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| 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 rest 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:
- Alverstoke, Hampshire
- Bedford, Bedfordshire
- Farnborough, Hampshire
- Fort Halstead, Kent
- Malvern, Worcestershire
- Pershore, Worcestershire
- Porton Down, Wiltshire
- Portsdown West, Hampshire
- Winfrith, Dorset
It is currently consolidating to three core sites: Fort Halstead, Porton Down, and Portsdown West, under a project known as "INSPIRE".
The Chief Executive from 2001 to 2006 was Martin J Earwicker. The position is currently vacant (June 2006).
Sources
This article uses the Dstl Annual Report 04/05 for financial data.
External links
Military of the United Kingdom | Science and technology in the United Kingdom | Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government | 4-letter acronyms | 2001 establishments
"Dstl"