DE&S launches new Strategy

17 May 2021 03:30 PM

The Ministry of Defence’s Defence, Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation has launched a new strategy outlining its future ambitions out to 2025, with a specific focus on delivering through people, technology and innovation.

The new strategy builds on DE&S’s track record of delivering complex acquisition programmes for the UK’s Armed Forces.

In particular, the strategy focuses on five priority areas:

1. Pace and agility

DE&S will improve its ability to deliver performance and solutions at pace, with increased availability, faster responses to clients requirements, and a focus on the better integration of systems. DE&S will do this by:

• Accelerating acquisition and streamlining approvals and assurance processes, reducing approval time by 1-3 months by 2023;
• Evolving to counter future threats – helping clients counter threats posed by sub-threshold operations and in new domains of Cyber Security and Space. For example, the standing up of a new Space Delivery Team within the organisation;
• Improving Delivery – DE&S will deliver new tools such as P3M Release 4, helping it to grow as a professional delivery organisation;
• Resourcing client priorities – DE&S will increase organisational agility and focus resources on its client’s top priorities;
• Increasing availability – launching a dedicated Support Programme in 2021

2. Value to the taxpayer and society – DE&S will make investments go further to support Defence and national priorities, delivering value for the Armed Forces and supporting government’s Net Zero and Social Value targets.

• Achieving Net Zero operations – DE&S will reduce overseas travel by 50%, and will pilot a Net Zero site by 2025;
• Increasing Social Value – DE&S will require a minimum of 10% of tender evaluation weighting allocated to Social Value in contracts;
• Optimising operations – DE&S will launch a programme to improve operations and deliver workforce plans for the next four years;
• Delivering Net Zero emission capabilities – DE&S wil reduce the carbon footprint of equipment solutions delivered to clients, contributing to Net Zero targets by 2050;
• Delivering efficiencies in military capability – DE&S will scale up internal capability for delivering efficiencies, and will create four domain efficiency hubs supporting the MOD to deliver £3bn in efficiencies;

3. Delivery through people – DE&S will support a diverse and professional workforce that is empowered and equipped to deliver excellence and will provide access to the right learning and development, investing in its leadership and embedding a new set of values.

• Investing in leadership – DE&S will deliver a leadership capability uplift programme from 2021;
• Mobilising the workforce – DE&S will launch a smarter working programme in 2021 covering technology, infrastructure, and policy;
• Valuing our people – DE&S will deliver a future HR system and reward offering by 2022;
• Growth through learning – DE&S will launch a new learning platform by 2023 for its people to access all professional development opportunities in one place;
• Focusing on equality, diversity, inclusion & wellbeing – DE&S will build a more inclusive workforce by driving equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing strategy;

4. Accelerated digital solutions – DE&S will drive digital solutions for business and battlespace advantage. DE&S will apply delivery enhancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science, open capability centres of expertise and launch innovative communities of interest.

• Adopting digital lifecycles – DE&S will pilot digital test and evaluation projects to clear capabilities without the need for live trials;
• Establishing communities of interest – DE&S will launch new communities of interest in remote automation solutions and AI to share DE&S expertise across the organisation;
• Pulling through technology – DE&S will pilot an expeditionary robotic centre of expertise and innovation bridge to be fully operational;
• Leading businesses solutions – DE&S will ensure that over 200 processes are automated, apps and spreadsheets reduced by 20% and 6,000 trusted data sets built;
• Applying and using data science & AI – DE&S will build capability in fast maturing technologies and work with Defence Digital in creation of an AI centre;

5. Delivery through partners – DE&S will attract and work at pace with diverse, resilient and innovative suppliers and partners. DE&S will implement the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS), secure its supply chains, support international partnerships and exports and protect the UK’s capabilities.

• Driving innovative commercial arrangements – DE&S will adopt a cloud-based e-marketplace for low-complexity acquisition by 2023;
• Developing supply chain resilience – DE&S will pilot digital supply chain mapping with suppliers for five critical capabilities by 2022;
• Mobilising the Defence & Security Industrial Strategy – DE&S will pilot more flexible approaches to acquisitions and support strategies;
• Strategic partnering – DE&S will scale-up supplier relationship management for all strategic and critical suppliers;
• International collaboration – DE&S will create an international collaboration centre of expertise;

The full report can be found here.