An innovative digital project launching at the Defence Academy is
poised to make decades of defence research available to UK
defence personnel and allies.
The Defence Academy Research Engine (DARE) is due to launch in
September 2022.
Designed by the Centre for Defence Education Research and
Analysis (CDERA), the DARE will be an accessible and searchable
online environment collating historic and current research
papers, authored by members of the Defence Academy of the United
Kingdom. It will also serve as a portal to collect proposed
research topics which Defence Academy students can tackle.
Announcing the launch of the DARE project, Major General Andrew
Roe, Chief Executive and Commandant of the Defence Academy, said:
The Defence Academy is enormously proud to be spearheading this
new and innovative capability, which is fit for the Information
Age, unrivalled across defence.
By facilitating access to a comprehensive single source of
research, the DARE will enable the Defence Academy to act as a
problem solver and academic powerhouse for defence, pulling
together the latest in critical thinking and thought leadership.
There is a wealth of knowledge, experience and intellect within
the Defence Academy, and we look forward to sharing this
capability more widely with our armed forces and with allies
across government, academia and industry.
Chris Taylor, from CDERA, said:
At CDERA we are committed to engaging in and promoting
problem-based learning within and beyond the Defence Academy
community. DARE will facilitate access to research that is
rigorous, applicable, relevant and digestible for the defence and
security sector.
We are absolutely delighted to be embarking on this incredibly
exciting project, which will support learners and Defence Academy
partners to develop and sustain the intellectual edge as well as
helping to solve problems within defence.
For design and build of the DARE application, CDERA has
contracted with Squiz, a global technology company with a
pedigree of delivering digital solutions for high-profile
organisations.
Their clients include UK government departments, such as the
Cabinet Office and National Health Service, and
well-respected higher education institutions including University
College London and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Nick Condon, Managing Director of Squiz UK, said:
At Squiz our mission is to create services online, that improve
people’s lives offline. We’re incredibly proud to be selected by
CDERA to create a platform that consolidates some of the world’s
best defence research in an easy to search, review and consume
platform.
The best digital solutions occur when technology and people
intersect with a clear outcome. Squiz are confident that our
partnership with CDERA on the DARE application will provide the
UK’s best researchers and thought leaders with the insight they
need to create tomorrow’s defence solutions.
The DARE will be hosted via a portal on the Defence Academy
website, with access automatically enabled for MOD personnel via
Defence Gateway log-in credentials. CDERA will also create
individual accounts for interested external parties who are also
set to benefit from this new capability.
The target launch date for the DARE is September 2022.
