Pioneering defence procurement discussions will be held at DPRTE 2016 (on 16 March at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena) as UK Defence Solutions Centre (DSC) joins the DPRTE Innovation Hub. Here, DSC Executive Director of Innovation, Paul Winstanley, tells BiP reporter Domhnall Macinnes about the opportunities this will bring.
Opened on 23 March 2015 by Business Minister Matthew Hancock and Defence Minister Philip Dunne and functioning as an independent entity, the UK Defence Solutions Centre (UK DSC) is a new organisation jointly funded by Government and industry. UK DSC’s participation at DPRTE 2016, at the Innovation Hub, is another major incentive for businesses of all sizes to attend this invaluable procurement event.
A brainchild of the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP), UK DSC is an industry first; operating as an innovation centre where the leading minds in the defence industry can collaborate, advancing the UK’s capabilities and strengthening the UK’s position as a world leader in defence solutions. Attendees at the Innovation Hub will have a unique chance to engage with this new body, making themselves known and learning about UK DSC and the exciting opportunities the organisation presents for any budding innovative company looking to advance the UK’s defence technological capabilities.
Paul Winstanley, Executive Director of Innovation at UK DSC, said: “I would absolutely encourage other organisations to attend DPRTE. The more comprehensive the attendance the more benefits there will be for all industry representatives to reap.”
UK DSC works closely with UKTI DSO and the Customer Advisory Group and seeks customers worldwide; the outcome being a continuously expanding knowledge and understanding of industry requirements over the coming 15 years. UK DSC’s relationship with the UK value chain extends to the most prominent and established defence suppliers, as well as to any SME aspiring to push the boundaries of defence industry solutions with their innovations.
Mr Winstanley explained: “The DSC looks at how Government and industry can work together effectively to deliver prosperity, and furthermore how it can develop this relationship to benefit the defence capability of the industrial supply chain.”
With a background in applying innovative solutions across an extensive range of sectors including defence, Mr Winstanley’s passion now is delivering new technology solutions to defence. Being a new entity, UK DSC plans to fully utilise the opportunity presented at DPRTE to meet a wide variety of industry representatives through networking and raising awareness about prosperity and innovation, both of which Mr Winstanley notes are closely linked.
He commented: “We’re looking at the focus of the event being around acquisition, making sure we take into account the requirement of prosperity in acquisition, while looking more broadly at the role of innovation. You’re innovating, integrating and taking on board innovation as part of delivering prosperity.”
A small DSC team will accompany Mr Winstanley to DPRTE, looking to engage with the defence procurement community and learn of companies’ prosperity agendas.
He said: “We engage across the board – we are part of the Defence Growth Partnership which has got the 16 major defence companies engaged already. So reinforcement of that engagement would be good.
“Equally, we recognise that there are many other suppliers in the value chain, ranging from academia to SMEs and midsized companies. We tend not to differentiate; we engage broadly across the entire value chain.”
Then, following the event, UK DSC will offer advice regarding how it can help companies to work towards building a more prosperous UK defence industry.
For more information on this and other procurement events, keep following the BiP Solutions blog…
