Against this background, the following Chapters cover a summary of research, analysis and interview inputs, along with conclusions and recommendations.
Chapter 5, Strategic Context, covers the issues surrounding the high level specification of defence policy and requirements which drive fundamental planning assumptions against which the Department is expected to deliver. It also explores progress with the Department's Defence Industrial Strategy and Technology Strategy, as well as the topics of exports and cross-border working.
Chapter 6, Planning Defence Capability, covers the Departmental activity in translating requirements into financial plans. It examines the short, medium and longer term planning framework, including the responsibilities, processes, motivations and accountabilities of those involved.
Chapter 7, Performance in Delivery of Equipment and Support, reviews the "downstream" outputs of the Defence acquisition system in terms of capability, cost and time as compared to expectations at the project's inception. The Review team provide analysis and perspectives on factors contributing to performance shortfalls where these have been identified.
Chapter 8, Progress in Reforming MoD Acquisition Delivery, considers the effectiveness of the key acquisition change initiatives currently underway within the MoD. It also revisits the progress of the Department in achieving the Smart Acquisition principles set out in 1998. It summarises the input collected by the Review team from industry on the strengths and weaknesses of MoD's acquisition approach, as well as helpful thoughts on how improvements could be achieved.
In Chapter 9, Future Options, the Report turns to examine potential structural options - including those with potential private sector involvement - as alternatives to addressing acquisition issues from within the current organisation and operating framework.
In Chapter 10, International Comparisons, UK defence acquisition is set in an international comparative context. The chapter covers the Team's research across a number of countries including the US, France, Australia and Canada. It also summarises direct input to the Team from discussions with UK MoD's counterparts in the US and France. The objective of this work was to understand whether problems in UK acquisition have parallels elsewhere, and if so, whether the UK can learn from others in solving them.
In addition to the body of the Report, a series of appendices are provided with additional detail on a number of subjects, as well as a Glossary of Acronyms in Appendix I, no doubt of particular use to the non-MoD reader.