Competition terms
July 2024
Quantum Data Centre of the Future Technology Access Programme cohort 2 (QTAP2)
1) DIGITAL CATAPULT
Digital Catapult is the UK authority on advanced digital technology. Through collaboration and innovation, we accelerate industry adoption to drive growth and opportunity across the economy.
We bring together an expert and enterprising community of researchers, startups, scaleups and industry leaders to discover new ways to solve the big challenges limiting the UK’s future potential. Through our specialist programmes and experimental facilities, we make sure that innovation thrives, and the right solutions make it to the real world.
Our goal is to accelerate new possibilities in everything we do and for every business we partner with throughout the journey – breaking down barriers, de-risking innovation, opening up markets and responsibly shaping the products, services and experiences of the future.
Digital Catapult works with organisations on projects involving at least one of the technologies from its “Advanced Digital Technology Stack”: Artificial Intelligence, Immersive, Internet of Things, Distributed Ledger Technologies, 5G/Future Networks and Quantum Technologies.
2) PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION
2.1 The Programme
Quantum Data Centre of the Future Technology Access Programme cohort 2 aims to showcase the “art of the possible” of quantum technology by spreading awareness, educating end users, and engaging industry partners to promote future adoption and commercialisation of quantum technology. The programme will be delivered by Digital Catapult in partnership with leading UK quantum suppliers. It is a six month structured programme with participants from industry end users who will receive education and training on the fundamentals of quantum computing, and the tools to be used for simulation of quantum systems. Participants will then carry out their own research to run simulations of quantum algorithms relevant for their problems leaving the programme with clear use-cases for quantum computing, leading to opportunities for future commercialisation and collaboration.
The following technology partners will support this Programme:
ORCA Computing Limited, a company registered in England under number 12285629 whose registered office is at 30 Eastbourne Terrace, Lower Ground Floor, London, United Kingdom, W2 6LA (“Orca Computing”); and
Riverlane Limited, a company registered in England under number 10260255, whose registered office is at 1st Floor, St. Andrews House, 59 St. Andrews Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, CB2 3BZ (“Riverlane”)
(“Programme Collaboration Partners”)
……………………………………………………………………………….
2.2 Programme Objectives
The Programme objectives include:
- Connect industry end users to quantum computing hardware and software as appropriate for their use case
- Providing training and education on quantum computing
- Deliver a final Showcase demonstrating the use cases participants have developed solutions for during the programme
2.3 Programme Judges
During the application stage, the judges will be responsible for scoring the applications according to the process and criteria set out in these Competition Terms. The judges will be chosen based on (i) their experience and expertise, and (ii) ability to exercise independent judgment. The Programme Judges comprise:
Internal Judges: A number of judges from Digital Catapult will help judge the applications.
And may include any of the following:
Programme Collaboration Partner Judges: A number of judges from Programme Collaboration Partners
2.4 The Programme Partners
The following organisations are partnering with Digital Catapult to deliver the Programme:
Programme Collaboration Partners: Digital Catapult is working in collaboration with ORCA Computing and Riverlane on the QTAP2 programme. Programme Collaboration Partners are industry partners who will judge applications and provide access to quantum computing hardware and software to participants.
Programme Industry Partners: Digital Catapult is working in collaboration with Programme Industry Partners to deliver this programme. Programme Industry Partners are industry organisations that support the Programme through delivery of relevant workshops, training, and/or through providing discounted services or products.
Programme Industry Partners are:
PQShield Ltd, a company registered in England under number 11388567 whose registered office is at 267 (Prama House) Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7HT; and
Q-CTRL UK Limited, a company registered in England under number 14763442 whose registered office is at 2nd Floor 168 Shoreditch High Street, London, United Kingdom, E1 6RA
2.5 Applicants & Participants
You are considered an “Applicant” if you apply to this competition.
You are considered a “Participant” if you are successful with your application and complete all pre-Project activities (e.g. signing the Programme Agreement).
- Where you are applying on behalf of a consortium:
- Applicant shall mean each of the members of the applying consortium, for which the Lead Applicant (the party submitting the application) is responsible for each “Applicant”.
- Participant shall mean each of the members of the successful consortium, for which the Lead Participant (the party submitting the application) will be responsible for each “Participant”.
3) PROGRAMME BENEFITS
Participants in the Programme will receive the following benefits:
- Regular interactions including one to one sessions with the Digital Catapult team and industry experts, to assess, iterate and accelerate participants’ quantum algorithms, and support algorithm development.
- Education, training and masterclasses in quantum computing to develop and improve quantum understanding and explore different application areas. This includes free access to the Black Opal Enterprise with over 400 lessons, Digital Catapult training on quantum optimisation, quantum machine learning and Riverlane training on the quantum singular value algorithm
- A kickoff event during which Participants will be introduced to the Programme Partners.
- A showcase event during which Participants will present their work to an invited audience of Programme Partners and industry representatives.
- Access to quantum software and hardware provided by our Programme Collaboration Partners.
- Upon successful completion of the Project, the opportunity to join the Digital Catapult Alumni Network, which keeps participants informed of opportunities and relevant updates from the Digital Catapult, and provides additional opportunities to engage with Digital Catapult and other Alumni.
4) PROGRAMME OBLIGATIONS
Participants must be willing to commit to the following key obligations:
- Attend the kick-off event hosted by Digital Catapult.
- Attend at least four hours of education, training, masterclasses, progress check-in meeting per week, hosted by Digital Catapult and Programme Industry Partners (greater weighting will be given to Applicants who can demonstrate that they will commit to the full eight hours per week of the Programme).
- Enter into a licensing agreement with ORCA Computing to use their Software Development Kit (SDK)
- Attend, present and demonstrate at the Showcase event in Digital Catapult’s office.
- Participant shall complete the Digital Catapult’s EDI Survey (please note each question will have a “prefer not to say” option).
- Participant agrees to be visibly (name and logo) associated with the Programme, whilst on the Programme, and afterwards as a former participant and beneficiary. This includes marketing collateral, such as website, print and digital materials.
- For a maximum period of five years following the Project end date, Participant shall use its reasonable endeavours to answer specific questions from Digital Catapult relating to its growth and progress to assist Catapult to demonstrate the impact of its activities. This shall include: (i) participation in an annual telephone conversation of one hour, and (ii) participation in two yearly surveys issued by Digital Catapult.
5) APPLICANTS
5.1 Minimum Requirements
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are able to develop a viable quantum use case for their business and will be able to show how they will benefit from the Programme.
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate they have the technical capabilities to become a quantum end user including using Python software.
- Applicants must be eligible to receive up to £15,000 in State Assistance
- Applicants must be a UK based registered company, or prove they are a company that has an establishment in the UK, and undertake all activity in the UK.
5.2 What we’re looking for
The Programme aims to attract Participants who are looking to develop algorithms that can be run on a quantum computer or simulation, but who may lack knowledge about Quantum technology and its market.
Participants will need to display a genuine interest in realising the business benefits of Quantum computing in their own business, and have already started to explore the area.
We are open minded about the industry sector that businesses may come from, but Applicants should be able to show in their Application that their industry is likely to benefit from quantum computing in the future.
6) KEY DATES
- Open Call – Applications Open – 29 July 2024
- Open Call – Applications Deadline – 2 September 2024
- Intended notification of all Applicants – w/c 23 September 2024
- Intended public announcement of successful Participants – w/c 21 October 2024
- Programme Start Date – 24 October 2024
- Programme End Date – end of March 2025
7) THE APPLICATION
7.1 What information should my application contain?
Applicants must answer all required questions in the full online application form.
7.2 Who will see my Application?
The following people will see your application:
Catapult Representatives: Relevant Catapult representatives will see your application in order to assess the application, and otherwise in the administration of your application and, if successful, participation in the Programme.
The Programme Collaboration Partner Judges will see your full application, except for your personal information fields.
7.3 Key contact
Applicant will appoint a main contact for the Programme (“Key Contact”). This person will be Digital Catapult’s main point of contact for the competition and, if successful, Applicant’s Programme activities, including: workshop and event commitments, team members’ availability, ongoing activities, and assessment of progress during and after the Programme.
Digital Catapult will use this personal information for the purpose of carrying out due diligence on Applicants prior to the point of selection onto the Programme and to notify successful and unsuccessful Applicants over their submissions. The personal data we collect may be shared with and processed by Programme Partners and third party service providers for the provision of benefits to the Participants in the Programme, as set out in these Competition Terms.
7.4 Submitting your application
You must submit your application via the Skipso form (“Submission Method”).
All applications must be submitted via the Submission Method by the Application Deadline.
Once your completed application has been received, Digital Catapult will send you a confirmation receipt by email. If you do not get a receipt within twenty four (24) hours of the next working day, please email us at [email protected] with the subject ”QTAP: Application Submission”.
7.5 Digital Catapult’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Survey
In addition to your application, you will be required to complete Digital Catapult’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Survey (‘Survey’). Whilst the completion of this Survey is mandatory, please note that your responses to this Survey will be kept separately from your application and will have no effect whatsoever on your application to the Programme.
Digital Catapult (as the Data Controller) will collect and process your personal data, including the following special category data to help Digital Catapult improve its services in respect of equality, diversity and inclusion:
- Racial and/or ethnic origin
- Sexual orientation
- Health (including disability)
- Religious and/or philosophical beliefs
The data collected and processed may be shared with relevant third parties and/or published but only in an aggregated form, which means you will not be personally identifiable.
Your personal data will be kept for 15 months from the time you respond to the Survey. Should you apply to another of Digital Catapult’s opportunities within the 15 month period, we will provide you with the option to allow us to re-use the data we already hold, to resubmit the Survey or to delete your Survey data. If you choose to complete the Survey again, we will keep your updated data for 15 months from the time you resubmit the Survey.
Please note you are responsible for the accuracy of the data you share with Digital Catapult and you agree to inform us if your data needs to be updated.
For more information on Digital Catapult’s collection, use and protection of your personal data and your rights in regards to your personal data, please see Digital Catapult’s privacy policy (https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/legal/privacy-policy/ ) or contact us at [email protected]. If you have specific queries on our use of your Survey data (including a request to delete your Survey data), please contact us at [email protected].
8) SELECTION
8.1 Qualification
The Catapult will undertake an initial assessment of the Applicants against the Programme Requirements.
8.2 Selection process
All qualifying applications will be reviewed and scored by the Programme Judges panel to create a shortlist. Shortlisted Applicants may be invited to interviews to enable ranking of Shortlisted Applicants based on the Applications and interviews, with the highest ranked Applicants being accepted onto the Programme.
Interviews will only be used if there is a need to clarify details in the application. In these cases the interview will complement the initial assessment using the same criteria and weighting as described at paragraph 8.3.
8.3 Application Scoring criteria and weighting
The scoring criteria will be assessed based on statements in the areas below. Each criterion will be scored on a range from 0 to 5. 0 being an “Unacceptable or No submission” score for each criterion and 5 being an “Excellent” score for each criterion. This scoring will be applied to all applications.
The criteria upon which applicants will be assessed and scores will be weighted as below:
Scoring out of 100
- Problem and Solution (35 marks)
- Problem and use case identification – max. 15 marks
- Can identify use cases relevant for quantum computing – 15 marks
- OR Belongs to an industry sector with relevant use cases – 5 marks
- End user of use case – 10 marks
- QTAP cohort 1 participation – max. 5 marks
- Was not on QTAP cohort 1 – 5 marks
- Was on QTAP cohort 1 and will study a different use case – 3 marks
- Has a novel or interesting use case based on well identified problem – max. 5 marks
- Technical and Business Capability (35 marks)
- Basic knowledge of programming (e.g. Python) desirable – 10 marks
- Basic maths (e.g. complex numbers) understanding desirable – 10 marks (ask for highest level they have studied)
- Technical aptitude desirable – 10 marks (based on overall application)
- Knowledge about change management plan – max. 5 marks
- Ability to Execute (30 marks)
- Able to commit 8-10 hours a week for the programme – 2 marks for each hour
- Explanation for how they will manage pressures of full time job or higher education – 10 marks
8.4 Due diligence
We will carry out due diligence on applicants prior to the point of selection onto the Programme. Applicants must be willing to submit further information or documentation upon request to qualify as ‘successful’.
8.5 Successful applicants
Successful applicants will be notified and provided with a standard agreement for review and execution (“Programme Agreement”).
The Programme Agreement is a standard agreement and not negotiable. We do try and ensure these contracts are fair and reasonable.
In order to be accepted onto the Programme, successful applicants must sign the Programme Agreement.
9) COMPETITION TERMS – SPECIFIC
9.1 Benefits
All the benefits provided under the Programme by third-party organisations (“Suppliers”) are subject to the Supplier’s terms and conditions stated in the Programme T&Cs.
Any optional benefits provided by third party organisations whose terms and conditions are not contained in the Programme T&Cs will be agreed between the Participant and the Supplier directly.
Digital Catapult reserves the right to amend the list of benefits at its sole discretion.
9.2 State Assistance
Participants shall receive the grant as Minimal Financial Assistance (“MFA”), or to the extent applicable under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the de minimis aid regulations (COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1407/2013), collectively referred to herein as “State Assistance”.
The total State Assistance received or due to be received by an individual Participant (including any associated companies e.g. subsidiaries), originating from a United Kingdom source, must not exceed £315,000, or €200,000 (approximately £165,000) for Northern Ireland Companies (or any other company subject to the Northern Ireland Protocol), each in aggregate across the Participant’s current fiscal year (as at the Agreement Date) and the previous two fiscal years.
This Programme has been assessed as providing up to £15,000.00 Participants approximately equivalent to €18,000.00
Before signing the Programme Agreement, Applicants will therefore be asked to sign a declaration confirming that you are eligible to receive the State Assistance.
9.3 Accessibility
We aim to make all of our programmes accessible. We welcome feedback as to how we may be able to improve the accessibility of our programmes in the future. If you have any feedback with regards to accessibility, please send your feedback by email to: [email protected]. Your feedback may be used by us in our programmes and activities.
9.4 Applicants
Digital Catapult reserves the right to accept any application which does not fulfil the minimum requirements.
9.5 Key Dates
Digital Catapult reserves the right to change the Key Dates at its sole discretion. No extension to deadlines will usually be granted, with very limited exceptions where the Applicant requests an extension due to reasonable extenuating circumstances, beyond the Applicant’s control and unforeseen to them, subject to the Applicant providing evidence that proves the extenuating circumstance; and the Applicant informing Digital Catapult as soon as reasonably practicable following the extenuating circumstance becoming apparent. Digital Catapult reserves the right to consider the factors and decide whether such circumstances are extenuating and whether granting an extension is fair to other applicants. No extension granted will usually be for greater than two working days.
9.6 Applications
All information and documents requested must be submitted. Failure to submit all requested information and documents may result in the application being rejected. Catapult will not use outside information in respect of your application unless otherwise indicated, other than to undertake due diligence. Digital Catapult reserves the right to not work with people or an organisation which it believes could impact its reputation.
9.7 Previous Applications
Not used.
9.8 Personal Data
Digital Catapult is the Controller for the personal information submitted in the Application for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR.
In submitting the Application, the Applicant confirms that it has made the Key Contact and any other person whose personal data has been submitted, aware of, and has the lawful grounds to enable each Controller (including its processors) to, process the personal information of the Key Contact (and any other person named in the Application and open call process) as set out in these Competition Terms and in accordance with the respective privacy policies: Digital Catapult (https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/privacy-policy/).
9.9 Programme Agreement
Digital Catapult reserves the right to make amendments to the Programme Agreement it issues up until the point of execution by both parties.
9.10 Participant Programmes
Digital Catapult reserves the right to offer Participants access to its Participant Programmes, such as its Platinum Awards.
10) COMPETITION TERMS – GENERAL
10.1 Data Retention
Digital Catapult will store your application and the scoring it has received for the entire duration of the Programme, or up to two (2) years, whichever the greater. If you are a successful Applicant, we shall also store your Application for a period of up to seven (7) years following the end of the Programme. For administration purposes, contracts may be stored for up to seven (7) years, contracts providing State Assistance for up to eleven (11) years, and deeds for up to thirteen (13) years from the end of the Programme.
10.2 Confidentiality
The information provided in your Application will be kept confidential and only used and disclosed as reasonably necessary for the purpose of assessing Applications, and, if admitted onto the Programme, for working with you in the Programme. This may include with our Programme Partners as indicated above.
For practical reasons, NDAs will not be signed by Digital Catapult or the Programme Partners as part of this Programme Competition. The activities we provide can only be achieved through trust of the tech community. It is therefore not in our interest to release your sensitive information. Confidentiality provisions are included in the Programme Agreement.
The scoring of your Application will be treated as sensitive information.
As your Application will be transmitted over the Internet, ultimately Digital Catapult cannot guarantee its security.
10.3 Intellectual Property
We respect the intellectual property of others and we ask our Applicants to do the same.
In submitting the Application, you promise that you have and continue to have all necessary rights, licenses, permissions and consent to provide the content in your application to us, and for Catapult to use the Application as we have set out.
We will not remove from Applications any proprietary labels or copyright assertions.
10.4 Disclaimers, Exclusions & Limitations
We accept no liability for any consequences, whether direct or indirect, that may arise from your participation in the Programme Competition, your reliance on any statements we may have made about your application, the Programme, or its suspension or withdrawal.
In any case, to the extent permitted under law, Digital Catapult’s liability shall be limited to one thousand (£1,000) pounds.
10.5 Entire Agreement
These Competition Terms constitute the entire agreement between Digital Catapult and the Applicant and extinguish all previous and contemporaneous agreements, promises, assurances, and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to the subject matter of these Competition Terms
10.6 Jurisdiction
The Programme Competition is governed by English law and the Applicant agrees that any dispute shall be exclusively resolved in the English Courts.