Offset is linked to both civil and defence procurement, and over 100 countries have some form of published defence offset policy.

This is clearly big business, yet, whilst offset is a remarkably important influence on the international arms market, it remains little understood and, as a consequence, government and corporate export policy is inadequately informed. 

Our Centre for Defence Management and Leadership (CDML) at the UK Defence Academy offers in-depth offset education, training and research as a means of filling that knowledge gap.

Services offered

CDML has a long experience in the delivery of offset programmes. Cranfield was the first British university to offer a dedicated five-day module on the topic, attracting marketing executives from ‘blue-chip’ defence companies, such as BAES, Rolls-Royce, MBDA, Thales and Selex ES. The offset programme offers four focuses:

  • Standard three-day module: This covers the spectrum of offset-related topics, including offset policy and strategy, negotiation, the offset management cycle, comparative offset policy performance, technology valuation models and contemporary policy developments.
  • Bespoke offset training: Organisations are encouraged to seek tailor-made offset training packages linked to their requirements. These packages begin from introductory half-day sessions to broader and more in-depth training events.
  • Institutional consultancy: CDML offers discrete, impartial and dispassionate consultancy services. Investigations can be targeted on specific aspects of offset activity, including policy, country profiles and impact analysis.
  • Doctoral study: PhD programmes are available to private and governmental-sponsored scholars and policymakers wishing to research technology management topics, including offset-related research. Doctoral research programmes can be full- or part-time, and designed to meet the theoretical and practical needs of both scholar and sponsor.

Offset is of growing importance across the world, increasingly spanning the civil-military divide. Today, nearly all defence and aerospace contracts require offset obligations, and the successful closing of the sale increasingly hinges on the attractiveness of the offset package. It is clear, therefore, that policymakers and marketing executives without a thorough understanding of the mechanics of offset will be disadvantaged in their efforts to promote export sales. CDML offers a suite of offset-related services to enhance offset awareness and create greater export competitiveness.

Summary of applications

Value proposition

Offset is of growing importance across the world, increasingly spanning the civil-military divide. Today, nearly all defence and aerospace contracts require offset obligations, and the successful closing of the sale increasingly hinges on the attractiveness of the offset package. It is clear, therefore, that policymakers and marketing executives without a thorough understanding of the mechanics of offset will be disadvantaged in their efforts to promote export sales. CDML offers a suite of offset-related services to enhance offset awareness and create greater export competitiveness.

CDML expertise

Our offset services are led by Professor Ron Matthews, who has taught and researched widely in the international offset field. Working alongside Ron is a team of offset experts with vast government and corporate experience of the offset field.

Using the facility

Government

  • Adrian Dalton - Former Head, Industrial Engagement. Ministry of Defence (1996-2014)

"Through its relationship with the UK Ministry of Defence, ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ provided invaluable analysis of the UK's Policy of Industrial Participation (IP). The results of this consultancy informed the consequent review and, in turn, led to the introduction of the Defence & Security Industrial Engagement Policy (DSIEP), which has resulted in important inward investment for the UK's defence and security industries. The background to this transition from IP to DSIEP can be found in Professor Matthews' paper."

  • Noura Ali-Al Ramahi - Tawazun Corporate Affair Executive

"ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥'s workshop on offset theory and practice was met with very good feedback from the Tawazun UAE offset team. The learning was delivered professionally and clearly to all participants, possessing varying levels of experience. All were encouraged to engage in the workshop discussions, and the interactions and policy-related case studies ensured that relevant insights were gained and applied to inform Tawazun and UAE offset perspectives."

PhD students:

  • Curie Maharani - Defence Offset Consultant, Indonesia MoD; Associate Faculty Member at Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia

"I am a registered ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ PhD student studying the impact of offset on the development of Indonesia's defence-industrial base. The doctoral research programme has been really enjoyable, and the supervision and support has been first class. Without doubt, my offset research has been an important enabling factor for my appointment as Team Leader in the design of Indonesia's first official offset policy."

  • Dr Kogi Balakrishnan - Principal Research Fellow, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Warwick University 

"After working in the Malaysian MoD from 2000 to 2003, managing defence offset arrangements, I was awarded an FCO Chevening scholarship to support my ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ doctoral studies evaluating the offset experience in Malaysia. After completion of the PhD, I returned to the Malaysian MoD in 2007, taking up the post of Under Secretary for Defence Industry, overseeing offset policy and implementation, and serving in that appointment until 2011. My ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ PhD research was enriching in so many ways, not least because of the the opportunity to work with offset policy experts and practitioners both from the UK and abroad."