Dstl
Encyclopedia
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is a trading fund
of the Ministry of Defence
of the United Kingdom
. Responsibility for Dstl lies with the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, currently Peter Luff
.
Dstl's stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK".
(DERA) was split into two parts, Dstl and QinetiQ
. Dstl was established to carry out science and technology work that is best done within government, while the majority and that suitable for industry was transferred to QinetiQ, initially a wholly owned government company before being floated on the stock exchange. Dstl's status as a trading fund
and purpose were reaffirmed in 2011.
owned by the Secretary of State for Defence. Most funding comes from the Ministry of Defence, although a small portion comes from other government departments and commercial sources. According to 2009/10 figures, around 89% of Dstl's income comes from MOD. The remaining 11% of income comes from other government departments (64%) and non-exchequer sources (36%).
From Dstl's creation in 2001, the Chief Executive was Martin J Earwicker
until he left in 2006 for the Science Museum
.
Dr. Frances Saunders took over as acting Chief Executive in May 2006 and was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2007.
On 29 June 2011, Dr Saunders announced to the staff that her post had been advertised and that she would not be applying.
Dstl consists of the following operational departments:
, alongside operational work such as forensic analysis
of explosives and providing (paid volunteer) scientists to Iraq and Afghanistan to provide rapid scientific advice to British forces. It has done work for around 40 other government departments and agencies including the Home Office
and Department for Transport
. Dstl undertakes research with both industry and academia to achieve its role.
Following a review and consultation process initiated by MOD's Chief Scientific Advisor, Dstl become responsible for the formulation and commission of all of MOD's non-nuclear research programme, from 1 Apr 2010, under the responsibility of the Dstl Programme Office. Within the Programme Office are 16 domains with some established as Science and Technology Centres, including Armour and Protection, Cyber and Influence, Counter Terrorism, and CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological). These centres fund research via the Centre for Defence Enterprise, also part of the Programme Office.
.
Trading Fund
A trading fund is a UK executive agency, government department or part of a department, which has been established as such by means of a Trading Fund Order made under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973....
of the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Responsibility for Dstl lies with the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, currently Peter Luff
Peter Luff
Peter James Luff MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire since the 1997 general election, and was MP Worcester from 1992 until 1997...
.
Dstl's stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK".
History
In July 2001, the Defence Evaluation and Research AgencyDefence Evaluation and Research Agency
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency was a part of the UK Ministry of Defence until July 2, 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation...
(DERA) was split into two parts, Dstl and QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
. Dstl was established to carry out science and technology work that is best done within government, while the majority and that suitable for industry was transferred to QinetiQ, initially a wholly owned government company before being floated on the stock exchange. Dstl's status as a trading fund
Trading Fund
A trading fund is a UK executive agency, government department or part of a department, which has been established as such by means of a Trading Fund Order made under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973....
and purpose were reaffirmed in 2011.
Organisation
Dstl is a trading fundTrading Fund
A trading fund is a UK executive agency, government department or part of a department, which has been established as such by means of a Trading Fund Order made under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973....
owned by the Secretary of State for Defence. Most funding comes from the Ministry of Defence, although a small portion comes from other government departments and commercial sources. According to 2009/10 figures, around 89% of Dstl's income comes from MOD. The remaining 11% of income comes from other government departments (64%) and non-exchequer sources (36%).
From Dstl's creation in 2001, the Chief Executive was Martin J Earwicker
Martin Earwicker
Professor Martin John Earwicker FREng CCMI was Director of the National Museum of Science and Industry group of British museums from 2006 until 2009...
until he left in 2006 for the Science Museum
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
.
Dr. Frances Saunders took over as acting Chief Executive in May 2006 and was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2007.
On 29 June 2011, Dr Saunders announced to the staff that her post had been advertised and that she would not be applying.
Dstl consists of the following operational departments:
- Air and Weapons Systems
- Biomedical Sciences
- Detection
- Environmental Sciences
- Information Management
- Joint Systems
- Land Battlespace Systems
- Naval Systems
- Physical Sciences
- Policy and Capability Studies
- Security Sciences
- Sensors and Countermeasures
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 as biomedical science and electronicsElectronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, alongside operational work such as forensic analysis
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
of explosives and providing (paid volunteer) scientists to Iraq and Afghanistan to provide rapid scientific advice to British forces. It has done work for around 40 other government departments and agencies including the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
and Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
. Dstl undertakes research with both industry and academia to achieve its role.
Following a review and consultation process initiated by MOD's Chief Scientific Advisor, Dstl become responsible for the formulation and commission of all of MOD's non-nuclear research programme, from 1 Apr 2010, under the responsibility of the Dstl Programme Office. Within the Programme Office are 16 domains with some established as Science and Technology Centres, including Armour and Protection, Cyber and Influence, Counter Terrorism, and CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological). These centres fund research via the Centre for Defence Enterprise, also part of the Programme Office.
Current locations
Dstl's current sites include:- AlverstokeAlverstokeAlverstoke is a parish in the borough of Gosport, Hampshire, England, that encompasses land stretching from Haslar to Stokes Bay. Alverstoke lies within half a mile of the shore of Stokes Bay and near the head of a creek which extends a mile westward from Portsmouth Harbour...
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
(as a tenant of the Institute of Naval Medicine) - Fort HalsteadFort HalsteadFort Halstead is a research site of Dstl, an Executive Agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is situated on the crest of the Kentish North Downs, overlooking the town of Sevenoaks...
, KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(until 2016) - Porton DownPorton DownPorton Down is a United Kingdom government and military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. To the northwest lies the MoD Boscombe Down test range facility which is operated by QinetiQ...
, WiltshireWiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
(headquarters) - Portsdown WestPortsdown HillPortsdown Hill is a long chalk hill in Hampshire, England, offering good views over Portsmouth, The Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with the Isle of Wight beyond. The hill is on the mainland, just to the north of Ports Creek, which separates the mainland from Portsea Island, on which lies the...
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force... - HarwellHarwellHarwell may refer to:*Harwell, Nottinghamshire, England*Harwell, Oxfordshire, England, a village**RAF Harwell, a World War II RAF airfield, near Harwell village....
, OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
(within the science and innovation campus)
Ploughshare Innovations
In April 2005 the technology transfer company Ploughshare Innovations Ltd was formed in order to manage and exploit the intellectual property within Dstl. Dstl and Ploughshare Innovations has successfully spun-out several new companies including Acolyte Biomedica Ltd (since acquired by 3m Medical Diagnostics Ltd), Alaska Food Diagnostics Ltd, Enigma Diagnostics Ltd, Lucigen Ltd, ProKyma Technologies Ltd, Sherwood Therapeutics and P2i LtdP2i
P2i is a nano-coatings technology company, operating internationally, which has developed a family of patents in liquid-repellent nano-coatings nano-coating technology based upon UK defense research...
.
See also
- The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP)The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP)The Technical Cooperation Program is a long standing international organisation concerned with cooperation on defense science and technology matters, including national security and civil defense...
– An international defence science and technology collaboration between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. - DARPA – A US Defence Agency responsible for the development of new technology for use by the US military.
- Defence Science and Technology OrganisationDefence Science and Technology OrganisationThe Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....
– A branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry.