Innovation sought to integrate advanced materials onto military platforms
The UK and Australia continue to seek further innovation in joining technologies with a new funding opportunity to enable the integration of advanced materials onto military platforms. Such materials can offer significant benefits to military capability, including increased functionality and improved survivability. To enjoy these benefits, advanced materials often need to be used within existing designs or retro-fitted onto current platforms.
Phase 1 of the DASA “Joint Effort” themed competition was launched in November 2018 in support of the Dstl Materials for Strategic Advantage Programme. It was run in parallel with the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group) Next Generation Technologies Fund (NGTF) and Small Business Innovation Research for Defence (SBIRD). Proposals were received from industry and academia and 14 projects were funded, split evenly between the Australian and British competitions.
In Phase 2, the campaign is seeking to increase collaboration between the two nations, building both on innovations from Phase 1 and exploring entirely new concepts.
The technical challenges remain unchanged from Phase 1. Many different materials are within scope, including joining combinations of composites, metals, ceramics and polymers. Potential joining solutions should provide enhanced capability through one of the following:
improved performance through use of new material combinations or structural designs
improved durability of structures through better joints
improved ability to maintain joints through the life of the military platform
Phase 2 has £500k available through DASA to fund multiple proposals. In parallel, there is a separate competition for Australian bidders with funding of an additional A$1m. It is not compulsory to have been involved in the previous phase to apply.
Phase 2 will close for submission of proposals at midday (GMT) on Friday 31 January 2020.
Apply to become an Inspector
Do you have the skills and ability to compose accurate reports based on your own investigative observations? Are you fair, level headed and possess a level of curiosity and inclination to ask “why” and dig deeper to gain essential information?
I am looking for people with a well-developed sense of curiosity to join my team of inspectors.
My purpose is to help improve the efficiency, effectiveness and consistency of the Home Office’s border and immigration functions through unfettered, impartial and evidence-based inspection. In this way, my inspectors play a key role in assisting the Home Office to deliver its goal to keep the UK secure and support its economic prosperity.
I need individuals who can combine their natural curiosity with practised investigative techniques to examine functions and processes thoroughly, analyse how they are working, and identify how they could be improved. Inspections vary in scale and complexity and look at airports, seaports, case working units, overseas visa posts, enforcement operations, and at functions that have been contracted out. There are also thematic inspections, such as the handling of complaints, that compare performance across different Home Office business areas.
Previous experience of borders and immigration work or of inspecting is not essential as new joiners receive in-depth training and mentoring.
If the above sounds interesting and you believe you have the necessary qualities and skills, I look forward to hearing from you.
British Embassy Ashgabat supports women’s empowerment and gender sensitivity
The UK is supporting gender mainstreaming in Turkmenistan. New British Ambassador, HE Hugh Philpott, was pleased to sign the MOU with OSCE Centre in Ashgabat to conduct a three-day joint Turkmen-Afghan gender mainstreaming workshop for security officials from the both countries.
British Embassy supports women’s empowerment and gender sinsitivity
Promoting women employment in non-traditional areas such as the military and law enforcement and retaining them in the workplace requires due consideration to be given to the specific needs of women. The aim of the workshop is to promote gender mainstreaming in mostly male-dominated security sectors of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan and to equip the security officials with the knowledge and skills to maintain gender sensitivity in their work.
Through partnering with OSCE and UN, the British Embassy in Turkmenistan will continue its ongoing support to the government of Turkmenistan in its efforts to implement the National Action Plan of Turkmenistan on Gender Equality for the period 2015-2020.
Chairs appointed to network to give disabled people stronger voice.
Regional chairs have been announced to move forward work to break down the barriers disabled people and their families face in everyday life.
The appointees will lead 9 new Regional Stakeholder Networks tasked with amplifying the voices of disabled people and disability organisations in regions across England, reporting back to government on a range of issues including transport, housing and employment.
The chairs of the network were selected based on their understanding of disability issues specific to their regions, their expertise in disability policy and its effects at the grassroots level.
Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson said:
If we are truly to break down the barriers faced by disabled people in everyday life, it’s vital that we listen to their views.
All the chairs have a wealth of experience, expertise and skills which qualify them for these crucial roles. I am delighted at the calibre of the successful candidates and looking forward to working with the Regional Stakeholder Network to drive change and improve the lives of disabled people across the country.
Many of the 8 chairs are disabled people, while others work in disabled people’s organisations or organisations that support disabled people.
Several hold other roles in a voluntary capacity which will help them tap into the issues and concerns of their local networks.
The chairs will convene meetings with network members within their regions and work with the government’s Office for Disability Issues to help inform future policy.
The first meeting between the chairs is due to take place today.
The Network chairs are:
East of England: Naomi Marek OBE, CEO, Sky Badger
Greater London: Ruth Owen OBE, CEO, Whizz-Kidz
North East: Michael Potts, Board Member, Veterans Advisory and Pension Committee
North West: Lynne Turnbull, CEO, Cheshire Centre for Independent Living
South East: Barry Ginley, Director, Tamstone Consulting Ltd
South West: Samantha Everard, CEO, Support and Mentoring Enabling Entrepreneurship (SAMEE)
West and East Midlands: Louise Mckiernan, CEO, Birmingham Disability Resource Centre
Yorkshire and the Humber: Liz Leach Murphy, Founder/Managing Director, Imagineer CIC
The art of feedback: update from Loveday Ryder
The art of feedback
8 October 2019 is Ada Lovelace Day (ALD), the international celebration of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and create new role models.
To mark ALD 2019, we’re sharing this open, honest and insightful post by our CEO, Loveday Ryder, on her commitment to becoming a more authentic leader.
The breakfast of champions
They say that feedback is the breakfast of champions, but I’ve never really believed it. I’ve always gone to some lengths to avoid asking people what I can do better, and if someone is kind enough to give me a compliment, I feel like hiding under the table. Call it Britishness, call it reserve, call it modesty – now I call it arrested development.
This year, I’m determined to change and I’ve started down the long, brave path to embracing feedback – because I know it will do me a great deal of good.
It’s not just cricket
My 9 year old daughter joined a cricket club last year and I went along to support her. Most of the coaches were other parents keen to see their daughters take up the beautiful game and who had themselves, learned at school.
Having no sporting ability myself, I watched from the sidelines, content to observe the coaches and the effect they were having. All were keen, all were supportive, but there was one who stood out from the crowd – let’s call him Fred.
Fred was an inspiration – every ball bowled, he said a word or two on how to improve. Every batting stroke, he commented and showed them little changes to make, praising them when they got it. And the improvement they made was phenomenal – developing ball by ball, shot by shot – working on each piece of advice and growing in confidence as a result.
Why is it that this sports analogy does not naturally translate into a business environment?
Taking the (wrong) path of least resistance
I know in my head that feedback makes me better, but in my heart, I’m still afraid of learning things about myself I might not like.
Organisations made up of people like me don’t transform themselves naturally – we take the path of least resistance, and save the feedback for the mandatory HR process at the end of the year. And it does us little good, as we tend to approach all criticism with a defensive mindset, looking to argue why it’s wrong, and how we’ve been misunderstood. We focus on the negatives and completely miss the positives – but they’re so much more powerful in helping us to blossom and grow.
But the problem does not stop there – we can even shy away from giving constructive feedback to our colleagues. If I put up a barrier to receiving it, I’m unlikely to take the time to give it with true honesty and care (just in case they give it back).
How much help and support could I have given others over the years, if only I’d invested properly in their feedback? How much encouragement could my appreciation for the things they do well have made a difference?
The change I’m making
So how am I tackling this and what change am I making? I realised that the source of my issue is a fear of discovering something about myself that I do not like or cannot change.
I want to be an authentic leader, but I can only be true to myself to the degree that I know myself. The more we expand our self-knowledge and self-awareness, the more open we can be, and the more scope there is for demonstrating authenticity. Unconscious incompetence is blissful, but ultimately the road to nowhere.
So I’m going to be brave and make a conscious effort to invite continual, honest feedback from my colleagues and friends. I know I will not like it all, and I suspect some of it might hurt, but I simply cannot afford not to.
My personal growth depends upon it.
Purposeful, positive feedback – every day!
And in turn, I’m going to commit to being like Fred for others. I want to give my time and attention to helping people to make small changes, so they can get better and achieve more of their goals. I’m going to focus on finding the great things people are doing that I would have taken for granted.
I believe that, together, we can change the culture of a team, a department or an organisation. Let’s work to make the old appraisal system defunct and revolutionise the quality and trust in our relationships – purposeful, positive feedback every day – ball by ball, shot by shot.