
innovative technology case study
“The process was overall extremely smooth and delivered in a fast-paced manner, ensuring that a partner was onboarded in time to deliver outcomes by the end of the financial year. Alternative routes would’ve taken twice as much with more prep required to achieve the outcome. I would absolutely request to use this commercial route for similar future engagements.”

Jake Rowley – Project Manager
Digital Foundry

CHALLENGE
• Across the MOD, HR and employee benefit services are currently spread across multiple, disconnected systems.
• As a result, employees often need to log in to several different places just to access essential services like career development and wellbeing support.
• This can make it difficult for employees to find the information they need, adds unnecessary time to simple tasks, and creates avoidable admin.
• To solve this, the Digital Foundry team has been tasked with creating MyDefence – a single, scalable, integrated service that brings together everyday Defence services.
• MyDefence will make everyday work tasks as straightforward as banking or shopping online, helping serving personnel, Reserves, Veterans, and civil servants save time and reduce unnecessary admin.

APPROACH
• NVFi provided rapid access to a broad ecosystem of SMEs, enabling faster engagement with specialist suppliers.
• Simplified Terms allowed micro-suppliers to participate, reducing barriers to entry.
• Ability to flexibly procure from a wide range of suppliers without extra administrative burden, saving time and allowing the team to focus on engaging with stakeholders and moving forward more quickly.
• Expanded categories within NVFi offered niche subsets of suppliers, ensuring more relevant and specialised expertise was available.
• Able to adopt a flexible approach not possible under Public Contracts Regulations 2015 frameworks or Procurement Act 23 – supporting agility and responsiveness.

OUTCOMES
• Strong access to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and niche technologies.
• Contract delivered in 2 months, significantly accelerating timelines – 50% faster than usual timelines.
• Supports British businesses and increases MOD spending with SMEs as set in the SDR and Defence Industrial Strategy.
• Enhanced supplier engagement and collaboration, fostering better partnerships.
• The contract was awarded to BetterGov, a UK based SME with a proven track record in delivering digital transformation across the public sector.
• Addresses key recommendations from the Haythornthwaite Report, the independent review of offerings for Defence service personnel.



