The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) was formed on 1 April 2011 when the former Defence Estates (DE) organisation was brought together with other property and infrastructure functions within the MOD to form a single organisation.
The DIO manages the MOD’s property infrastructure and ensures strategic management of the Defence estate as a whole, optimising investment and supporting military capability to best effect. It has responsibility for most MOD expenditure on infrastructure management and delivery activities.
The main principle behind the DIO’s design is to ensure the delivery of an affordable and sustainable solution that gives our Armed Forces and their families the facilities in which to live and prepare for operations.
The DIO is also required to achieve significant running cost reductions, improve estate utilisation and drive further estate rationalisation and commercialisation opportunities largely through the sale of surplus land and buildings, and other efficiency measures.
Delivering Defence infrastructure
The DIO provides a 'one-stop shop' infrastructure service to Defence. It manages the majority of the MOD’s:
- technical infrastructure
- accommodation
- training estate
- volunteer estate
Services include 'hard' and 'soft' facilities management (FM) to support the maintenance of existing infrastructure, as well as services to enable the development of new infrastructure where needed.
'Hard' FM means the physical maintenance of buildings and equipment, whilst 'soft' FM refers to the provision of support services such as cleaning and catering. The DIO also provides energy and water to the estate
The organisation has teams delivering specific activities including estate management, projects, lands, catering, retail and leisure, cleaning, utility management, estate sustainability, Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF) for the estate, waste management and accommodation stores. It also has staff working on supporting activities including infrastructure strategy, policy and planning, data and reporting, financial management and procurement.
The transition to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation
The journey towards full DIO operating capability should take around two years from the organisation’s establishment on 1 April 2011. During this time a number of important, strategic milestones will need to be met.
Formation of the DIO has already brought together, in one organisation, a broad range of property and infrastructure knowledge and core MOD skills. DIO staff deliver many different strands of estates work, including the acquisition, development, management and disposal of fixed permanent buildings and structures, as well as land, utilities and facilities management services.
Our partners
The DIO works with a range of partners, some of which are other government departments, on a variety of projects. One of these is the Government Property Unit (GPU), which has representation on the Defence Infrastructure Board. The GPU was created to improve the efficiency of the Government estate, working across Departmental boundaries.
The DIO’s most important partnership is with industry. The DIO and its industry partners are currently working together to deliver an agreed programme of infrastructure work.