Flexibility and speed are essential to adequately respond to the technological needs of Defense. The knowledge institutes TNO, Royal NLR and MARIN have therefore signed a declaration of intent together with DMO. This is the first step in organizing this even better.
On 12 December, the Ministry of Defense, in the role of the Defense Material Organization (DMO), and knowledge institutes TNO, Royal NLR and MARIN signed a declaration of intent for long-term, closer cooperation in the field of technology development. With the increasing threats in the world, the importance of innovation for defense is becoming increasingly important.
“The DMO is already working intensively with these external parties because it cannot guarantee everything within its own organization. The DMO will broaden and deepen this cooperation with the knowledge institutes. It becomes much more than so-called “hour, invoice”. We aim to “do together” in a long-term partnership in which we can switch very easily and quickly. The preconditions for an intensive knowledge network or ecosystem are thus insured, “said vice admiral Arie Jan de Waard, director of DMO.
Because of the new agreements, organizational boundaries between DMO with the knowledge institutes, but also between the knowledge institutes themselves, should no longer play a role. As a result, innovations come at the disposal of our soldiers faster.
“A new step in the cooperation in which these four parties are closely linked means that we can respond faster and better to the challenges facing defense,” says Hendrik-Jan van Veen, Managing Director of Defense & Security at TNO. Michel Peters, managing director of Royal NLR: “In order to optimally support Defense in operations – in which land, water and air play a role – it is nice to have an efficient ecosystem that has direct access to technologies and knowledge in the relevant areas within the participating institutes. “MARIN director Bas Buchner adds:” We complement each other based on our own areas of expertise. We also work together on new technologies, such as digitization and simulation. Through this collaboration, the Ministry of Defense will get better systems for the future. “
Within the cooperation, knowledge, facilities and capacities are shared and used in a simple and fast manner to realize new innovations. New employees can participate in the introductory programs of the participating organizations and the parties will open training courses for each other’s employees. The ecosystem can use a joint IT infrastructure that becomes available. New is the exchange of employees and that knowledge and innovations are available as early as possible and as quickly as possible for the objectives of the DMO.
This ecosystem must grow in the future. If after the first year it appears that this cooperation is successful and the teething problems have been removed from the agreements, the ecosystem is also open to other parties from defense or beyond.
The “letter of intent” that has been signed marks the desire of the parties to make that ecosystem a success and to perpetuate it in a framework agreement.
