BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst: AI for Assurance and Compliance
Innovate UK is investing up to £5M in BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst Phase 1 to fund consortia of an AI SME and an eligible sector deployer, accelerating advanced AI/ML solutions focused on assurance and compliance towards real-world deployment.
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Competition Scope & Overview
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will invest up to £5 million in BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst Phase 1. Across all three phases of the BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst programme, Innovate UK expects to make up to £52 million available. Funding for this phase and subsequent phases is subject to Full Business Case approval by UKRI and a sufficient number of high quality applications. BridgeAI aims to accelerate the deployment of advanced UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions across key growth sectors in the Industrial Strategy. It will support high potential UK AI micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) to move beyond pilots into trusted, real world deployment, while generating evidence and learning that can support wider commercial adoption. The overall aim of this competition is to fund the development of innovative AI deployment use cases that can progress through later programme stages towards deployment and replication. For this phase, we will fund consortia that will undertake and complete the following activities during the project:
develop a clear, evidence based deployment use case that articulates the value to the deployer explain how the system will be used and demonstrate why this solution is the most effective way to address the operational challenge assess the readiness of the AI supplier in terms of delivery capacity, standards, regulatory compliance, and technical maturity assess the readiness of the deployer in terms of operational, technical, governance, assurance, and regulatory considerations obtain letters of support from potential deployers that are not part of the initial consortium but may wish to participate in later phases of the programme outline the activities you would undertake, if invited to Phase 2, to assure the AI system for the intended use case and prepare the operational site for deployment organise a demonstration of the solution using representative deployer data and systems within a representative operational environment, this should take place towards the end of the project
Your project must be led by a UK registered micro, small or medium sized enterprise (SME) that has developed an AI or ML solution relevant to the deployer’s operational context. The solution must have a functioning minimum viable product and evidence of development beyond concept stage. It may have been piloted, trialled or commercially used, but must not already be in widespread commercial deployment for the proposed use case. The project must address significant unresolved deployment challenges and go beyond routine implementation, configuration or customer delivery. Your project must include one eligible UK registered deployer organisation that will provide access to the operational setting, users, data, workflows, systems or processes needed to assess the solution’s readiness for deployment. BridgeAI is funding advanced AI deployment across three strands:
AI for Decision Critical Systems AI for Operational Systems AI for Assurance and Compliance Systems (this competition)
The Decision Critical Systems strand supports the deployment of AI systems whose primary purpose is to help people make consequential judgements, recommendations or decisions. These decisions must be considered high risk or could have significant consequences for the deployer or its end users. The Operational Systems strand supports AI systems whose primary purpose is to perform, control or coordinate operational activity within workflows, processes, software, equipment or infrastructure. Reliable integration and performance must be important to the deployer’s operations. The Assurance and Compliance Systems strand (this competition) supports AI systems whose primary purpose is to monitor, test, verify, validate or evidence compliance. This includes assessing whether systems, processes or outcomes meet defined regulatory requirements, standards or controls for its intended use. Lead applicants must apply to one strand based on the primary purpose of the AI system within the proposed deployment context. Funding and support are the same across all three strands. It is your responsibility to ensure you submit your application to the correct strand for your project. You will not be able to transfer your application, and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope. This is phase 1 of a potential 3 phase competition. At the end of Phase 1, Innovate UK will review each project to decide whether it will be invited to apply for Phase 2. The review will consider:
whether the project has been delivered against its agreed scope, milestones, timescales and costs the level of engagement and commitment from the project partners, including the AI supplier and deployer whether the project has engaged with Innovate UK, monitoring services and programme delivery partners, including required reporting and assessment activities
Innovate UK will use project monitoring information and input from strategic delivery partners to inform this decision. Any applicant that is not invited to apply for Phase 2 will be provided with the reasons for the decision. Phase 2 will focus on deployment preparation and is expected to last approximately six months. It will support solution refinement, integration planning, operational readiness and the development of assurance evidence. The indicative maximum grant funding request will be £1 million per consortium. Phase 3 will support live deployment with the initial deployer and replication across two additional organisations. It is expected to last approximately 22 months, with indicative funding of up to £2 million per consortium. Both phases are expected to require co-investment from participating consortium members, with Phase 3 requiring committed co-investment from UK based investors. These durations, funding levels and co-investment requirements are indicative only and do not represent a commitment by Innovate UK. Successful projects will be expected to engage with Innovate UK and its strategic delivery partners throughout the project. This will include participation in support activities, programme monitoring and evaluation, activities to understand deployment readiness, and activities to capture project learning. Innovate UK and its strategic delivery partners may use agreed non-confidential information and learning from funded projects to develop case studies, guidance and other ecosystem facing materials. Any wider use of project information will be agreed with the AI SME and deployer organisation and will take account of commercial confidentiality, intellectual property and sensitive operational information. In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding limit, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly but we are still unable to fund it.
We consider a range of factors when determining whether to provide funding to applicants. This includes an assessment of prior conduct, such as any outstanding payments owed to Innovate UK or UKRI. Such factors may influence the funding decision, potentially resulting in a refusal of funding or an award subject to additional scrutiny.
We also reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions. This may be in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations or broader government funding decisions.
This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.
Official Applicant Guidance Documents
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Download Official DocumentBridgeAI Deployment Catalyst AI for Assurance and Compliance assessor guidance for applicants.pdf
This document is official assessor guidance for the Innovate UK BridgeAI Deployment Catalyst competition. It details the scoring criteria (1–10) and specific evidence requirements for all 19 application questions, including mandatory attachments.
Download Official DocumentApplication Questions & Guidance Brief
Every question below carries specific word limits and guidance criteria.
Project summary
Official Guidance
Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.
Public description
Official Guidance
Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.
Scope
Official Guidance
Your answer must explain: how your use of AI is innovative and involves a meaningful application of advanced AI or ML capability; how the AI capability is central to the proposed deployment; how the deployer and proposed deployment are aligned with the sector you have selected; how the proposed use case clearly aligns with the primary purpose of the strand you have selected; what technical, operational, regulatory or assurance challenges are associated with deployment; how the proposed deployment is novel in its context and goes beyond routine configuration, integration or implementation of an existing AI service. If your answer is not detailed or your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.
Applicant location (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project. We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.
Animal testing (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing? You must select one option: Yes, No. We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare. Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.
Permits and licences (not scored)
Official Guidance
Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project? We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date. You must select one option: Yes, No, In the process of being applied for, Not applicable.
International collaboration (not scored)
Official Guidance
Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement? You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers. If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.
Export licence (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance. You must select one option: Yes, No.
Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including: a list of any dual use (both military and non-military) applications to your research; a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act; whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications; a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List. If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this. We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.
Sectoral Focus: What is the sectoral focus area of the deployment context (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must select one option: Financial Services, Defence, Advanced manufacturing, Clean energy industries, Health and Life Sciences, Professional and Business Services, Creative Industries.
AI Supplier (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must confirm the organisation acting as the AI Supplier for this project. You must use the same organisation name provided in the Applicant Details section.
AI Deployer (not scored)
Official Guidance
You must confirm the organisation acting as the AI Deployer for this project.
Market Size
Official Guidance
Estimate the realistic market opportunity for your innovation. Provide an evidence based assessment by: 1. The Total Addressable Market (TAM): This is the total market demand for a product or service. It's the maximum revenue opportunity available if 100% market share was achieved. 2. The Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): The portion of the addressable market that can realistically be captured by your innovation. It factors in constraints like competition, geography, pricing, and how easily you can go to market.
Real world Application and Benefit
Official Guidance
Describe the proposed real-world application of the innovation and the anticipated benefits for the organisation deploying it. Provide quantitative estimates of these benefits. Your response must include quantitative estimates of the anticipated benefits for a typical deployer. Benefits can come from many areas including financial, operational, safety and quality, sustainability, business resilience.
Solutions for deployment for innovation readiness
Official Guidance
Describe the innovation, including what has been developed to date, how it works, and evidence that it is sufficiently developed for the proposed project. Explain the intellectual property position, including ownership and confirmation that the project team has the rights required to develop, deploy and commercialise the innovation. You must upload a technical architecture diagram. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.
Route to Deployment
Official Guidance
Describe your route to deployment and how you will address the regulatory, assurance and standards requirements for your use case. You must outline: what you have done already; what you understand you must do prior to deployment.
Skills
Official Guidance
What skills, capabilities or experience does your team have that will help you deliver your innovation? You must include any skills, knowledge, or experiences that are applicable.
Deployer readiness
Official Guidance
Explain how the deploying organisation provides an appropriate environment for demonstrating the innovation. Describe the operational environment and why it is suitable for validating the proposed application. Include the people, data, systems, workflows and other resources that will be available to support the demonstration.
Learning
Official Guidance
Describe the evidence, data and insights that will be collected during the project, how they will be gathered, and how they will be used to inform future deployment or commercialisation of the innovation.
Risk detail
Official Guidance
You must outline the top three risks for wider deployment of your innovation in more detail. For each identified risk, explain what actions you will take to mitigate its impact. Risks can come from many areas for example: technical risks (product development, functionality of performance), commercial or financial risks (market adoption, competition or profitability), environmental or social risks (environmental impact, regulations, social acceptance), regulatory risks (obtaining necessary regulatory approvals), project management risks (timelines, team or resources). Recognising and acknowledging potential risks is a vital part of the planning process and will not negatively impact your application.
Milestones
Official Guidance
What are the key milestones you are aiming to achieve through this award? You must focus specifically on what the funding from this competition will enable you to do. Your milestones must fit within your anticipated timeline for project delivery. You don’t need to provide the full project plan in the answer to this question.
Delivery
Official Guidance
What steps will you be taking to ensure successful delivery of your milestones? Your response must consider how you will achieve these key milestones.