Case Study: UK Ministry of Defence boosts RAF innovation with PA Consulting

Putting innovation at the heart of the RAF

PA Consulting worked with the UK Ministry of Defence, specifically the Royal Air Force, to address a major challenge: after a two-thirds reduction in manpower over 20 years, the RAF needed to maintain global commitments while finding a better way to generate and implement innovative ideas across the organisation. The goal was to unlock the full potential of its intellectual capital and make innovation central to its culture.

PA Consulting conducted interviews, focus groups, and a career profiling assessment of more than 100 senior officers to evaluate air power thinking across the RAF. Based on this research, PA Consulting helped design the “Thinking to Win” transformation programme to embed the conceptual component of fighting power at the heart of the RAF. The programme has already improved the RAF’s ability to innovate at all levels and was described by the Chief of the Air Staff as the start of the RAF’s next journey.

UK Ministry of Defence

Richard Knighton

Assistant Chief of the Air Staff