Smaller suppliers invited to pitch for £2.9B UK defense tech framework

Public Sector

Government Commercial Agency wants DIPS 2 to reach beyond MoD buyers and the usual big-name suppliers

The Government Commercial Agency (GCA) – the UK procurement body formed from Crown Commercial Service and Cabinet Office commercial teams – is seeking greater input from customers and smaller suppliers as it develops a new version of its framework
for security-focused digital and IT services.

The GCA’s current Digital and IT
Professional Services (DIPS) framework, which runs until November
2027, is open only to buyers within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and
its 17 suppliers are mostly large defense companies and
consultancies.

The agency wants its replacement to
be open to more buyers and suppliers, according to a procurement
notice published on May 18 and linked material.

The notice says that DIPS 2, which the GCA plans to run for eight years
from September 2027 to August 2035, will be available to a wider
group of “customers with defence and security requirements” including some outside the MoD, potentially the Home Office and Foreign Office. It has a total possible value of
£2.88 billion including VAT.

In a supplier engagement session held
in March, the GCA said it wants to increase the participation of small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which the government defines
as companies with fewer than 250 staff along with turnover and
balance sheet limits. It is considering having fewer lots than the
six in DIPS 1 and outlined a range of options for this, including a
possible lot specifically for projects worth less than £5 million.

“We are learning lessons from
Ukraine in terms of rapid technological development,” Darren
Corkindale, a deputy head for professional services in the Ministry
of Defence’s digital commercial service, told the session.

He noted that the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) is expected to include a
clear focus on digital and technology including artificial
intelligence, cybersecurity, and the electromagnetic domain, adding:
“Never thought I’d really say this, but there’s an emphasis in
the SDR around transition to conflict, war readiness, war
preparedness. Again, DIPS 2 needs to reflect that.”

The GCA plans to complete engagement
with suppliers by the end of this year and publish its tender for the
DIPS 2 framework in 2027. ®