On 26 February 2026, DIO hosted its first Research and Development Day at the DIO Headquarters in Whittington. The event was an opportunity for businesses of all shapes and sizes to come together to share their innovative projects and express how these new technologies can be used to improve Service Family Accommodation.
Several technologies were exhibited including modern ventilation systems, lighting technologies and AI platforms that can make a positive difference to the way homes are built, maintained and experienced by our Service Families.
Attendees included:
- VIVO
- Next Gen
- Microsoft
- Ecolution
- Ermen Systems
- Knauf Energy
- Arc Air Tech
To open the event, Scotties Little Soldiers and Dr. Laura Neilson from the Shared Health Foundation spoke to re-iterate the importance of improving our accommodation offer and the impact it will have on Service families, particularly children. Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a military charity that provides support for bereaved military children who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Dr. Laura Neilson, who works with the Shared Health Foundation, gave an informative presentation about the effects of temporary accommodation on child development.
This event follows the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy which announced the creation of a new, standalone Defence Housing Service that will better manage military homes while keeping them in public hands. It also promised a record uplift in Defence spending with a commitment of £7 billion into Armed Forces accommodation this parliament. It has been confirmed this funding will allow 9 in 10 military homes to be modernised or upgraded to a new, higher standard.
David Brewer, Chief Operating Officer of DIO said:
“We’ve had a fabulous day, bringing people together from different organisations and backgrounds who are passionate about driving improvements in Service family accommodation. We organised this event so they can share their ideas and we can see how we can work collaboratively to better understand the impact of military housing on our families and what opportunities there are to deliver smart, quick and simple innovations that can make a big difference for our people. By nature we are a curious organisation, we want to look outward and learn from others who are doing well. With the Defence Housing Service, we have the opportunity to make big differences quickly by changing the way we deliver our services, how we operate and how we communicate with people.”
Tricia Jakeman, Defence Families Champion, also commented:
“This was our first research and development day to see what innovations are out there. But for me it’s also about curiosity and care. We heard from Scotty’s Little Soldiers and Dr. Laura Neilson from the Shared Health Foundation about why it’s so important for us to get housing right for families. It is so much more than bricks and mortar, these are homes. We have approximately 120,000 people living in those homes and over a third of them are children under the age of 18. On average they move schools around 6-8 times. So, our ability to use leading technology to make homes safe, warm and modern is so important because they already face severe disruption in their day to day lives. They don’t need to be thinking about heating issues or damp and mould. It is our responsibility and duty to make sure those homes are not a worry for our families.”