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Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Da-rb (talk | contribs) at 21:00, 29 May 2007 (Split Ploughshare down into a seperate section. They're not part of Dstl's history, they're a spin off.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

Dstl Logo

Established: July 2, 2001
Acting Chief Executive: Frances Saunders
Turnover: £353.3 million (2004/5)
Operating Profit: £18.5 million (2004/5)
Employees: 3,328 employees (March 2005)

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an Executive Agency of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). It operates as a Trading Fund, owned by the Secretary of State for Defence.

Its stated mission is "to create the winning edge for UK forces and government through the best use of science and technology". Its stated vision is "to be the indispensable source of science and technology at the heart of defence".

Dstl carries out a broad range of work from high-level analysis in support of policy and procurement decisions, to research in areas such as biomedical science and electronics, alongside operational work such as forensic analysis of explosives.

History

In July 2001, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) was split into two parts. Dstl was established to carry out science and technology work that is best done within government, while the majority was transferred to the part-privatised QinetiQ.

Organisation

Dstl is a Trading Fund within the Ministry of Defence —it is responsible for managing its own budget, funded by contracts for specific work. Most funding comes from the Ministry of Defence, although a small portion comes from other government departments and commercial sources. According to 2004/5 figures, around 88% of Dstl's income comes from MOD. The remaining 12% of income comes from other government departments (45%) and non-exchequer sources, including QinetiQ and foreign governments (55%).

Dstl consists of the following departments:

  • Environmental Sciences
  • Detection
  • Physical Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Sensors and countermeasures
  • Energetics
  • Electronics
  • Policy and Capability Studies
  • Naval Systems
  • Land Battlespace Systems
  • Air and Weapons Systems
  • Joint Systems
  • Information Management
  • Knowledge Services

Locations

Dstl currently has a number of establishments at sites including:

It is currently consolidating to three core sites: Fort Halstead, Porton Down, and Portsdown West, under a project known as "INSPIRE", due to complete in 2009.

The Chief Executive from 2001 to 2006 was Martin J Earwicker. The position is presently vacant (May 2007), with Frances Saunders currently acting as Chief Executive.

Sources

This article uses the Dstl Annual Report 04/05 for financial data.

Spin-offs

Ploughshare Innovations

In April 2005 the technology transfer company Ploughshare Innovations Ltd was formed. This company has the mission statement "To actively pursue the commercial exploitation of publicly funded research for the benefit of all". The purpose of Ploughshare Innovations Ltd is to commercialise on the intellectual property developed within Dstl (predominantly from MOD funded defence science research), using a similar business model to the commercial activities of QinetiQ.

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