The Defence Innovation Partnership will soon be accepting applications from South Australian industry and researchers under the latest round of its Activator Fund, with a total of $2.4m available.
Launched in 2023, Activator is designed to speed up the translation of innovative defence technology into real world capability for the Australian Defence Force.
Defence SA Chief Executive Matt Opie said the themes for the latest round of projects had been chosen to ensure alignment with the priorities of the Defence Strategic Review and National Defence Strategy.
“The current geopolitical environment is presenting us with never-before-seen challenges which in turn requires innovation and new ways of doing things,” said Mr Opie.
“Emerging threats and the need for enhanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and the need to ensure we protect both our own Australian Defence Force and critical infrastructure as well as the regional security of our Indo-Pacific neighbours are central to this round of projects.
“The project themes and challenge statements have been carefully selected in close collaboration with Defence to ensure we are using our research expertise to address current challenges for our Defence Force.”
This round of Activator will seek projects under two themes: Understanding and countering influence and Scalable distributed active sensing and sensemaking systems: Enable early warning and increased situational awareness for chemical hazards.
Proposals will be sought from consortia led by South Australian universities and industry and involving Department of Defence partners, as well as other national and international partners.
Information sessions will be held for interested parties to hear about the challenges, meet potential project partners and learn about the grant application and selection process.
- Understanding and countering influence: Friday 21 June, 1pm
- Scalable distributed active sensing and sensemaking systems: Friday 28 June, 10am
Activator applications will open on 25 June 2024, with a closing date of 5 August 2024.
The Defence Innovation Partnership is a collaborative initiative between Defence SA, Defence Science and Technology Group, and South Australia’s three universities – the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the University of South Australia.
For more information and to register for the information sessions, head to https://www.defenceinnovationpartnership.com/research-funding/activator-fund/.
Image caption: Defence Innovation Partnership Director Sumen Rai and Associate Director Dr Matthew Richmond.
