Niteworks contract extended to 2018
Above:
(left to right) Air Cdre Mike Quigley, Director Technical DE&S with Niteworks Managing Director Simon Jewell.
MoD Crown Copyright 2015 / Kevin Slade
The contract which was due to run until 31 March 2016 will now be extended out to 31 March 2018.
Established by the MOD in 2003, the Niteworks partnership comprises more than 150 organisations including the MOD, Dstl, large defence primes, broader suppliers, research establishments and specialists.
Niteworks Managing Director Simon Jewell said: “In the face of the evolving security situation, the decision to extend the Niteworks partnership is timely given the need for MOD and industry to work as a whole force to de-risk and accelerate the provision of military capability. Niteworks offers a tried and tested construct through which MOD can mobilise industry and academia to gain impartial advice in support of its business and operational imperatives.”
Air Cdre Mike Quigley, Director Technical at DE&S said: “I am pleased that the Niteworks contract has been extended out to 31 March 2018. This gives MOD a capability to help understand the level of risk in the complex systems we procure and to pull through innovation into service. I am encouraged by the health of the partnership, especially the number of SMEs that have chosen to join.”
The Niteworks approach enables the MOD to rapidly assemble expertise in an impartial environment, with access to prior knowledge and industry Intellectual Property from across the Defence community. It brings together knowledge of the problem and solution space which enables a better understanding both of the feasibility of recommendations and allows them to be rigorously tested and challenged from a range of perspectives – blending incumbent knowledge with the fresh thinking of new suppliers – be they generated by SMEs or a global company.