 DEFRA's contribution was part of £5.22m transferred from the Cabinet Office to fund the research required to set the agency up in the first place.GDS spent its first few months identifying where in the private sector there lay specialist expertise and experience on which to call in an emergency.Late in 2005, the agency held a stakeholder event where it publicised its 'open for business' status and the fact that it had developed a framework of suppliers of specialist knowledge and skills.