Defence Science and Technology Laboratory The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory ( Dstl ) is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom . Responsibility for Dstl lies with the Minister for Defence Equipment , Support and Technology , currently Philip Dunne . The Dstl Board is chaired by Sir Richard Mottram . Dstl ' s stated purpose is " to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK " . History . In July 2001 , the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency ( DERA ) was split into two parts , Dstl and QinetiQ . Dstl was established to carry out science and technology work that is best done within government , while the majority and that suitable for industry was transferred to QinetiQ , initially a wholly owned government company before being floated on the stock exchange . Organisation . Dstl is a trading fund owned by the Secretary of State for Defence . Most funding comes from the Ministry of Defence , although a small portion comes from other government departments and commercial sources . According to 2009 / 10 figures , around 89 % of Dstl ' s income comes from MOD . The remaining 11 % of income comes from other government departments ( 64 % ) and non - exchequer sources ( 36 % ) . From Dstl ' s creation in 2001 , the Chief Executive was Martin J Earwicker until he left in 2006 for the Science Museum . Dr . Frances Saunders took over as acting Chief Executive in May 2006 and was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2007 . On 29 June 2011 , Dr Saunders announced to the staff that her post had been advertised and that she would not be applying . On 13 December 2011 the MOD announced that Jonathan Lyle , currently Director of the Programme Office at Dstl , would replace Dr Saunders in March 2012 . Dstl consists of the following operational departments : Operations . Dstl carries out a broad range of work from high - level analysis to support Ministry of Defence policy and procurement decisions , to technical research in defence areas such as biomedical science and electronics , alongside operational work such as forensic analysis of explosives and providing ( paid volunteer ) scientists to Iraq and Afghanistan to provide rapid scientific advice to British forces . It has done work for around 40 other government departments and agencies including the Home Office and Department for Transport . Dstl undertakes research with both industry and academia to achieve its role . Following a review and consultation process initiated by MOD ' s Chief Scientific Advisor , Dstl become responsible for the formulation and commission of all of MOD ' s non - nuclear research programme , from 1 Apr 2010 , under the responsibility of the DST Programme Office . Within the Programme Office are 16 domains with some established as Science and Technology Centres , including Armour and Protection , Cyber and Influence , Counter Terrorism , and CBR ( Chemical , Biological and Radiological ) . These centres fund research via the Centre for Defence Enterprise , also part of the Programme Office . Current locations . Dstl ' s current sites include : Spin - offs . Ploughshare Innovations . In April 2005 the technology transfer company Ploughshare Innovations Ltd was formed in order to manage and exploit the intellectual property within Dstl . Dstl and Ploughshare Innovations has successfully spun - out several new companies including Acolyte Biomedica Ltd ( since acquired by 3m Medical Diagnostics Ltd ) , Alaska Food Diagnostics Ltd , Enigma Diagnostics Ltd , Lucigen Ltd , ProKyma Technologies Ltd , Sherwood Therapeutics and P2i Ltd .