The Enigma of Vivace: Government-Funded Tech Consortium Under Scrutiny
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Vivace
Vivace, a consortium boasting the "top talent" in the security sector, appears to be rather secretive about its collaborations with the UK government.
This group first caught my attention recently when it was cited in the NSPCC's contentious report on end-to-end encryption. Prior to this, I hadn’t heard of Vivace, prompting me to investigate what this organization entails.
Their minimalistic one-page website provides little insight, apart from the aforementioned claim of being the "best and brightest." There’s no member list, no identified executives, and no physical address—just a series of vague mission statements.
After a few days, a person identifying as Vivace's media representative responded to my inquiry for more details. It turns out that Vivace is a coalition of private technology firms responsible for the Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE). According to press releases, ACE is described as “a Home Office capability within the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism that swiftly addresses challenges related to frontline security and public safety missions.”
Vivace operates as a collective led by QinetiQ, which secured the ACE contract for the Home Office in 2017. This contract was extended for an additional two years in 2020.
Section 1.1: The Membership Mystery
Given that Vivace is funded by taxpayer money and claims to be working for the public good in crime prevention, one might assume it would be transparent about its members. However, this assumption is far from reality.
“We do not disclose a list of Vivace members,” the spokesperson informed me when I inquired about its membership. “For comments or additional information, please contact the Home Office press office.”
Consequently, I reached out to the Home Office press team to request a member list and information about the consortium’s annual costs to the public. They declined to provide any information.
Despite my attempts to gather details from QinetiQ, I was redirected back to the Home Office. This back-and-forth seems to indicate a lack of transparency.
Subsection 1.1.1: What We Know So Far
Despite their reluctance to share information, some details about this enigmatic tech consortium are available. The ACE Annual Review for 2019-20 (provided by Vivace’s spokesperson) states that “the Vivace community now includes over 230 members,” as confirmed by its CEO, Simon Christoforato.
Interestingly, on Simon Christoforato’s LinkedIn profile, he openly lists many of Vivace’s member organizations. A presentation slide he shared names numerous Vivace members, including prominent companies such as Amazon Web Services, Airbus, Thales, and, of course, the lead player, QinetiQ.
Section 1.2: The Financial Incentives
The primary allure for these companies appears to be lucrative government contracts.
As noted on page 21 of the ACE annual review, the “value of work through ACE” in 2019 reached £25.9 million, encompassing 267 contracts. Page 14 of the review details specific ACE commissions for the 2019/20 financial year, including projects like “AWS Feasibility — exploring potential cloud capabilities for law enforcement data.” Notably, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a member of Vivace.
Government spending records reveal that from January to March 2020 alone, several Vivace companies received substantial funding from the Home Office:
- Amazon Web Services — £25,314,691
- QinetiQ — £5,168,815
- BAE — £3,841,393
- Thales — £1,041,931
- UK Cloud Ltd — £967,772
While there’s no evidence to suggest that this funding stems directly from Vivace membership, it raises questions about why both the Home Office and Vivace are so tight-lipped regarding their membership and financial dealings.
Chapter 2: Seeking Transparency
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Given the reluctance of both Vivace and the Home Office to disclose their membership details, I intend to file a Freedom of Information request to uncover the complete member list and the true costs associated with this initiative.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with private companies providing IT solutions for security agencies, the absence of transparency surrounding these arrangements is concerning for public accountability.