Phase 1 of the DACP, which was completed in April 2007, focussed on implementing the recommendations of the EAC report. The changes that were instituted related mainly to organisational and process change, including:
• forming DE&S;
• establishing the MOD Unified Customer framework in which DE&S interacts with the Requirements Community, Front Line Commands, Science Innovation and Technology TLB and MoD centre; and
• creating the Defence Commercial Directorate to provide strategic leadership on commercial issues for the MoD across all defence issues.
Phase 1 of DACP and was divided into ten key workstreams:
• Acquisition Operating Framework - enable a consistent approach to the way acquisition business is conducted through a framework that supports clear guidance, processes, procedures and continuous improvement;
• Planning Process - improve MOD planning process to increase realism and to enable a strategic view of the defence budget across 10 years, including support costs for new and existing capability;
• Approvals & Scrutiny - make commercial decisions on a through life capability basis;
• Relations with Industry - enable a business culture where it becomes normal to share plans, information, aspirations and expectations with industry;
• Governance - have flexible commercial and business models that support appropriate acquisition approaches;
• Research & Development - become more agile in approach to pull through of R&D & streamlined acquisition cycles;
• Through Life Capability Management - establish TLCM in the MOD sponsor organisation;
• Targets & Performance Management - ensure that MOD's Acquisition Targets encourage TLCM so that management can continue to focus on cost control and timelines and at the same time identify and address systemic issues across Acquisition;
• People Skills & Behaviour - enable and incentivise behaviour change and the development of skills necessary to deliver defence acquisition business; and
• An Integrated Procurement & Support Organisation - fit for purpose on 2nd April 2007, which will then be optimised to deliver sustainable procurement and support capability for operations.
Following the completion of Phase 1, the requirement for more effective delivery of equipment and better skills in the workforce was recognised. DACP aimed to provide, inter alia, greater unity of purpose across acquisition and improved programme and project delivery through:
• a more cohesive, flexible approach to problems, underpinned by core processes consistently applied;
• slicker approval processes, well planned, with fewer people and higher added value by each person;
• professional leaders and specialist staff - both military and civilian - in a leaner, but more professional and high-performing, acquisition corps.
People, Skills and Behaviour (PSB) and Knowledge Management were the two cross-cutting, enabling workstreams in DACP. PSB sought to:
• Individuals - embed Defence Values for Acquisition (DVfA) and close the skills gap.
• Teams - provide acquisition Leadership, embed TLCM across MoD Unified Customer, agree a strategy for joint work with industry on behaviours and DVfA.
• Organisations - standardise Departmental behaviours, support Role of the Military in Acquisition (ROMIA) implementation.
Planning and TLCM (see Section 7.10) and DE&S PACE programme (see below) were workstreams of DACP.