Capability and Acquisition (CAPAC) Practitioner Courses

Course structure

What you will learn

The aim of the courses is to enable military and civilian staff from Head Office (HO), Commands and Enabling Organisations to acquire an understanding of the MOD’s capability, acquisition and financial management processes, and their application in the development and generation of affordable and strategy-compliant force structures and capabilities.

Each of these three Practitioner courses covers the totality of CAPAC – Directing, Planning, Delivering, Generating and Sustaining Capability; however, each course is tailored to meet the needs of students from different parts of the Defence Operating Model. The three face-to-face and online CAPAC Practitioner courses are:

Strategic Direction and Capability Planning, focused on Head Office and the Development Areas in the Commands.

• 16 Oct 2023 - 20 Oct 2023

• 15 Jan 2024 - 19 Jan 2024 

• 29 Apr 2024 - 03 May 2024 (Online)

• 03 Jun 2024 - 07 Jun 2024

• 24 Jun 2024 - 28 Jun 2024

Deliver, focused on Delivery Areas in the Commands and Enablers.

• 30 Oct 2023 - 03 Nov 2023

• 04 Dec 2023 - 08 Dec 2023

• 22 Jan 2024 - 26 Jan 2024 (Online)

• 11 Mar 2024 - 15 Mar 2024

• 17 Jun 2024 - 21 Jun 2024

In-Service, focused on In-Service Areas in the Commands and Enablers.

• 06 Nov 2023 - 10 Nov 2023

• 29 Jan 2024 - 02 Feb 2024

• 15 Apr 2024 - 19 Apr 2024 (Online) 

Courses other than those listed as being 'online' are delivered onsite at the Defence Academy, Shrivenham.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Cranfield Student Support team directly on courses.shrivenham@cranfield.ac.uk.

Selecting which course is right for you is covered in the ‘Who should attend’ section below. Although there is no exam associated with this course, you will have many opportunities to try out some of the learning during syndicates’ workshops and tutorials.

By the end of the course, you will be able to understand the relationships and processes associated with the management of military capabilities within the DOM.

Core content

The course links:

• Strategic direction to the development and generation of sustainable military capabilities,
• The Defence Operating Model,
• Strategic force development,
• Finance,
• Command-level planning,
• Capability coherence and strategic balance of investment,
• Command models and the generic capability management model,
• Evidence-based decision making,
• The role of science in capability management,
• Project delivery,
• Sub-portfolio management,
• The delivery of change and the management of in-service capability. 

Who should attend

Taking one of the Practitioner courses is a prerequisite for a number of military posts. If you are a civil servant, the relevant Practitioner course will provide you with the key skills needed to undertake a job in the capability and or acquisition arena.

If you are an international student or from industry, the relevant Practitioner course will provide you with a working understanding of the processes and terminology used by the UK MOD for CAPAC management. 

CAPAC – Strategic Direction & Capability Planning Short Course

The course is aimed at those seeking to understand the totality of Capability and Acquisition who are currently working in, or who are going to be working within:

Head Office on Strategic Direction. In particular, this includes those working on the development of integrated reviews, their translation into Direction and Guidance for the Commands and Enablers, the allocation of outputs/strategic requirements and resource envelopes, the assurance of capability coherence across the environments and balancing resources against defence priorities to develop an affordable Defence Plan.

Commands and Enablers on planning future Capabilities. In particular this included those developing concepts, planning Capability (including updating/developing Pan-DLOD Assumptions, Capability Management Strategies and Plans) and writing change proposals (ABC Options/Formal Change Requests) to shape the Command's sub-portfolio of change programmes & projects to meet strategic requirements within resource allocations to develop affordable Command Plans and Agreement Plans between the Commands and Enablers.

As such the course is ideal for those working at Desk Officer level in Finance and Military Capability areas at Head Office and those involved in the working of the Capability Management and Capability Planning Groups of Portfolio Offices at the Commands and Enablers.

CAPAC - Deliver Short Course

This course is aimed at those seeking to understand the totality of Capability and Acquisition who are currently working in or who are going to be working within:

Commands and Enablers managing and delivering Programmes and Projects. In particular, this includes those defining Programmes, preparing Programme Mandates and the delivery of the bounded programmes to meet the outcomes and benefits defined in the approved Programme Mandate including the development and management of Requirements, Benefits Maps, Risk and integration of changes onto the Front line.

As such the course is ideal for those working at Desk Officer Level in Commands and Enablers Supporting Programme/Project Boards, Project Teams (including Requirement Managers) and Programme Management Offices.

CAPAC - In-Service Short Course

The course is aimed at those seeking to understand the totality of Capability and Acquisition who are currently working in or who are going to be working within:

Commands and Enablers managing the pan-DLOD integration of military capability for the front line. In particular this includes those whose role is involved with generating Force Elements at Readiness and Sustainability with a focus on the generation, sustainment and through life support of capability to deliver Operational Effect at value for money for Defence.

As such the course is ideal for those working in force generation and support related activities in the Commands and Project Teams including those involved in pan-DLOD generation of Capability through Availability Working Groups.

Speakers

Strategic Direction and Capability Planning - 

• Andrew Farmer
  
  

Deliver - 

• Dr Pete Ito
• Jeremy Smith
• Dr Steve Barker

In-Service - 

• Roger Crook
• Jeremy Smith
• Dr Steve Barker

Concessions

The MOD sponsors places on these three Practitioner courses.  It is important that the students appreciate that this is a full-time study commitment, including participation in exercises conducted in syndicates.

 Please complete an application form stating which of the three Practitioner courses you wish to attend (Strategic Direction and Capability Planning, Deliver, or In-Service), and on which of the scheduled sets of dates.