Guidance for suppliers of science and technology research who sign up to R-Cloud and R-Cloud+ to access opportunities from across the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

Dstl beCommercial uploadedServices asassess partsubmitted ofrates theto contractconfirm that they are notwithin alreadyan linkedacceptable torange. theThis taskassessment (foris example,based clarificationon questionsthe andaverage responses,range completed Limitation of Contractorsrates Liabilityheld (LoCL)in Annex)

IfR-Cloud unsuccessful,and you’llany receiveother arelevant notificationinformation.

Financial andinformation

The feedbackapplication ifshould yoube whocompleted wantby it. Contact the buyerorganisation forapplying feedbackto asR-Cloud, soonand asnot, possiblefor usingexample, thea emailparent addresscompany.

There’s providedan onoption theto R-Cloudupload taskingsupporting form.

R-Cloudinformation policyto andyour process

Theapplication followingto isassist ain quickdemonstrating referenceor guide.clarifying It’sthis notsection. anFor exhaustiveexample, list.if Andyou soare pleasea reviewnew thestart-up R-Cloudthis Termssection andcan Conditionsbe inused fullto beforeexplain youthe applycurrent andfinancial participate in tasking.position.

Sub-contracting

SuppliersThe mustmandatory notifyfields in the authorityfinancial ofdata anysection intendedcurrently sub-contractinghave ina advancemaximum andlimit getof express10 approvalcharacters. beforeIf enteringyour intoorganisation anyrequires sub-contractmore (RCloudcharacters, (Versionplease 4)input Terms£0 andto Conditionsthese (clausefields 12.8)).

Theand provisionsinstead ofupload R-Cloudthe (Versioninformation 4)via Termsthe andsupporting Conditionsinformation (annexsection.

Issues tosubmitting scheduleyour S3-3:application

Applications cybercan security)only must be includedsubmitted inonce anyall relevantsections sub-contract.

R-Cloudare andcomplete. R-Cloud+If contractsyou mustcan’t notseem beto sub-contractedsubmit aboveyour aapplication, 50%make contractsure value.all Thissections ishave tobeen supportmarked SMEas engagement.complete.

IfCheck athe waiverfollowing:

• at toleast the1 50%capability limitarea ishas needed,been contactadded
• all elements of the buyerapplication beforeincluding thesub-sections responseare deadline.

  Limitationmarked ofas Contractorscomplete

• the Liability2 (LoCL)

  Thetick processboxes forat managingthe LoCLbottom inare ticked

R-Cloud is(Version set4) outterms inand theconditions

The R-Cloud (Version 4) Termsterms and Conditionsconditions (schedulewill 3,apply clause 23).

Any request to includeall acontracts capplaced onvia liabilityR-Cloud underand anit’s R-Clouda taskingmandatory procedurerequirement mustof be:

• submittedapplying atto theR-Cloud earliestthat opportunityconfirmation andof beforeacceptance theis deadlineprovided. forThe responsesterms underare thehosted relevanton taskingR-Cloud procedure,- withthese sufficientare timelinked allowedfrom for the authoritygrey tofooter considerat the requestbottom -of buyerseach canpage, stateand ain deadlinethe formain anybody requestsof within the taskingapplication form(next (theto requestthe mustcheckbox beasking submittedapplicants prior to theconfirm deadline)acceptance).

• accompaniedYou bycan aaccess suitablethe riskstrictly assessmentnon-negotiable (evidenceterms toand supportconditions thein requestR-Cloud. mustWe’re beunable provided, to allowprovide theWord authorityor toPDF conductversions.

  Additional aterms realistic and robustconditions riskmay assessmentbe andadded understandfrom thetime potentialto financialtime liabilityas beingpart passedof from the suppliertasking toprocess. theWe authority)will -provide thethese requestdetails mustin demonstratethe thattasking it’sform reasonable(part forA).

  Shortlisting the authority to limittasking theirprocedures

  When liabilityyour againstorganisation anyis proposedshortlisted risk(s)to andparticipate thein authoritya musttasking beprocedure, satisfiedyou thatwill it’sreceive valuean foremail moneynotification to(this dowill so

Acceptancego of any request to limit liability is strictly at the discretionregistered ofadmin theemail authority.

Youaddress). mustThe notopportunity includewill anyalso unapprovedbe liabilityvisible capin within your response.R-Cloud Ifdashboard.

Shortlists youare do,produced yourby responsethe couldR-Cloud beand rejectedare asbased non-complianton with the R-Cloud process.taxonomy.

Social value

When youcreating joina R-Cloud,task, youthe agreebuyer toselects identifythe potentialcapabilities socialand valueskills benefitsrelevant forto atheir taskingrequirement. procedureR-Cloud (R-Cloudthen (Versionmatches 4)this Termsselection andwith Conditionsthe (clausecapabilities 4.8)).

Youand shouldskills provideselected anyby assessmentsuppliers. ofThis socialmeans valueonly benefitsthose totasking theprocedures buyerwhich asmatch partyour chosen areas of ainterest responsewill orbe as‘pushed’ otherwiseto requested.

Securityyou infor R-Cloud

consideration.

Sharing

Buyers informationupload viaall R-Cloud

R-Cloudthe caninformation beyou usedneed to placeunderstand taskstheir atrequirements anyand classification,directions butto itrespond mustto onlythe beopportunity. usedThis toincludes sharethe informationR-Cloud uptasking toform, OFFICIAL-SENSITIVEwhich (OS).contains Informationthe classifiedauthority’s abovestatement OSof mustrequirement befor sharedthe outsideservices.

Only R-Cloud,the inopportunities complianceyour withorganisation MODis commercialeligible policyto onparticipate thein protectionwill ofbe information.

Ifvisible. So you intenddon’t need to sharereview informationadverts classifiedor aboverequirements OS,which youare shouldirrelevant contactto the buyerresearch forareas guidance.you’ve selected.

CyberCommunicating riskwith assessmentthe buyer

AMessages cyberand riskclarification assessmentquestions willcan be conductedsent fordirectly everyto contractthe orbuyer taskvia placedR-Cloud. underThe thebuyer R-Cloudwill terms.respond Suppliersvia mightR-Cloud alsoeither havedirectly to completethat aquestion securityor, assuranceif questionnairethey asthink partit’s ofrelevant ato taskingall procedure.participating suppliers, as an ‘update’.

The cybercontact riskdetails levelfor andthe cyberbuyer riskwill assessmentbe referencevisible (ifin applicable)R-Cloud willand be included in the tasking form (partin A).

Guidancecase willof beany intechnical thedifficulties.

The

Awarding followinga informationcontract

All isR-Cloud guidanceprocesses onare securitycompleted in R-Cloud,R-Cloud. butThis thisincludes iscontract notaward exhaustivewhich andis soan supplierselectronic mustacceptance ensurenotice.

When thatawarding alla necessarycontract stepsin areR-Cloud, takenbuyers towill ensureprovide:

• purchase theorder securitynumber
• feedback ofto MODthe datasuccessful andsupplier
• any information.

  Detailsother ofrelevant thedocuments informationto securitybe noticesuploaded thatas applypart whenof workingthe withcontract MODthat are onnot GOV.UK.

  Contactalready thelinked relevantto buyerthe iftask you(for haveexample, anyclarification further questions onand anyresponses, aspectcompleted Limitation of securityContractors thatLiability applies(LoCL) toAnnex)

If anyou’re R-Cloud tasking procurement or contract.

unsuccessful

GetIf furtheryou’re informationunsuccessful, onyou’ll contractualreceive process:a placingnotification contractsin orR-Cloud. releasingYou assets,should andreceive ‘Subcontractingthis oreither Collaboratingin onR-Cloud Classifiedor UKvia MOD Programmes’.email.

IssuesRoles and updatesresponsibilities

LoginThe issuesrole of buyers

BothBuyers usernamein andR-Cloud password are caseresponsible sensitivefor onthe R-Cloud.end-to-end Ifmanagement enteredof incorrectly,their youtasking won’tprocedures, beincluding ablethe toaward accessof R-Cloudany orresultant receive password reset emails. (We’re currently working on this issue.)contract.

If

The passwordsrole needof tothe beDstl updatedR-Cloud manually,management please email dstlrcloud@dstl.gov.uk

team

You’llDstl thenR-Cloud receivemanagement ateam temporaryprovides passwordadvice to access R-Cloud and changeguidance the password to somethinghelp morebuyers secureand (undersuppliers ‘viewin account’).

Youtheir canuse alsoof emailR-Cloud, uswhilst formanaging anythe otheroverarching technicalagreement. issuesThe andteam queriesalso assist with R-Cloud.

Ifgeneral youruse queryof relatesR-Cloud, tosuch theas, taskingescalation procedure,of contacttechnical the relevant buyer (via R-Cloud if possible).issues.

Updating your login email address

You can amend your admin email address in R-Cloud, under ‘view account’ (supplier applicant accounts can’t be updated).

If you’re an approved supplier who can’t access R-Cloud to make a change, the R-Cloud management team can helphelp; - for security purposes, please email the existing account details, including written confirmation from the account holder (wherever possible), and the details to be updated to dstlrcloud@dstl.gov.uk

If youyou’re can’tunable to get written confirmation from the account holder, please provide the reason for this.

Issues

Login submitting your application

issues

ApplicationsBoth canusername onlyand bepassword submittedentries onceare allcase sectionssensitive areon complete.R-Cloud. If youthese can’tare seementered toincorrectly, submityou yourwon’t application,be makeable sureto allaccess sectionsR-Cloud haveor beenreceive markedpassword asreset complete.

Checkemails. the(We following:

• at least 1 capability area has been added
• all elements of the application including sub-sections are markedcurrently asworking complete
• theon 2this tickissue.)

  If boxespasswords atneed theto bottombe areupdated ticked

R-Cloudmanually, (Versionplease 4)email Terms and Conditions

dstlrcloud@dstl.gov.uk

TheYou R-Cloudwill (Versionthen 4)receive Termsa andtemporary Conditionspassword apply to allaccess contracts.R-Cloud Acceptance of these Terms and Conditionschance isthe apassword mandatoryto requirement.something Thesemore aresecure linked(under from‘view theaccount’).

You greycan footeralso atemail theus bottomfor ofany eachother pagetechnical (weissues can’tand providequeries Wordwith or PDF versions).R-Cloud.

If additionalyour Termsquery andrelates Conditionsto arethe required,tasking theseprocedure, willcontact bethe highlightedrelevant inbuyer the(via applicableR-Cloud taskingif form.possible).

R-Cloud and Intellectual property rights (IPR) in R-Cloud

IPR vesting in the supplier

ContractsAs standard, contracts placed through R-Cloud will vest ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) with the supplier. The R-Cloud agreement terms for IPR vesting in the supplier are in the R-Cloud (Version 4) Termsterms and Conditionsconditions (schedule 3, annex S3-A).

R-Cloud also includes the option to secure additional sharing or publication rights in certain deliverables. Where these rights are needed, this will be stated in the tasking form.form (part B).

Document marking

If you’re awarded a contract via R-Cloud, you must also comply with the R-Cloud document marking scheme set out in the tasking form:form (part A, annex 2):

• rights to publish: if the tasking form states that the authority requires a right to publish a specific deliverable, then the documents have to be delivered with markings indicating that the authority (for example, MOD), has the right to publish that deliverabledeliverable. -This this includes the right to open source the information in them (but not the right to open source any relevant supplier-owned patents)patents).
• UK Government Sharing Rights: if the tasking form states that the authority requires one or more specified UK government department(s) need to be able to share a specific deliverable, then the documents have to be delivered with markings indicating that those UK government department(s) are included within the definition of contract authority, which gives them the right to share the deliverable as confidential GFI (although only for their UK defence/security contracts).

R-Cloud+

Brand new for 2023, R-Cloud+ provideswill open up more opportunities (if you opt in) to participate in UK government research and development (R&D) contracts.

IPR vesting in the Crown

Buyers will have the option to require all or part of the IPR under a contract to vest in the Crown with R-Cloud+. These contracts could not be placed in R-Cloud before. We expect this to be a positive step in opening up R-Cloud even further as an efficient route to contract for both buyers and suppliers.

New supplier applicants

ApplyYou can apply to R-Cloud+ as part of the main R-Cloud application by selecting ‘apply’ in the additional Termsterms and Conditionsconditions section. This will include R-Cloud+ within your application.application You- you don’t need to complete any additional steps.

Existing R-Cloud suppliers

R-Cloud+ will be available to join in your R-Cloud dashboard, under the section ‘additional terms and conditions’ (select ‘apply’ to join). You don’t need to submit any additional information as R-Cloud will immediately apply this to your profile.

YouIf canyou want to opt-out at a later datedate, ifthe youoption want to do this will remain available (select ‘opt-out’ on the dashboard). ThisSelecting ‘opt-out’ will not remove access to any existing R-Cloud+ tasking procedures. You canmay still choose to continue with these, but the R-Cloud+ additional Termsterms and Conditionsconditions will apply.

SuppliersR-Cloud+ is an entirely optional addition to R-Cloud and suppliers who choose not to join R-Cloud+will are still be able to participate in R-Cloud.R-Cloud tasking procedures. Electing not to join R-Cloud+ will have no impact on your participation in other areas of R-Cloud or any non R-Cloud+ tasking procedure.

R-Cloud+ tasking procedures

When a tasking procedure using R-Cloud+ is published, it will be visible in R-Cloud. The buyer will also use the R-Cloud+ tasking form.

Within the R-Cloud+ tasking form (part B, section E), buyers will identify whether annex S3-A (IPR vesting in the supplier) or annex S3-B (IPR vesting in the Crown) will apply to each deliverable.

Document marking

If awarded aany contract via R-Cloud+, you must also comply with the R-Cloud document marking scheme set out in the tasking form (part A, annex 2).2)

R-Cloud+

Design IPR

Rights and Patents (Sub-Contractors) Agreement

InUnder R-Cloud+,any IPMOD willcontract be(and requiredonly when authorised by the Authority to besub-contract vestedany research services) you must put in theplace Crown.a Thesesuitable contractsDesign couldRights notand bePatents placed(Sub-Contractors) viaAgreement. R-CloudThis previouslycreates a direct legal relationship between MOD and the sub-contractor which requiresspecifically IPensures tothat bethe vestednecessary rights of use in the supplier.sub-contracted elements of the work and associated deliverables.

Notification of IP Rights Restrictions

The R-Cloud tasking form (part C, annex B: Notification of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Restrictions) must be completed as part of every response to an R-Cloud tasking procedure and must be kept up to date by the supplier throughout the contract period.

This notifies MOD of any background IP or other restrictions associated with contract deliverables.

R-Cloud policy and processes

The following is provided as a quick reference guide to policies and processes in R-Cloud. This is not an exhaustive list and so we strongly recommend suppliers review the R-Cloud (Version 4) terms and conditions in full before applying and participating in tasking procedures.

Sub-contracting in R-Cloud

Design50% RightsSub-contracting limit

Contracts will not be more than 50% sub-contracted (based on contract value). This is to support engagement for small and Patentsmedium (Sub-Contractors)enterprises Agreement(SMEs) and non-traditional defence suppliers.

Buyers can chose to waive this limit where justified by the circumstances of the task. Contact the buyer to request a waiver to the 50% limit as early as possible and before the response deadline.

Requests for approval to sub-contract

UnderSuppliers must notify the authority of any intended sub-contracting in advance and obtain express approval before entering into any sub-contract (RCloud (Version 4) terms and conditions (clause 12.8)).

The provisions of R-Cloud (Version 4) terms and conditions (annex to schedule S3-3: cyber security) must be included in any relevant sub-contract.

Get further information on contractual process: placing contracts or releasing assets, and ‘Subcontracting or Collaborating on Classified UK MOD contractProgrammes’.

Limitation (andof onlyContractors whenLiability authorised(LoCL)

Any request to include a cap on liability under an R-Cloud tasking procedure must be:

• submitted at the earliest opportunity and before the deadline for responses under the relevant tasking procedure, with sufficient time allowed for the authority to sub-contractconsider the request - buyers can state a deadline for any researchrequests services)within youthe tasking form (the request must putbe submitted prior to the deadline)

• accompanied by a suitable Designrisk Rightsassessment and(evidence Patentsto (Sub-Contractors)support Agreementthe inrequest place.must Thisbe createsprovided, to allow the authority to conduct a directrealistic legaland relationshiprobust betweenrisk MODassessment and understand the sub-contractorpotential whichfinancial specificallyliability ensuresbeing passed from the supplier to the authority) - the request must demonstrate that it’s reasonable for the necessaryauthority rightsto limit their liability against any proposed risk(s) and the authority must be satisfied that it’s value for money to do so.

Acceptance of useany request to limit liability is strictly at the discretion of the authority.

You must not include any unapproved liability cap within your response - this may result in the sub-contractedresponse elementsbeing ofrejected as non-compliant with the workR-Cloud process.

Social value

When joining R-Cloud, suppliers have agreed to identify potential social value benefits for any tasking procedure (R-Cloud (Version 4) terms and associatedconditions deliverables.(clause 4.8)).

TheAny assessment of social value benefits should be provided to the buyer as part of a response or as otherwise requested.

Security in R-Cloud

The Designfollowing Rightsis andprovided Patentsas Sub-Contractor’sguidance Agreementon security in R-Cloud, however this is not intended to be exhaustive and suppliers must ensure that all necessary steps are taken to ensure the security of MOD data and information.

Details of the information security notices that apply when working with MOD are on GOV.UK

Contact the relevant buyer if you have any further questions on any aspect of security that applies to an R-Cloud (Versiontasking 4)procurement Termsor contract.

Sharing information via R-Cloud

R-Cloud can be used to place tasks at any classification, but it must only be used to share information up to OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (OS). Information classified above OS must be shared outside R-Cloud, in compliance with MOD commercial policy on the protection of information.

If you intend to share information classified above OS, you should contact the buyer for guidance.

Cyber Security

Cyber risk assessment

A cyber risk assessment will be conducted for every contract or task placed under the R-Cloud terms, and Conditionssuppliers (schedulemay 3,be annexrequired S3-Ato complete a security assurance questionnaire as part of a tasking procedure.

The cyber risk level and S3-B).cyber risk assessment reference (if applicable) will be included in the tasking form (part A).