat environments is arguably the hardest assignment that warfighters have. Not only do they have to perform strenuous tasks such as keeping adversaries at bay or supporting civilians in the aftermath of a disaster, they have to do these tasks in the presence of dangerous and invisible threats that spread rapidly and widely if uncontained. 

Unfortunately, there are two major concerning trends. Firstly, it has become more likely that some state actors and non-state actors are willing to use CBRN agents despite the various international bans on the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction. Secondly, it is becoming increasingly easier to manufacture these threats.

These concerning developments are the reason why the Operating in CBRN Environments (OCE) STaR Shot has been created.

Operating in CBRN Environments (OCE) STaR Shot 

The OCE STaR Shot is a research and innovation program that aims to develop, integrate and demonstrate technologies that will enable the Australian Defence Force to operate in environments in which CBRN threats may be deployed by our adversaries. Given this aim, activities which the STaR Shot seeks to stimulate and sponsor within the Australian science, technology and innovation community cover a broad range of problem domains all of which will benefit from advancements in research and technology.

Inter alia, progress is needed in the following priority research areas:

• low-cost, robust sensors (including wearable) that detect and identify in near real-time advanced threats (especially chemical agents that are designed to be undetectable or virulent pathogens) and how much of them there are present;
• CBRN threat detection, identification and monitoring from a safe distance or without putting humans at risk. This includes detection of pathogens before they affect humans or before infected humans become contagious and spread a disease;
• new capabilities that predict where threats go and which, reliably and on time, push warning signals out to humans in danger, both military and civilian personnel. This warning system needs to be able to interoperate with Australian battle management systems, coalition systems and civilian communications systems;
• novel protection technologies and systems that safeguard mental, physical and physiological strength and allow humans to keep operating for extended periods of time. This protective gear cannot reduce significantly Australian warfighters’ freedom of manoeuvre;
• automation and autonomy technologies that reduce the risk of exposure to CBRN threats or may lead to new ways of operating in these environments;
• innovations that make military vehicles, ships and aircraft impenetrable to CBRN threats or, if chemicals or pathogens do penetrate, technologies that help characterise accurately which parts of the equipment are affected, contain the contamination or neutralise it effectively and efficiently;
• new ways of decontaminating infrastructure, sensitive equipment and people quickly and cost effectively. This includes technologies that allow for the assessment of the decontamination actions’ effectiveness; and
• technologies that facilitate movement between contaminated areas and clean areas without spreading the threat. This is particularly important when the ADF has to manage injured people, wounded people or sick people.

This call for Expressions of Interest is seeking Australian research partners to contribute as advisors to the co-design, implementation and quality assurance of the OCE STaR Shot’s research and innovation program.

Call for Partners

Defence is seeking to build, through partnership with Australian universities, research organisations and industry, an expanded Community Advisory Group to assist with the ongoing development, implementation and quality assurance of the research and innovation activities for the OCE STaR Shot.

The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is proposing to engage with the partners through an ongoing advisory arrangement comprising a group of suitably qualified and driven partners. The preferred outcome is a multi-party approach to contribute in the areas of program co-design, generation of white papers, and to assist with the development, quality assurance and evaluation of complementary programs and activities. It is expected that Community Advisory Group partners have strong capabilities and existing research programs that could support innovation efforts in one or more of the following OCE areas:

• Fast, accurate and early detection, identification, source localisation and monitoring of low concentrations of chemical agents and/or biological pathogens at long stand-off distances and over large expanses of complex terrain;
• Near real-time integrated and multi-domain CBRN threat prediction, warning and reporting, including novel threat and environmental data collection methods in support of such knowledge management systems;
• Effective CBRN protection for individuals, groups, sensitive equipment, infrastructure and supply chains that does not impede, or only minimally impedes, ADF taskforce operations and freedom of manoeuvre;
• Fast and effective containment or neutralisation of CBRN threats;
• Rapid and efficient decontamination of affected people, sensitive equipment, platforms and infrastructure;
• Significantly enhanced human resilience to CBR agent exposure, physical and cognitive exhaustion.

It is expected that the Community Advisory Group will be able to identify activities which would lead to longer term mutual benefits.

Partnering Opportunities

This call for Expressions of Interest is a unique partnering opportunity being offered by DST Group that aims to develop a Community Advisory Group to co-design capability specifically in relation to the OCE STaR Shot.

DSTG will:

• commit to a Multi-Party Collaborative Agreement where the parties are named as part of the Community Advisory Group for this STaR Shot.
• provide access to data, information and other materials, to be used as inputs to develop outcomes sought by the STaR Shot.
• provide guidance and supervision where appropriate.

Essential Requirements

• Demonstrated capability and experience in one or more of the described priority research areas; and
• Capacity to work with Defence and other partners to co-design activities aligned with a provided mission such as: ‘to enable the joint taskforce to operate safely and effectively in CBRN threat environments’.

Desirable Requirements

DSTG is interested in fostering and building an enduring relationship with an appropriate partner. As such, the following will be considered desirable when assessing Expression of Interest submissions:

• Multi-Party submissions including stakeholders from across the Innovation system.
• Genuine interest to develop and grow a sovereign research capability within their organisation in a related field, and promote an ongoing partnership with Defence;
• Clear vision for the development of an ongoing capability;
• Capacity to:
• appoint an academic chair (or equivalent) to provide program oversight and set the foundation for an enduring capability driven partnership, and
• appoint a part-time postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent); and
• Support of their organisation(s) to undertake activities supporting the Community Advisory Group.

How to Apply

Submissions are now closed.

Engagement Model

Multi-Party agreements under the Defence Science Partnering Deed for universities, or via the appropriate MOU instrument where the partners are from research organisations or industry.

Contacts 

Technical Information and Requirements
Dr Axel Bender
Operating in CBRN Environments STaR Shot Leader
Telephone: 0427 767 992
Email: axel.bender@dst.defence.gov.au or STaRShot_CBRN@dst.defence.gov.au

Dr Amir Masoumi
Operating in CBRN Environments STaR Shot Program Manager
Telephone: (02) 6127 1466
Email: amir.masoumi@dst.defence.gov.au or STaRShot_CBRN@dst.defence.gov.au

Contracting and Administrative Support
Stephen Johns
Assistant Director: National Partnerships
Telephone: 0418 393 475
Email: stephen.johns@dst.defence.gov.au

The Next Generation Technologies Fund seeks proposals from academia, industry, and Government-funded organisations for two leap-ahead Human Performance proposals: a Performance Patch project and a Cognitive Gut project.

Submissions are now closed.

Research areas and themes

The Performance Patch project aims to advance the real-time measurement and prediction of Warfighter readiness and performance. More Specifically:

1. To undertake innovative mechanistic and applied research that will explore the potential for molecular biomarkers that can predict cognitive and physical performance (and risk of physical injury) before and during military missions, for example in the coming 24-hr, 2-hr and 30-min time periods.
2. To pilot minimally invasive biofluid sampling options that might support a fieldable Performance Patch concept.
3. To explore the synergy of molecular biomarkers and non-invasive wearables to indicate an individual’s status to optimally perform.

Cognitive Gut

To undertake innovative mechanistic and applied research that will optimize and enhance cognitive performance through interventions of the gut microbiota. More specifically:

1. What gut bacterial species have the greatest effect on military cognitive performance?
2. How can these gut bacterial species be optimised or enhanced to induce the greatest benefit to military cognitive performance?
3. What are the gut bacterial species that are most negatively affected by military-relevant stressors?
4. What are the mechanisms responsible for the gut bacterial affecting cognitive performance?

Support for successful proposals

The NGTF is investing up to $7m over 3.5 years to deliver two parallel studies aimed at advancing either the measurement of warfighter performance, or its enhancement through modification. Funding for applicants is limited to 1.5 years in the first instance. Follow-on investment for the remaining two years is subject to a mid-point project review. This mid-point review will determine whether to continue, adjust, or stop the project. The results of this review will inform the case for future approval of the necessary funds from NGTF.

Am I eligible?

Potential suppliers wishing to respond to this procurement will be required to fully comply with and meet the following conditions for participation:

• Australian Citizenship for key researchers and the ability to obtain a Baseline security clearance is required due to the potential to work with official/sensitive information.
• Applicants will be encouraged to form multi-disciplinary, multi-institution, research, and development partnerships drawing on the world-class research capabilities within Australian and New Zealand in this rapidly developing field of innovation.
• Defence is seeking to build enduring science capability and is looking for partners willing to co-invest in the immediate research and intending to partner over a longer-term.

Additionally for the Performance Patch:

• A multi-disciplinary team of experts likely requiring multiple universities or industry partners in the areas of, but not limited to, immunology, biological ‘oimc fields, neuroscience, cognitive performance, physiological/physical performance, physical injury, and biostatistics.

Additionally for the Cognitive Gut:

• A multi-disciplinary team of experts likely requiring multiple universities or industry partners in the areas of, but not limited to, gut microbiology, cognitive performance, biostatistics, nutrition and metabolomics.

Research Briefing

DST will provide a research program brief to all interested parties via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 27 January 2021. This will provide an opportunity for clarifications and questions to be raised. Any further questions after this brief will need to be provided in writing with DST providing a written response that will be provided to all parties. Nominations to attend the briefing are to be forwarded in writing to the Contact Officer by Lisa Headley via email (lisa.headley@dst.defence.gov.au) by 25th January to be provided a Microsoft Teams invite. For security purposes: Full Name, Organisation, Position, Mobile Telephone No., and email address of all nominated personnel are to be included at the time of nomination.

How do I apply?

Submissions are now closed.

Direct any questions or concerns you may have regarding this Request for Proposal (RFP) in writing to the Contact Officer at:

ehp-ngtf@dst.defence.gov.au.

Proposers may submit questions or concerns to the Contact Officer up until five working days prior to the Closing Time specified in the Tender Details Schedule.

The Next Generation Technologies Fund is seeking an academic partner for its next symposium.

The Next Generation Technologies Fund is seeking an academic partner for its next Emerging Disruptive Technology Assessment Symposium.

The theme for the symposium will be:

Agile Command and Control (AC2) for Defence and National Security.

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, this symposium will be held as a virtual activity over 2 to 3 days in October.

Co-host role

The Emerging Disruptive Technology Assessment Symposium (EDTAS) academic partner will co-host the event and act as the primary hub for broad national and international academic outreach by coordinating academic participation with internationally recognised leading researchers from institutions across Australia.

It would also be desirable that the academic partner:

• have the ability to provide both access to and support for high-level virtual video conferencing and syndicate/workshop platform
• can identify a thought leader at professorial level and a post-doctoral researcher to provide operational support in partnership with the Next Generation Technologies Fund (NGFT)
• can indicate how this EDTAS could tie into other activities of relevance to Agile Command and Control conducted by the university

Expected outcomes of the symposium

The Symposium will seek to understand Australia’s:

• strategic needs
• current technology capabilities
• future technology development landscape and directions

Research drivers, challenges and opportunities around the following themes will be explored:

• Artificial intelligence, human-machine teaming, autonomy and real-time battle simulation modelling to assist decision making.
• Organisational structures and cultures for greater headquarter agility.
• Information, visualisation, augmented reality, and virtual assistants for providing enhanced situational awareness and sensemaking.
• Architectures for C2 distributed to the warfighter.
• Exploitation through data analytics of vast quantities of increasingly diverse data sets.

• Innovative human, social, cultural, and technical systems enabling agile organisational forms and commanders to rapidly execute command intent.

What is the EDTAS?

The Emerging Disruptive Technology Assessment Symposium (EDTAS) series helps future-proof Australian Defence as part of the Next Generation Technologies Fund (NGTF). It considers an expansive science and technology topic that will likely have a major impact — transformational or disruptive — for the Defence or National Security domains in the 10+ year timeframe.

These symposia have previously been held in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia and will continue to seek academic partners and geographic locations indicative of a national program.

Have a look at our previous events to learn more about the EDTAS.

Am I eligible?

The EDTAS academic partner must be a signatory of the Defence Science Partnership Program and must have renowned research programs in a technology area of relevance to Agile Command and Control.

How do I apply?

The call for proposals is now closed.

D.Start is an initiative under Next Generation Technologies Fund’s Defence Research Accelerator program. Currently D.Start delivers three programs, D.Start Ignite, D.Start Catalyst, D.Start Spark and D.Start Spark.

D.Start Ignite is an innovation and entrepreneurship program that empowers Australian academics, start-ups, and small-to-medium enterprises to connect with Defence, identify a real-world application for their science or technology and attract the resources they need to translate it to capability – at pace.

D.Start Catalyst delivers courses to university post-graduate students on how to solve the nation’s toughest national security and Defence problems quickly using Lean Launchpad principles.

D.Start Spark is a high intensity, fast-paced two-day program for teams working on science and technology with a potential defence application. It is the first step towards understanding the customer and market for your project or idea.

Ignite

“ Without a program like this, it would be almost impossible for me to talk to people like Defence. ”

Dr Rosemary Craig - Southern Cross University Lismore

“ This is a great way for researchers and people working at the cutting edge to figure out how to connect what they do with real people’s problems ”

Christopher capon - Co-Founder, Space Services Australia

Catalyst

“ Entrepreneurs, or in this case our program participants, don't carry the same biases as the larger organisations. They can ask questions without fear of it impacting their career and the internal status quo. They don't know what they don't know. So, they can add a level of objectivity and curiosity where that might not be the cultural norm inside the organisation. ”

Phil Hayes-St Clair - H4NS Educator, Adjunct Associate Professor, AGSM

“ For me H4NS was not a course or subject, rather it was something far greater, because what was learnt and facilitated, is not akin to either a course or subject, it was a journey. For me, this opportunity was something that could never have been created in any other way. ”

Bjorn Shakespeare - H4NS Student, UNSW School of Population Health

Got more questions?

Contact the D.Start innovation team for support.

Round one of the 'Artificial Intelligence for Decision-making' initiative is now closed, but applications are being accepted for round two.

Visit the AI for Decision making page on the Defence Science Institute website for further information.

For further enquiries, please contact: dsi.info@defencescienceinstitute.com

DST is undertaking a programme of work that aims to better understand the efficacy of wearable assistive technologies for enhancing the physical and physiological performance of the dismounted combatant.

Wearable assistive devices support and augment the body's natural physical ability and are rapidly maturing. These devices come in many different forms and range from full body exoskeletons, to joint support and augmentation, such as a knee brace, or devices that support specific user functions, such as holding hand-tools above the head.

Given there are more than 70 unique occupations in the Australian Army alone, there are many applications and use-cases for this technology. Examples range from a combat engineer squadron building a bridge, to a health support company setting up a field hospital on a humanitarian mission. Other Defence industry applications could include naval shipbuilding and vehicle manufacturing and sustainment. We believe that there is the potential for assistive devices to have a transformational impact on the tasks and roles performed by the workforce. By increasing the strength and endurance of the wearer, they would reduce workload and enable personnel to work harder for longer. They could also allow a broader cross-section of personnel to complete physically strenuous tasks safely. Importantly, they could also support the wearer and reduce fatigue and the likelihood of injury, thereby enhancing the availability of personnel and serve to prolong careers.

The performance of its people and their ability to adapt and prevail in future operational scenarios is a critical factor in building and sustaining the ADF's capability edge. DST is seeking to build a larger capability in the wearable assistive technology research space to help maximise the utility and adoption of this technology, through a partnership with an Australian university. HPRnet was established in 2016 through Army funding to help address its top Human Performance research requirements and is currently supporting a range of studies with universities from across Australia. As part of HPRnet, this project will provide an opportunity to further engage with the HPRnet community of researchers focused on delivering Human Performance outcomes for the ADF.

Partnership opportunity

DST is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for innovative proposals of future focussed research that can meaningfully address one or more of the ADF's assistive technologies priorities. The invitation to submit against the EOI is limited to Australian universities who are signatories of the Defence Science Partnering (DSP) Deed.

Based on a potential investment of up to $600k, proposers will be asked to detail:

• How funds would be allocated (PhD, Post Doc, Undergraduate, industry engagement, capital, consumables, etc.) in order to deliver the study's ADF's focused outcomes over a three year timeframe
• A commitment to build a true partnership through the appointment of an academic chair (0.1FTE) to the HPRnet and the investment of university resources to maximise outcomes for Defence.

The preferred university partner will have strong biomechanics expertise and facilities to measure the kinetics and kinematics of human gait along with cardiorespiratory responses, muscle activity and interface pressure distribution. Engineering expertise within the university (or through a university-to-university / university-to-industry collaboration) is also required in order to translate human factors data into the design optimisation of the wearable assistive technologies.

There is an expectation that the program will lead to the establishment of a substantial national capability in wearable assistive technologies that provides sustained benefit to Defence and other organisations (emergency services, law enforcement agencies and the private sector) over the long term. It is expected that both parties will benefit greatly from extant knowledge, expertise and reach-back capacity offered by the other in a true collaborative relationship.

How to apply

Applications have now closed.

Assessment

Submissions will be assessed and down selected by an expert panel from DST and its military stakeholders. Applications will be assessed against the "NICER" criteria, defined below:

• Necessary: unlikely to be undertaken without Defence investment
• Invested: involves meaningful co-investment
• Connected: evidence of an openness to working with Defence and the broader HPRnet partners
• Excellent: involves researchers with an excellent track record of delivering high quality research
• Relevant: clearly mapped to stated ADF research priorities

Essential requirements

• Demonstrated capability and experience in conducting biomechanical and physiological evaluation of human gait, including design and ethics, data collection, analysis, interpretation and peer-reviewed publications.
• Demonstrated capability and expertise in capturing and analysing biomechanical and physiological data to inform design optimisation of equipment.
• Fully equipped biomechanics laboratory including capacity for continuous ground reaction force measurement, motion analysis, interface pressure distribution measurement and muscle activity measurement.
• Provision of a suitable qualified academic chair (0.1 FTE) to participate in the HPRnet panel.
• Ability to attract suitability qualified research personnel and thereby rapidly stand-up the capability.
• Signatory of the Defence Science Partnering Deed.

Desirable requirements

DST is interested in fostering and building a true partnership with appropriate Universities. As such, the following would be looked upon favourably when assessing EOI submissions:

• Provision of appropriate students and scholarship/s in areas of mutual interest to augment the research program.
• Competitive co-funding proposals for academic support to the programme.
• Clear vision for the development of an ongoing capability.
• Universities are encouraged to partner with other agencies (i.e. industry) in order to develop a capability that spans the value chain from technology development to human-system integration to transition into service.

Engagement model

• Separate scheduled agreements under the Defence Science Partnering Deed.
• For costing of in-kind support and for determining levels of funding required apply Research Rate 2.

Assistive technology priorities

The five key work areas associated with the Assistive Technologies program are:

AT1 - Identify and evaluate assistive technologies that could offer significant potential within defence.

AT2 - Evaluation of commercial off-the-shelf and custom load sharing technologies that can be integrated into existing body armour systems and that transfer the loads of the armour and attached equipment off the shoulders and to the pelvis.

AT3 - Development of novel assistive technology concepts that have potential for commercialisation.

AT4 - Publish and present key findings in order to establish a national / international reputation in the area of assistive technologies and thereby attract additional funding.

AT5 - Conduct of a regular (6 monthly) technology watch of various assistive technologies that are under development or coming on the market, that are aimed at reducing the burden of load carriage.

DSTG and the Future Submarine Project, in conjunction with Australian partner universities, have established the Research Network for Undersea Decision Superiority, to build world-class research capabilities and capacities and leverage the significant skills, expertise, networks and infrastructure of Australia's research base for sovereign benefit.

This initiative focuses on the human element in undersea decision making and will provide a mechanism to fund and oversee research projects that lead to improved decision making in the context of future submarine operations.

The inaugural network membership make up has now been finalised. Curtin University will initially act as the network agent.

RN-UDS Inaugural Members

• Charles Darwin University
• Curtin University (Network Agent)
• Edith Cowan University
• Flinders University
• La Trobe University
• Macquarie University
• Monash University
• Murdoch University
• Queensland University of Technology
• University of Melbourne
• University of New South Wales
• University of Queensland
• University of South Australia
• University of the Sunshine Coast
• University of Tasmania
• University of Western Australia
• Victoria University

Membership will be reviewed periodically by the Network Advisory Board and new members may be invited to join. Inactive members may be asked to leave the network.

Academics from Network members are able to apply directly for project funding opportunities presented by the network. Non-member academics, from DSPD signatory universities, are eligible to participate in projects through collaboration with Network members through the usual subcontracting processes under the DSPD. Projects will be led by academics from network members.

Up to $2 million per annum of funding will be available for suitable projects and other network activities such as seminars, scholarships and administration. Membership does not guarantee project proposal funding.

The network is governed by an Advisory Board that includes representation from DSTG and network members. An interim Advisory Board will govern the network for the first 12 months of operation. The interim Advisory Board is chaired by retired submariner Steve Davies (CDRE ret), supported by independent members Dr Margaret Law (Naval Group Australia) and Pat Hall (Independent Director), DSTG representative Dr David Gamble, and university representatives Dr Andrew Dowse (Edith Cowan University), Pru Ayling (University of Western Australia) and Tim Walton (Curtin University).

Further information can be found in the Membership Information Pack. Enquiries can also be directed to the Project Director, Sharon Humphris, at Sharon.Humphris@curtin.edu.au or 08 9266 5188.

Cyber is a priority theme of the Next Generation Technologies Fund, aimed at realising the potential game changing cyber capabilities afforded by research and development in Australia. Defence recognises the need to respond to this technology opportunity, and that technological advances in the cyber domain are likely to lead to the introduction of new capabilities in our region.

Cyber seeks to leverage the vibrant cyber science, technology and innovation capability across Australia to develop technology solutions of high relevance to Defence. Through partnerships with Data61, academia and industry, Defence aims to understand the potential of cyber technologies, create prototype systems, and demonstrate the practical application of systems to Defence problems. One of the goals of cyber technologies research is to inform Defence of the potential benefits and practical limitations of cyber technologies through studies and demonstrator systems within a three to five-year timeframe.

Further information

For further information or assistance, please contact: Cyber-NGTF@dst.defence.gov.au