This paper studies an exemplary case of strategy implementation in the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST), a group within the Australian Government Department of Defence. Through three action research cycles between 2016 and 2018, the study has found that DST progressed from an organisation where it was considered difficult to demonstrate strategic alignment of its work to Defence needs to an organisation that manages its portfolio strategically. The lessons for other organisations is to manage improvements in the investment allocation process not so much through the introduction of new tools but as a change management project driven through top management support. A technical lesson is that decision-making about budgets needs to be at the level at which strategy is implemented, that is at a program rather than at a project level. Further research is recommended within Defence and other organisations to evaluate whether strategic benefits can be realised if resources are allocated strategically.
