86 Zyngier, Burstein, and McKay
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SIZE, DISTRIBUTION, AND RESOURCES
Since the establishment of the STDO, many new smaller research facilities have
been created in other locations to enlarge research scope and consequential geographic
distribution of the organization. The STDO is currently a multisite organization with a
corporate office at “Operations” headquarters in Canberra, and three research laborato-
ries known as Research Areas (RA): Platforms Sciences Laboratory, headquartered at
Fisherman’s Bend in Melbourne, and Systems Sciences Laboratory and Information
Sciences Laboratory, both headquartered at Edinburgh in Adelaide. STDO also main-
tains research facilities in Canberra, Sydney, Rockingham (near Perth), at Scottsdale in
Tasmania, and at Innisfail in northern Queensland. In July 2002, STDO reorganized its
laboratory structure around three core businesses. These are technological platforms
(material sciences, structures, propulsion, and aerodynamics), electronic systems (sys-
tems technologies and military operations in the air, land, and sea environments), and
information systems (development of intelligence, surveillance, and similar systems).
The STDO is engaged in a range of research and development activities for its
customers. These are the Australian “Operations” Staff, Australian Customs, security
organizations, and other parts of the Department of “Operations.” These organizations
commission the majority of STDO research and development activity. The STDO further
complements this with its own initiatives to position Australia so that it is in a position
to exploit future developments in technology. As such, most of this research is solely
funded by the Department of “Operations”; however, it also engages in collaborative
research arrangements with industry, universities, and other research institutions.
The Australian Government through the Department of “Operations” allocates the
annual budget of the STDO. The allocation in the year 2001-2002 was approximately $275
million. The Australian Government sees the STDO as having a dual role in contributing
to Australian defense capabilities and also adding to Australia’s national wealth. The
total “Operations” budget for 2002–2003 was $14.3 billion; of this, the total STDO budget
was $263.8 million. In 2001–2002, the STDO spent approximately $25.1 million (or 9.1%
of its budget) sourcing research, development, and technical support from industry and
other research and development organizations. These investments took the form of
collaborative and commercial actions. STDO-developed technology has also been
assigned to industry under numerous licence agreements.
STAFFING AND STRUCTURE
The STDO employs approximately 2,100 people of whom 75% are research active
and are supported by the other 25% of the staff. Of this staff, over 600 have a PhD. In
this environment, innovation is the prime focus and sharing of knowledge to facilitate
innovation is essential. Therefore, the breadth and depth of research with the need for
sharing and innovation across multiple sites make this organization an interesting case
to examine for the management of knowledge.
The current structure of the organization is a federal structure where each core
business or division operates as a self-sufficient entity responsible and reporting to
STDO headquarters in Canberra. The chief “Operations” scientist is the equivalent of the
chief executive officer and is ultimately responsible to and for the entire organization. The