Abstract :
Just like many of the old nationalised activities, defence research in the UK has recently been put on a more commercial footing. This has meant that what was once solely funded from money allocated to it by government now has to look for customers and prove to them that its products and services are worth buying. This paper details how, for the staff and management of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, this change has been fundamental to many of their ways of working and as a result has led to the need for extensive staff training and reorganisation within the whole management structure.