---
title: "Open Call - Autonomous Decision Making for Cyber Defence"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY"
published: "2021-11-05"
---

# Open Call - Autonomous Decision Making for Cyber Defence

Buyer: DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1

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## Summary

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is seeking proposals under the tender titled "Open Call - Autonomous Decision Making for Cyber Defence." This procurement process, classified under the industry category of software development for military applications, is currently in the award stage. The tender was announced on 30 September 2021, with a total contract value of £951,580.81. The contract period spans from 4 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, and the procurement method adopted is a selective call-off from a framework agreement. The delivery location is specified as Salisbury, England (postal code SP4 0JQ).

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in artificial intelligence and machine learning, particularly those focused on cyber defence technologies. Companies capable of developing innovative AI and ML strategies, as well as prototyping services, would be particularly well-suited to compete for this contract. Small and medium-sized enterprises are encouraged to apply, given their ability to offer novel solutions in response to the buying organisation's interest in autonomous cyber defence decision-making capabilities.

## Notice

Under this open call, the Authority is seeking novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) approaches for autonomous cyber defence decision making. Specifically, the Authority is interested in research that aims to: * Develop AI and ML based approaches for autonomous response options planning. This could include (but is not limited to) the application of reinforcement learning, adversarial machine learning, game theory etc. Response options could include (but are not limited to): implementation of technical mitigation measures; initiating actions to increase information veracity or certainty before implementing a mitigation response; or initiating actions to identify the cause of system failure in order to recover from it. * Develop multi agent approaches and architectures for cyber defence decision making. Key aspects include the trade-off between centralised and de-centralised agents, approaches for information sharing between agents, agent hierarchy and multi agent consensus. Note that this should focus on the interaction of machine agents and not the interaction of humans with machine agents. * Develop methods and approaches to evaluating the decisions generated by the agents to determine their effectiveness and impact.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2af58016-74ea-4081-b659-c5b39081ae3e |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Nov 2021 |
| Submission deadline | 13 Sep 2021 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 29 Sep 2021 |
| Contract period | 3 Oct 2021 - 31 Mar 2022 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £951,580 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £951,580 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY |
| Locality | SALISBURY |
| Post town | Salisbury |
| Postcode | SP4 0JQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK72 Wiltshire |
| Local authority | Wiltshire |
| Electoral ward | Winterslow & Upper Bourne Valley |
| Westminster constituency | Salisbury |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | FRAZER-NASH CONSULTANCY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 72231000 - Development of software for military applications
- 72244000 - Prototyping services
- 72262000 - Software development services

## Release History

- 5 Nov 2021 at 15:20 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2af58016-74ea-4081-b659-c5b39081ae3e

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2af58016-74ea-4081-b659-c5b39081ae3e
  5th November 2021 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/4e178a19-dce0-4747-8fb6-ec66abe48f3e
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/cd8c0b62-23f8-4281-87c5-c50ca5525a40

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-00187194-0e3c-4152-bc51-94a995636ea1.json.