ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the process adopted for the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The process by which the SDR was conducted was complex, as might be expected of such a large undertaking in a large bureaucratic organisation. The structure for the conduct of the Review was devised in the MoD and the work was managed by the Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) and the Second Permanent Under Secretary (2nd PUS). The first phase consisted of generating the Policy Framework which was based on foreign policy guidance provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Planning assumptions convert policy into detailed guidance for defence planning. This work translated the Policy Statement on the nation's intentions and wishes into the language of defence and armed force. In practice, the structure was used flexibly and so, on several occasions, the Secretary of State himself chaired the low-level Internal Studies Group (ISG) when items of particular interest were on the agenda.
