Guidance

Submit a research report to MOD

Submit your research to Athena; Dstl's central repository of MOD-sponsored scientific and technical research reports.

From:
Ministry of Defence and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Published
1 July 2014
Last updated
20 May 2025 — See all updates

Athena stores science and technology (S&T) research outputs of current and past UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) research programmes.

All reports must: 

  • have an S&T focus 

  • be technically reviewed 

  • include a completed Report Documentation Page (RDP) 

  • meet the Athena Collection Management Policy

Reports that don’t meet these criteria will not be added to Athena.

Before you submit your research report 

You must attach a completed RDP to the end of your report. 

The RDP has a number of fields holding information about the report, title, authors, abstract, classification and intellectual property conditions,  

This information helps Athena manage the report appropriately, and also helps when searching for the document in the Athena report collection.

Defence Research Report Specification 

The Defence Research Report Specification document outlines requirements for the presentation, format and production of scientific and technical reports prepared for MOD. It provides a template report cover page, as well as further guidance on writing abstracts and intellectual property rights statements required for MOD reports.

Defence Research Report Specification (ODT, 140 KB)

How to complete the RDP

The RDP is currently a WORD document (may not be suitable for users of assistive technology).

Please follow the instructions on this page to complete the form, and then email it to: AthenaSubmissions@dstl.gov.uk. 

Report documentation page (MS Word Document, 66.4 KB)

Please complete all fields and enter NONE if not applicable.

1a. Report number

Enter the full report number as it appears on the front cover or title page. 

1b. Version number

Version number of the report or enter NONE. 

2. Date of publication

Date the final version report was published in the format dd/mm/yyyy. 

3. Number of pages

Total number of pages including the RDP. 

4a. Report UK protective marking

Select the appropriate protective marking which applies to the report from the dropdown menu.

The UK protective markings are: 

  • Official (Includes a subset of Official-Sensitive)  

  • Secret 

  • Top Secret 

Unclassified, Restricted and Confidential markings can only be used where the report is prepared on behalf of an international defence organisation and the appropriate prefix (for example, NATO) included in the marking. 

Applying too high a protective marking can: 

  • inhibit access 

  • lead to unnecessary and expensive protective controls 

  • impair the efficiency of an organisation’s business

Applying too low a protective marking may lead to damaging consequences for national security.

For further advice on UK protective markings please speak to your local security adviser. 

4b. Report national caveats

Enter any national caveats that apply to the report.  

National caveats can only be applied to Secret and Top Secret protectively marked documents.  

Examples of national caveats: 

  • UK EYES ONLY 

  • UK EYES DESCRETION 

  • AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US EYES ONLY 

For further advice on national caveats, please speak to your local security advisor. 

4c. Report descriptor

Enter any descriptor that applies to the report.

Descriptors must be used with a security classification (this is usually OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE). COMMERCIAL and PERSONAL are acceptable.  

SECRET or TOP SECRET information does not require a descriptor. 

State LIMITED CIRCULATION for sensitive information that can only be seen by those with a need to know. You should also mark as OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (plus a descriptor, if appropriate), and the limits in a distribution list or in a clear statement at the beginning of the report.  

For further advice on descriptors and handling instructions, please speak to your local security adviser.

5a. Title

Enter the complete report title (and subtitle, if there is one) in lowercase, not in capital letters.  

If the report covers a specific period or requires a type indication, enter this after the title. For example, ‘Evaluating New Technologies (Interim Report)’. 

5b. Title UK protective marking

Select the protective marking that applies to the report title from the dropdown menu.  

5c. Title national caveats

Enter any national caveats that apply to the title. To maximise disclosure and distribution of the title, apply the minimum caveats , if possible (see 4b for examples). 

National caveats can only be applied to SECRET and TOP SECRET protectively marked documents.

5d. Title descriptor

Enter any descriptor that applies to the title.

Descriptors must be used with a security classification (this is usually OFFICIAL-SENISITIVE). SECRET or TOP SECRET information does not require a descriptor. 

(see 4c for examples). 

6. Authors

Enter the surname and initials of the principal author and then enter the surname and initials of any other authors. Separate individual authors using a semicolon (;). 

7a. Abstract

The abstract must meet the guidance in the ‘Defence Research Report Specification’ document.  

The abstract should be of a commercially non-sensitive nature as it will be distributed to a range of parties.

The abstract should: 

  • provide a brief summary of the scope and main outputs of the report 

  • be of high technical and grammatical quality 

  • use colons and semi-colons as list separators  

  • use short and concise sentences 

  • be between 150 to 200 words (2500 characters including spaces)  

  • not include milestone or contract numbers 

  • not repeat the report title

7b. Abstract UK protective marking

Select the protective marking that applies to the report abstract from the dropdown menu. 

To maximise disclosure and distribution of the abstract, apply the minimum protective marking to the abstract if possible . 

7c. Abstract national caveats

Enter any national caveats that apply to the abstract or enter NONE. 

National caveats can only be applied to SECRET and TOP SECRET protectively marked documents. To maximise disclosure and distribution of the abstract, apply the minimum protective marking to the abstractpossible . 

7d. Abstract descriptor

Enter any national caveats that apply to the abstract or enter NONE. 

Descriptors must be used with a security classification (this is usually OFFICIAL-SENISITIVE). SECRET or TOP SECRET information does not require a descriptor. 

(see 4c for examples). 

8. Keywords

Provide keywords of the concepts covered in the report. These can include:

  • technologies 

  • platforms 

  • systems 

  • components 

  • processes

Spell out acronyms in full (for example, write ‘Stand-off Biological Detection’ rather than ‘SOBD’). Use terms from the UK Defence Thesaurus. if possible. . 

9. Name and address of publisher

Enter details of the organisation preparing the report, including relevant business sector or unit, department address and postcode. 

10. Name and address of funding source

Enter who paid to produce the work. If the report was written specifically for an international collaboration forum (for example, TTCP or NATO RTO) state the forum and topic. 

11. Funding source contract

Enter the number of the contract that funded production of this report. 

12. Dstl project number

Enter the Dstl project number for which this report was produced.. 

13. Programme

If the work is part of a specific programme, enter the name of the programme. 

14. Other report numbers

Enter any other relevant report numbers (for example, order number, proposal number, deliverable item number or work item number).  

The funding source or collaborating organisation might also use other report numbers you can enter in this part of the form. 

15a. Contract start date

Enter the start date of the contract in the format dd/mm/yyyy 

15b. Contract end date

Enter the date the contract finished in the format dd/mm/yyyy 

16. IP Conditions for report

Select the Intellectual Property Rights condition under which the report has been produced from the dropdown menu. 

For further advice on Intellectual Property Rights, please speak to your local IP or commercial adviser. 

17a. Patents

If a patent has been filed as a result of the report select YES, or select NO if not.  

If yes, enter the application number in 17b.  

If applications for patents or registered designs have been made and Intellectual Property Management at Dstl have not been informed, you must contact them in accordance with the relevant contract condition.  

For further advice on Intellectual Property Rights, please speak to your local IP or commercial adviser. 

17b. Application Number

Enter the patent application number. 

18. Release Authority Role

Enter the post or role with release authority (for example, Programme Manager (PgM)) 

For more information about the RDP or amending the RDP of a submitted report email AthenaEnquiries@dstl.gov.uk.

Send your research report 

After completing all fields in the RDP, attach it to your report and email it to AthenaSubmissions@dstl.gov.uk.

Alternatively, email it over the secret network to AthenaSubmissions@snet.dstl.gov.uk.

Athena Collection Management Policy

Acceptable material 

Athena will accept the following documents: 

  • technical final reports  

  • technical interim reports  

  • technical milestone reports  

  • technical annual or quarterly reports  

  • technical progress reports  

  • technical memoranda

  • technical minutes 

  • technical reviews 

  • technology watches 

  • trials reports  

  • workshop reports  

  • presentation slides  

  • academic theses (from defence related institutions or departments)  

  • Quadripartite Standardisation Agreements (QStags) 

  • two-page report summaries (must have a different DIIS number to the corresponding technical/working/customer report) 

  • UK MOD specifications 

  • UK MOD manuals, user guides or handbooks  

  • Journal of Defence Science (Defence Engineering and Science) 

  • all NATO reports sent to Dstl

Material requiring further consideration 

Athena will accept the following document types on a case-by-case basis. They must have enough scientific or technical content and be defence and security focused (as well as a completed RDP): 

  • technical working papers  

  • scoping studies

  • seminar and conference papers and posters and symposium reports (for physical posters, only A0 or below in size) 

  • DRIC translations (not including the original foreign language material, as that would be subject to copyright) 

  • Stanags or draft Stanags, which do not appear in the Stanag website  

  • trials plans 

  • literature searches 

  • risk assessments or technical assessments 

  • visit reports  

  • Codes of Practice

Unacceptable material 

Athena will not accept the following: 

  • documents with copyright restrictions (sent in without accompanying consent from the copyright holder for inclusion in the database - the person sending the report to Dstl must obtain consent) 

  • documents affected by the Data Protection Act 2018

  • documents with little or no scientific content  

  • documents in draft form  

  • agendas or minutes of meetings 

  • patents  

  • bid documents (for example, proposals and tender documents)

  • internal project documents, for example: 

  • project management plans 

  • trials instructions 

  • trials orders 

  • communication strategies 

  • task descriptions  

  • foreign specifications 

  • validation plans 

  • financial milestone or progress reports  

  • foreign language material  

  • emails  

  • non-technical memoranda  

  • publication lists (catalogues, reports, lists of titles)  

  • bibliographies 

  • library bulletins (accessions lists, digests)  

  • service publications  

  • standards (includes defence standards) 

  • regulations 

  • protocols 

  • books 

  • magazines 

  • copyrighted journals, defence journals and articles (with the exception of the Journal of Defence Science) 

  • yearbooks  

  • audit reports 

  • executive summaries 

  • foreign manuals, user guides or handbooks 

  • video, film and audio items 

  • Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) memorandums

Contact us 

If you have any further questions about submitting a report to Athena, please email: AthenaEnquiries@dstl.gov.uk.

Updates to this page

Published 1 July 2014
Last updated 20 May 2025 show all updates

  1. Form instructions have been updated on the page and certain documents removed.

  2. Updated report documentation page (form)

  3. Updated defence research report specification and report documentation page: guidelines for use (open document format).

  4. Updated reporting document.

  5. Updated report documentation page guidelines, defence research report specification and Athena collection management policy.

  6. New collection management policy added.

  7. New version of report documentation page added

  8. Defence research report specification document updated

  9. Updating Defence research report specification guide

  10. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page

Contents

Related content