Unlocking Space for Business Grant call webinar
Updated 17 May 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/announcement-of-opportunity-unlocking-space-for-business/unlocking-space-for-business-grant-call-webinar
This content was presented during the Unlocking Space for Business Grant Call webinar on 10 April 2024.
Unlocking Space for Business
Unlocking Space for Business is a programme being delivered by the UK Space Agency to support businesses to:
- better understand and prioritise how innovations in satellite data and services, combined with complementary data sources, can drive businesses benefits
- connect with leading data suppliers, aggregators, technology integrators and insight providers
- apply for Government funding to support the delivery of benefits from satellite data and services, through pilot projects, data procurement or partnerships
Unlocking Space for Business is delivering five key initiatives to support organisations:
- information hub: access to insights on how businesses can unlock value from satellites, with examples of activity from across the world
- insight and networking events: interactive events that bring together customer and supplier ecosystems to connect and explore business opportunities
- exploration workshops: expert perspectives to help your business identify, prioritise, and prepare to further benefit from satellite data and services
- learning and development: online learning to enhance business capabilities in buying, integrating, and exploiting satellite data and services
- funding call: apply for Government funding to launch innovative pilots, acquire new data, and start delivering benefits for your organisation
Find out more about the Unlocking Space for Business Programme
Grant Call
Applications are sought for innovative pilot projects that use satellite data and services in the Financial Services and Transport & Logistics sectors.
- total available funding: up to £3.5 million (subject to affordability)
- maximum value of each grant: up to £400,000 for each project including VAT
- match funding requirement ranging from 25% to 70%
- length of grant: up to 9 months; projects must complete all major milestones by January 2025 and must be completed by March 2025
- grant applicants: end-user led consortium, with a satellite data or service supplier alongside any other relevant aggregator organisations
The UK Space Agency reserves the right to adjust the value or duration of the grant funding available.
Eligible Organisations
The lead applicant must be an end-user, defined as users that directly utilise or consume data derived from space-based assets within either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors.
To lead a project, you:
- can be an organisation of any size
- all applications are expected to be from end-user led consortiums, with a satellite data or service supplier alongside any other relevant aggregator organisations
- applicants must demonstrate the ability to effectively manage a project
- applicants should be able to demonstrate their capability to match fund the pilot
- applicants must show they are registered as a UK organisation
- applicants must have a UK bank account and all grant payments will be made in UK sterling (as per grant funding agreement)
- projects must pass due diligence checks on company viability (financial standing assessment, governance, conflicts of interest, technical expertise)
Projects
Projects will involve innovative use of satellite data and services across one or a combination of these satellite data domains:
- earth observation
- satellite connectivity & communications
- position, navigation & timing (PNT)
Projects will focus on prioritising:
- new revenue growth opportunities
- improved customer experiences
- enhanced decision-making capabilities
- environmental, social and governance (ESG) benefits
Projects may combine terrestrial data and services (e.g. AI, Quantum, Machine Learning, Drones, Geospatial Data) with satellite data and services.
Projects out of scope
We will not fund projects that:
- have a lead applicant that is not an end user
- are not original or in scope
- duplicate someone else’s work
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do not address how any potentially negative outcomes would be managed
- are being funded elsewhere in the UK Space Agency or UK Government
- would directly duplicate other UK government or EU funded initiative you have already been funded to deliver
- are covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions
- cannot provide reporting against the UK Space Agency’s North Star Metric
Project reporting
The Grant recipient will:
- provide milestone/deliverables plan within the proposal
- provide reporting on the progress of the project to evidence the milestone/deliverable has been met
- provide short overall progress reports to the Grant Manager (the schedule for these will be agreed at the project kick-off meeting and are normally at 4 or 6 weeks)
- schedule a mid-term progress meeting with the grant manager
- be available for interview and survey by M&E delivery partners as required throughout the project and following its conclusion
- support the UK Space Agency’s North Star Metric: in addition to ongoing reporting, successful applicants will be expected to provide the UK Space Agency with updates on the North Star Metric (UKSA’s metric for private sector investments catalysed by its funding) during the course of project delivery, and information on the impact of funding support after project completion
Grant Call Timeline
| Open Date | 27 March 2024 |
| Online MS Teams Webinar Briefing Event | 10 April 2024 |
| Deadline for clarification questions | 15 May 2024 |
| Close date | 4pm GMT, 22 May 2024 |
| Applicants notified | 10 June 2024 |
| Projects start | July 2024 |
| Major milestones completed | 31 January 2025 |
| Project end by | 24 March 2025 |
Please note that each deadline may be subject to change. All clarification questions should be sent to Commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk
Subsidy Control
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As of 4th January 2023, the Subsidy Control Act has come into effect. This replaced the TCA rules that the UK had been following since UK Exit.
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The Act sets out the principles that must be followed for subsidies to be lawful. Streamlined routes were set up to speed up the process that Authorities can use to award subsidies and lay out the conditions that awarded subsidies must comply with.
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The Unlocking Space for Business Grant call is being let under the Research Development & Innovation streamlined route, specifically categories of industrial Research and Experimental Development. Companies wishing to apply will need to demonstrate eligibility to this scheme.
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Cumulation principles apply, previous funding over a rolling 3-year period needs to be considered. This includes awards from other Government Departments and past project funding should be reported. Streamlined routes have upper caps (RD&I- £3m) Cumulation also applies to these.
Match Funding / Intervention Levels
Applicants will be required to provide match funding. As a condition of funding, the applicant must agree to pay for a certain percentage of the total project costs. The intervention rates allowable under UK Space Agency grant calls are available in the call guidance. The categories provided align to the Streamlined Routes.
| Streamlined Scheme | Category | Total Funding | Large Enterprise >£36m Turnover | Medium Enterprise Between £10.2m and £36m Turnover | Small Enterprise <£10.2m Turnover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Development & Innovation | Industrial Research | £3,000,000 | 50% | 60% | 70% |
| Research Development & Innovation | Experimental Development Projects | £3,000,000 | 25% | 35% | 45% |
SME categorisation of companies is set out in Annex B (Subsidy Control).
Value for Money: Grants funded by the public purse are subject to the principle of achieving value for money. Applicants are expected to consider how their bid reflects Value for Money. Providing match funding is one way applicants can do this.
Eligible expenditure for grant funded activities
Subject to project requirements and set out in the application:
- staff costs
- pay costs
- indirect (administration) overhead
- general office IT services related to the project
- direct overheads
- travel and sustenance
- equipment
- facilities only directly used as part of the project
- general materials
Overheads
We understand that organisations calculate overheads in different ways. The Grant call gives you several different options for including overheads in your eligible expenditure.
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No overheads. You can select this option if you are not incurring or claiming grant for your overheads.
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The 20% of labour costs option allows you to claim 20% of your labour costs as overhead. This includes both direct and indirect overhead. Selecting this option allows us to review a successful grant application much faster as no further documentation is needed from you.
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The calculate overheads option asks you to complete calculations for claiming direct and indirect overheads. Any value claimed under this method will need to be reviewed by our project finance team if your application is successful. This is so we can assess the appropriateness of the overhead value you are claiming.
Full overhead recovery or full absorption costing is not eligible. Please see Annex G (UKSA overhead guidance and policy) and Annex H (Overheads Template).
Ineligible expenditure
- payment that supports lobbying or activity intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, Government, or political parties, or attempting to influence the awarding or renewal of contracts and grants, or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action;
- using grant funding to petition for additional funding;
- input VAT reclaimable by the Grant Recipient from HMRC;
- payments for activities of a political or exclusively religious nature;
- goods or services that the Grant Recipient has a statutory duty to provide;
- payments reimbursed or to be reimbursed by other public or private sector grants
- contributions in kind (i.e. a contribution in goods or services, as opposed to money);
- depreciation, amortisation, or impairment of fixed assets owned by the Grant Recipient;
- the acquisition or improvement of fixed assets by the Grant Recipient (unless the grant is explicitly for capital use – this will be stipulated in the Grant Offer Letter);
- interest payments (including service charge payments for finance leases);
- gifts to individuals;
- entertaining (entertaining for this purpose means anything that would be a taxable benefit to the person being entertained, according to current UK tax regulations);
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statutory fines, criminal fines, or penalties; or liabilities incurred before the issue of this funding agreement unless agreed in writing by UK Space Agency;
- employee paid benefits and bonuses;
- alcohol.
Scoring Criteria
The Scoring Criteria has been set out in Annex F. Applications will be scored by a minimum of three evaluators against the Scoring Criteria. The moderation panel will review all scores to derive a final overall score. The Senior Reporting Officer will review and approve the highest scoring applications.
The Scoring criteria is broken down into a scale between 0 to 5.
| 0 | No Response offered |
| 1 | Incomplete or extremely poor response |
| 2 | A poor response that only partially addresses the criteria |
| 3 | An acceptable response which could have been expended |
| 4 | A good response that addressed the criteria well |
| 5 | An exceptional response that addressed the criteria well |
High scores can be achieved with clear objectives and benefits, good governance, capability and a resilient plan.
Questions should be answered on the Application Form and should adhere to the maximum page allowances and font requirements.
Filling out the Application Form
SECTION 1: Main Details
Please ensure you fully set out your consortium details. The lead name should be the end-user. All other consortium members should be listed as co-applicants.
SECTION 2: Project Overview
Set out your project and how it fits in with the call objectives:
- new revenue growth opportunities
- improved customer experiences
- enhanced decision-making capabilities
- environmental, social and governance (ESG) benefits.
Be concise, informative, and set out what benefits are expected from the project.
SECTION 3: Technical Feasibility
Set out what challenge the solution is looking to solve in your organisation, what technology is being proposed and how it aligns to the scope for the grant call. Set out a clear problem statement, evidence that your proposal is feasible and how you will work with a supplier of satellite data or services.
SECTION 4: Project Management and the Team
Explain how you will deliver the project, including the key activities, milestones, KPIs, benefits, risk management approach and key members of the team. Ensure you have detailed your assumptions, risks and mitigations at a high level and your timeline is well considered and achievable.
SECTION 5: Finance
Set out a justification of costings detailed in Annex D (USB Finance Sheet) and explain how the budget delivers Value for Money. Include how you have broken down the costs between grant and your match funding contribution.
SECTION 6: Benefits to the UK
Set out how the funding of this project will deliver benefit to the UK (e.g. UK-based employment and contract opportunities and links to wider government priorities). Detail of future plans beyond the pilot will strengthen the response.
SECTION 7: Authority to Submit
The final section is your authority to submit the application. Please ensure this is signed as it may affect your submission.
Application FAQs
What needs to be submitted in the application?
- Annex A: Main application form encompassing the answers, including everything within sections 1 to 6 and signed in section 7
- Any accompanying annexes to the main application to support your application
- Annex D: Unlocking Space for Business Finance Spreadsheet
- Annex E: Grant Application Checklist
- Any proposed GFA amendments requirements to comply with law or regulation
- Annex H: Overheads template (if applicable)
Where should the application be sent?
- Applications should be submitted to Commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk by 4pm BST on Wednesday 22 May 2024.
Are there word counts or page limits?
- The page limits are made clear within the Application form. Any allowance to diagrams or PDFs is set out in the application form.
Are subcontractors allowed? Are they bound by the eligibility criteria?
- You can include subcontractor or consultant costs but must justify your use of them in your application.
- UKSA maintains the right to review subcontractors on a case-by-case basis.
Can images be included in the body of question answers?
- Up to a maximum of two additional sides of A4 may be included with your application form (e.g. text, diagrams, or photographs) to support your application. Any other material submitted will not be included in the grant assessment.
If we miss the deadline, will we be able to submit after the set date?
- We cannot accept any late applications unless a failure on the part of UKSA has been identified, where all applicants will give extra time.
What happens next?
- grant call opened on 27 March 2024 with all documents available on GOV.UK and Find-Government-Grants
- MS Teams Webinar briefing event held online on 10 April 2024
- applications should be submitted to Commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk by 4pm BST, Wednesday 22 May 2024 - a selected panel of assessors will review and score applications
- we intend to notify applicants of the outcome and provide feedback by 10 June 2024
- grants will then be awarded to successful applicants
- projects to start from July 2024
Q&A
All questions and answers asked in the webinar will be published on the Unlocking Space for Business Grant Announcement of Opportunity page.
Please refer to the webinar recording for all questions answered during the webinar.