Defence & Security Grand Challenge - AI Security: Call for proposals

The Alan Turing Institute’s Defence & Security Grand Challenge is seeking to commission research projects in AI Security. The research call is part of a wider multi-year programme in AI security, working closely with UK Government agencies.

The programme aims to have real-world applied impact through deployable machine learning solutions realised over the coming years. This research call is seeking to support novel research ideas, testing of real-world solutions with datasets where possible and, if appropriate, literature reviews. Projects will need to be delivered between the period 01 September 2024 – 31 March 2025. Projects may be initiated after 01 September 2024 and applicants may determine the duration but the project should be defined as such that it can be completed by 31 March 2025.

Please see the call documentation for more information.

Who can apply?

To be eligible to apply you must:

• Be part of a UK university or research institute. Commercial organisations or overseas universities or institutes are not eligible.
• Have permission from your organisation to apply, i.e., ensure your organisation can agree to the Terms and Conditions and that you include as part of the application an approval of submission letter from your research/contracts/finance office stating this. An example of a letter is available on request.
• We expect applicants to seek the relevant ethics approvals from their institute prior to submitting their application.

Funding available

The total funding available per project is £50,000 – £200,000 ex VAT. The research will be funded at 100% Full Economic Cost and VAT will apply.

Eligible costs include:

• Salary of personnel working directly on the project – this could include, for example, PIs, postdoctoral research associates, research assistants, data managers, data scientists or software engineers.
• Overheads, estates and indirects
• Travel and subsistence for project researchers (e.g., attending conferences, travelling to/from the Turing/other collaborators).
• Conference or event attendance fees (where conference/event is directly applicable to the research project).
• Cloud computing or other high performance computing costs.
• Other costs which are specifically justified for the project e.g., books, meeting room or catering costs, specific laptops.
• Open access publications.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via the online portal here. If you have not already done so, all applicants must first register on the system and provide basic details to create a profile. If you have any questions regarding the application form or using the online system, please contact the programme inbox dsprogramme@turing.ac.uk.

Please use the budget template provided in the Flexigrant application form.

Your approval of submission letter should also confirm that your research/finance office have reviewed that the costs provided are correct.