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Take deepfakes, for instance. Between 2022 and 2023, there was a tenfold increase in the number of deepfake incidents detected around the world^[1]. These aren’t just celebrity parodies on TikTok we’re talking about, either; many were active attempts to fool someone into parting with their cash. Amongst all of the deepfakes identified in 2023, for instance, 88% were aimed at the cryptocurrency sector^[2].

It's this explosive pace that makes it so important for government and industry to move faster than they have before. The days of having years to craft a response are gone—and they’re never coming back. These rapidly evolving threats mean that we now need to operate in weeks and even days. And now—more than ever—that means working together.

Balancing speed, safety, and security

Collaboration with external organisations can be difficult for government bodies, and understandably so. Traditional procurement approaches tend to be long and protracted, with a justified focus on public safety and fiscal responsibility. Even when a challenge has been clearly identified, it could be a year or longer before the contracts are signed.

Clearly, that lag simply doesn’t work in the current environment. To solve challenges at the pace at which they’re emerging, government needs to work faster. Importantly, that doesn't mean forgetting about safety, security, or responsibility. Instead, it means being able to combine those elements with the speed that is so clearly required.

That, is what QinetiQ has successfully delivered with Vivace and our Innovation Integrator. We’ve created—and curated—a community of organisations that are ready, willing, and able to work with government to tackle these gigantic challenges. We’ve established the guardrails that ensure safety at every level. And, in turn, we’ve made it easier for government agencies and public sector bodies to think differently about how they achieve success.

We’ve put five key enablers in place that allow our members and partners to come together and start solving problems at pace:

1. Mission-led innovation
   The Vivace community is united by a common mission focus. Whether it’s protecting our streets or preventing the spread of online harms, the work we do here is united in being mission-driven. Given the pace of change discussed above, that makes the partnership between the public and private sectors even more important. These are multidimensional, complex problems—ones that can’t be solved by government alone.
2. A collaborative mindset
   Vivace is as a community rather than a framework or a supplier portal, and there’s a very good reason for that: we truly believe in the power of collaboration. As I mentioned above, the challenges we face today are bigger—and move faster—than ever before. The simple truth is that no one organisation can have all the answers, and so bringing people together is absolutely critical. Our rainbow teams are also key here.
3. A focus on diversity and agility
   When we first launched Vivace, 26 companies signed on to be members. Today, that number has grown to more than 350 and includes some of the world’s largest technology companies. Even then, 75% of our membership is made up of small business and academia. Why? Because innovation comes from diversity, and because small organisations can often respond faster than their larger counterparts.
4. A problem-centric approach
   Often, when we ask our partners what problem they’re trying to solve, they’ll instead tell us what they think the solution should be. That’s only natural—but “solutioneering” is also a really quick way to shut down creativity. A big part of our role within Vivace is to encourage our partners to step back and embrace the bigger picture. Real innovation is about doing things differently, after all, not doing the same things better.
5. An effective infrastructure
   Non-traditional suppliers, academia, and small businesses don’t always have the tools they need to collaborate effectively with government. So, one of Vivace’s other roles is to bridge that gap. That includes physical collaboration space, as well as cloud development environments. And it also includes—less interestingly, but no less importantly—data processing agreements and data security provisions.

Faster solutions—but smarter ones, too

With all this talk of speed, it begs the question about what that actually means in terms of delivery.

Within Vivace, we often talk about the importance of the first 12 weeks—a point at which, even if a problem isn’t entirely solved, significant inroads have been made. And when you consider some of the work that our community members take on—from diagnosing Parkinsons to the detection of extremist material —three months is a very short space of time in which to make an impact. Naturally, we’re extremely proud that so many of our projects adhere to that kind of timeline.

As important as it is for us to move rapidly, however, the way in which our community has developed delivers so much more than speed alone. Thanks to their hard work, we are making a real difference—addressing frontline problems and helping the people who tackle them to do their jobs better. From county lines drug smuggling to violence against women and girls, we are proud to be doing the work that we do.

We are equally proud of the role that we play in nurturing Britain’s small and medium-sized enterprises. Not only do three-quarters of our members come from that background, but 75% of our projects are allocated to them too. As the country looks forward to the prospect of a more prosperous future, ensuring that smaller and independent firms are given the same opportunities as industry giants will be key.

And finally, we are proud of the fact that Vivace is setting the standard for what close collaboration can achieve. Everyone is aware of the current pressures on the public purse, and that creates a need to find different (and better value) ways to conquer longstanding challenges. By working together—by joining things up—the opportunity is there to create a smarter and more sustainable future for Britain’s public sector.

To survive in the new world we find ourselves in, we need to solve problems fast. But to thrive, we need to solve them faster and better—and QinetiQ with Vivace and our Innovation Integrator model, we have the ability to do both.

^[1] Global Deepfake Incidents Surge Tenfold from 2022 to 2023 – Sumsub, 28^th November 2023
^[2] Global Deepfake Incidents Surge Tenfold from 2022 to 2023 – Sumsub, 28^th November 2023