Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Agency overview
Formed	2 July 2001
Preceding agency	Defence Evaluation and Research Agency;
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Porton Down,Wiltshire
Employees	5,500[citation needed]
Agency executive	Paul Hollinshead;
Parent agency	Ministry of Defence
Website	www.dstl.gov.uk

TheDefence Science and Technology Laboratory(Dstl) is anexecutive agencyof theMinistry of Defenceof the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK".^[1]The agency is headed by Paul Hollinshead as its chief executive,^[2]with the board being chaired by Adrian Belton.^[3]Ministerial responsibility lies with theMinister for Defence Procurement.

History

Dstl was formed from the July 2001 split of theDefence Evaluation and Research Agency(DERA). Dstl was established to carry out and retain the science and technology work that is best done within government,^[4]while work that could be done by industry (forming the majority of DERA's activities) was transferred toQinetiq,a government-owned company that was later floated on the stock exchange.

Dstl absorbed the Home Office's Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) in April 2018,^[5]taking on CAST's role^[6]to apply science and technology to support the Home Office's operations and frontline delivery, provide evidence to support policy, and perform certain regulatory functions.

Organisation

Most of Dstl's funding comes from the MOD, while a small portion comes from other government departments and commercial sources. In 2016/17, 91% of Dstl's £587 million income came from the MOD.^[7]

In April 2015, Dstl completed a major reorganisation, merging twelve operating departments into five divisions. The motivation behind this change was to enable more coherent and productive delivery to customers and simplify access routes for suppliers.^[8]

Leadership

Martin Earwicker(2001–06): chief executive from its creation in 2001, until he left in 2006 for theScience Museum.^[9]
Frances Saunders(2006–11): took over as acting chief executive in May 2006^[10]and was appointed as chief executive in August 2007.^[11]^[12]On 29 June 2011, Saunders announced to staff that her post had been advertised and that she would not be applying.^[13]
Jonathan Lyle(2012–17): formerly Director of the Programme Office at Dstl, placed into an acting role and was appointed in March 2012.^[14]
David Marsh: acting chief executive from September 2017 to January 2018.^[15]
Gary Aitkenhead^[16](2018–2021).^[15]
Doug Umbers: interim chief executive from April 2021 to February 2022.
Paul Hollinshead (2022–)

Operations

Dstl carries out a broad range of work from high-level analysis to support Ministry of Defence policy and procurement decisions, to technical research in defence areas such asbiomedical scienceandelectronics,alongside operational work such asforensic analysisofexplosives^[17]and providing paid volunteer scientists to Iraq and Afghanistan to provide rapid scientific advice to British forces. It has done work for around 40 government departments and agencies including theHome OfficeandDepartment for Transport.^[18]It undertakes research with both industry and academia to achieve its role.^[19]

Following a review and consultation process initiated by MOD's Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA), it became responsible for the formulation and commission of MOD's non-nuclear research programme from 1 April 2010, under the responsibility of the Dstl Programme Office.^[20]^[21]Within the Programme Office were 16 domains^[22]with some established as Science and Technology Centres, including Armour and Protection, Cyber and Influence, Counter Terrorism, and CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological).^[23]These centres fund research via the Centre for Defence Enterprise,^[24]also part of the Programme Office.^[25]

A subsequent MOD CSA-led review in 2015 into MOD's science and technology capability recommended that the commissioning of science and technology should be independent of the delivery.^[26]

Within theStrategic Defence and Security Review 2015was a proposal to create "a government-backed service designed to help small and medium-sized businesses bring new ideas to market more quickly".^[27]In 2016, it was announced by Defence SecretaryMichael Fallonthat this 'Defence and Security Accelerator'^[28]would have access to an £800m innovation fund and build on the 'Centre for Defence Enterprise' model, operating within Dstl.^[29]

In 2017, Dstl began a five-year programme of innovation in space science.^[30]In 2019, Dstl opened a new satellite ground control station at Portsdown West to support future space research.^[31]

In March 2020, scientists from Dstl began supportingPublic Health Englandto better understandCOVID-19during theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.^[32]By January 2021, around 300 scientists were said to be involved with COVID-19 support.^[33]

R-Cloud

Research Cloud (or R-Cloud) is the Dstl'ssupply chainmarketplace for science and technology research.^[34]Version 4 went live on 1 December 2020.^[35]R-Cloud frameworks cover eight "capability areas":

Command, Control, Communication and Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR);
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN);
Counter Terrorism and Security (CT&S);
Cyber;
Human Capability (HC);
IntegratedSurvivability(IS);
Platform Systems (PS);
Weapons.^[36]

Locations

Current sites include:^[37]

Headquarters

Porton Down,Wiltshire