The professional standard for defence business winning
Develop the people who win work in the UK defence market, and build capability that stays in your organisation. Management and leadership development built entirely on defence business winning, delivered by practitioners and externally moderated by the CMI.
Strategical is an approved CMI Partner.
- CMI Level 5, Management & Leadership
- Specialising in Defence Business Winning
- Certificate (3 units) or Diploma (7 units)
- Delivered in person or live online
Strategical's Business Winning Training develops the people responsible for winning work in the UK defence market, through CMI Level 5 qualifications built specifically for that work. Every module is centred on real defence capture and pursuit management, not generic leadership theory.
The programmes are built on the same methodology Strategical's practitioners use to win campaigns in the UK defence market, and are taught by practitioners who have led winning bids at every level of it. Every unit, assignment and assessment works the same Toolkit that underpins our advisory work, applied in the order a real campaign follows.
Built for the people who win the business
These qualifications are for the practitioners who lead UK defence pursuits. You apply the method to a live campaign of your own or to a full simulated pursuit, and finish with capability proven on real business winning and evidenced by a CMI Level 5 qualification.
Capture & pursuit leads
One repeatable standard, from first market scan to award.
Bid & proposal managers
Connect the written response to the capture strategy behind it.
Business development directors
Build a function with a common method and a common language.
Specialists drawn into pursuits
Project management, engineering, commercial and procurement leads seconded onto a bid.
Defence SMEs
Compete credibly against larger incumbents.
Defence primes
Raise capability across capture and bid teams.
Your win rate should not depend on a handful of people
In many defence organisations the ability to win work sits with a few experienced individuals. When they move on, the capability goes with them, and the win rate follows.
The strongest business winning functions are built differently: a common method, a common language, and a repeatable standard that holds whoever is in the room. Delegates work the same approach Strategical's practitioners use to win, the organisation keeps the capability, and the CMI Level 5 qualification records that the standard has been met.
CMI Level 5 management and leadership
| Attribute | Diploma | Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification code | CMI Level 5 (5D30) | CMI Level 5 (5C30) |
| Credits | 42 | 14 |
| Units | 7 | 3 |
| Duration | Approximately 12 months | 4-6 months |
| Fee | £5,000 + VAT per delegate | £3,000 + VAT per delegate |
| Pursuit coverage | Steps 01-08 (full pursuit + capstone project) | Steps 01-03 (front end) |
| Best for | Those leading, or stepping up to lead, pursuit teams and bid functions | Practitioners building formal capture and business winning capability for the first time |
| Pathway | Direct entry, or top-up from Certificate | Standalone, or progression to Diploma |
Both qualifications: self-directed study with intensive workshops, attended in person or live online.
CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management & Leadership
Defence Business Winning
The full programme.
Strategical's flagship qualification, and the only CMI Level 5 programme built specifically for defence business winning professionals. Seven units follow the chronology of a live pursuit, from first market assessment to post-award transition, working the sixteen Toolkit instruments against a real or simulated campaign. It develops what the work demands: leading pursuit teams under competitive pressure, and stakeholder influence across the procurement cycle.
CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management & Leadership
Defence Business Winning
The structured entry point.
The front end of a defence pursuit: assessing the market, picking the fight, and mapping the people who decide. Standalone as a CMI qualification, and the natural pathway into the Diploma.
A credential that names your specialism
On completion you hold a CMI Level 5 qualification in Management and Leadership, specialising in Defence Business Winning: a recognised standard, and a clear statement of where your capability lies.
Open cohorts and in-house programmes forming for 2026
Our first cohort is confirmed with a UK defence prime. Open and in-house cohorts are forming for 2026.
The course runs the way a real campaign runs
Most management courses teach topics in syllabus order. This one runs in pursuit order, the sequence a live defence campaign actually follows, so you meet each tool at the point you would use it.
- 01
Set the market context
Read where the opportunities and threats sit.
- 02
Pick the fight
Decide which opportunities are worth pursuing.
- 03
Map the people
Identify and influence the people who decide.
- 04
Build the win
Shape a position and a value case that beats the incumbent.
- 05
Run the capture
Drive the campaign that wins before the bid is written.
- 06
Execute the proposal
Turn strategy into a winning written response.
- 07
Land it
Move from win to delivery without losing what you promised.
- 08
Integrate it all
A capstone project running a full pursuit end to end.
Certificate learners cover the first three steps. Diploma learners run the full campaign through to delivery and the capstone project.
An independent standard, not an in-house badge
An independent standard
Delivered by an approved CMI Partner, CMI-assessed and externally moderated. A recognised qualification, not a certificate Strategical marks itself.
Taught by people who win
Practitioners who have led winning campaigns at every level of the UK defence market, not academics teaching from theory.
Built on real campaign work
You work a full defence pursuit end to end, either a complete simulated campaign or your own live one under authorisation.
A specialism that shows
The only CMI Level 5 programme built specifically for defence business winning, and the certificate names that specialism.
A working toolkit, not a reading list
Sixteen integrated tools applied to live campaign decisions, the same instruments practitioners use on real pursuits.
A staged route
Start with the Certificate and top up to the full Diploma.
Taught by practitioners, not lecturers
Programmes are delivered and assessed by senior practitioners who have led winning campaigns in the UK defence market, drawing on the same advisory team that supports live defence pursuits, with backgrounds across MOD, UK defence primes and the Armed Forces. Every assignment is externally moderated by the CMI, so the teaching stays grounded and the standard stays independent.
Delivered and assessed by the senior team
On the programme and after
- Practitioner course materials built around a full defence campaign
- Managed access to the 16-tool Strategical Toolkit throughout the programme
- CMI-assessed and externally moderated assignments
- A CMI Level 5 qualification specialising in Defence Business Winning, on completion
- Optional Embedded Chartered Manager (CMgr) pathway for qualifying delegates
After the programme, delegates can
- Qualify opportunities objectively
- Build capture and win strategies that position ahead of the competition
- Map and influence the stakeholders who decide
- Lead pursuit teams under competitive pressure
- Govern bids to a defensible standard
- Move cleanly from a win into delivery
The right format for your organisation
Open cohort
Delegates from multiple organisations. Next open cohort forming for 2026.
In-house cohort
Delivered for your organisation alone, minimum 12 delegates, calibrated to your live campaigns.
Individual enrolment
Single delegates are placed in the next available open cohort.
What you need to know
- What is defence business winning?
- The structured discipline of identifying, qualifying, positioning for and securing defence contracts: market assessment, stakeholder engagement, competitive strategy, proposal development and transition into delivery. These qualifications train teams in exactly that.
- How is this different from generic leadership or bid-writing training?
- Generic leadership courses teach management theory; bid-writing training covers the document. This is a CMI Level 5 qualification built entirely around defence capture, bidding and pursuit leadership, taught by practitioners who have won the work.
- Do I need a live campaign of my own?
- No. You can work our full simulated pursuit, or apply the method to a live campaign of your own if your employer authorises it.
- How is it assessed?
- Each module is assessed through an integrated assignment, and the Diploma adds a capstone project. All assessment is externally moderated by the CMI.
- How long does it take?
- About four to six months for the Certificate, about twelve for the Diploma.
- In person or online?
- Both. Module workshops are in person or live online, your choice per module, with wrap-around sessions online.
- Are the qualifications CMI-approved?
- Yes. Strategical is an approved CMI Partner, and the programmes lead to CMI Level 5 qualifications in Management and Leadership.
- What do I come away with?
- A CMI Level 5 qualification specialising in Defence Business Winning, and a method you can keep applying.
- How much time should I plan for each week?
- Around five to eight hours a week for the Certificate and six to ten for the Diploma, across study, assignment work and workshop preparation. Workshops are full or half-day sessions spaced across the programme.
- How many delegates run in an open cohort?
- Open cohorts run to a maximum of 24 delegates, to keep direct practitioner contact. In-house cohorts require a minimum of 12.
- Are instalment payment terms available?
- Yes. Fees may be paid in instalments aligned to the programme schedule, discussed at the initial consultation.
Four steps to your credential
- 01
Initial consultation
A conversation about your context, capability gaps and the outcomes you need.
- 02
Confirm the route
Agree the level, Certificate or Diploma, and the format: an open cohort or an in-house programme.
- 03
Apply the methodology
Work the method against Project HERON, our worked-example bid scenario, or a live opportunity from your own pipeline.
- 04
Earn the credential
Complete the assessed work and exit with your CMI Level 5 qualification, specialising in Defence Business Winning.
How the training fits the wider system
Business Winning Software
Put the method into daily practice on the platform once the capability is built.
Explore →The methodology
The Playbook and Toolkit the programme is built on.
Explore →Advisory & Consultancy
Senior practitioners working alongside your team on live campaigns.
Explore →The team
The practitioners who deliver and assess the programme.
Explore →From The Strategical Briefing
The market the programme trains your team to read, every Monday morning.
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Whether you are developing one practitioner or building a whole business winning function, contact us to discuss enrolment and cohort availability.
Teams put the training into practice every day on our business winning platform, which guides them through the same method as they run live pursuits.
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