The Ministry of Defence has reaffirmed the valuable contribution of the Niteworks partnership to generating military capability for the UK Armed Forces, with the announcement of a two-year extension to the current service. 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.

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 both enables a better understanding 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.

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.”