Notice

Guide to applying for ‘UK National Delegate’ support for the ESA ARTES Partnership Programme: Phase 1 - Call for Ideas

Published 17 October 2022

1. Setting the Scene – ARTES in the UK and the Call for Partnerships

The UK Space Agency is seeking industrial partners for major projects in satellite communications through a competitive Call opening in October 2022, with £15 million of funding available. The phased entry competition will run until Spring 2023 to select the most ambitious and innovative proposals from UK industrial partners. Potential partners will be expected to catalyse investment in the UK economy and champion space to deliver new products and services.

The reach of satellite communications in the global economy is changing, and this Call intends to support new UK partners to become global satellite businesses. This could be through the creation of new satellite constellations or the ground systems needed to access them, or through whole end-to-end systems delivering new services to customers.

Ideas should catalyse investment in the UK space sector by supporting innovation in satellite communications. They should also demonstrate how they will: support UK industry to grow its share of the global space market; deliver products and services that meet public needs, and; champion space to inspire people and support a sustainable future.

Examples of possible themes include:

• Supporting UK space operators using disruptive new technologies and business models to become global operators.
• Integrating satellite and terrestrial communication, especially in 5G, and unlocking the potential of ubiquitous connectivity for people and machines.
• Increasing access to space for new entrants, and bringing together space and terrestrial technologies and services, e.g. in connected mobility markets (automotive, maritime and aero).

The Call is made up of three phases:

• Phase 1 - Call for Ideas - Supporting new ideas and partnerships: October 2022

Outreach on the Call to UK industry, and a chance to provide early feedback on ideas. To level the playing field and encourage the creation of new ‘eco-systems’ within the UK supply chains, Phase 1 will include a mini funding competition to support the creation of new partnerships by Small and Micro entrants. Three awards of £100,000 will be available. This funding is targeted at new entrants only and is not a requirement for proceeding to the next phase of the competition. These activities should be no longer than 3 months in duration.

• Phase 2 - Call for Proposals: January 2023

Details tbc. This phase will include the formal submission of proposals, and shortlisting to move into Phase 3.

• Phase 3 - Assessment and selection: Spring 2023

Details tbc. This phase will include a rigorous assessment process, with winning applications announced in Spring 2023.

1.1 What is ARTES?

UK Space Agency subscribes to the European Space Agency ARTES programme (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Services; £250m in 2019) to support UK industry to develop the next generation of telecommunications products, services, and applications. The next subscription is being considered as part of the Council of Ministers subscription process in November 2022.

The programme can cover development of components, systems or services, and any aspect of the space, ground or network segments.

1.2 What is National Delegate support

Applicants must demonstrate national support prior to applying to ESA. This is called ‘National Delegate support’. The UK delegates its national support to a named member of staff within the UK Space Agency. This guidance is designed to set out the process for applying for National Delegate support within the call

Please check the ESA eligibility rules before applying. It is important to note that the process for applying for funding support for Business Applications is different. Further information on the Business Application process can be found here: https://spaceforsmartergovernment.uk/esa-bap/.

2. How to Apply

2.1 Timeline

The Call for Ideas – Phase 1 of the Partnership Call is open from the 17 October 22 until the 1 December 22. Proposals will only be considered if they are submitted within this period.

• Funding Call opens: 17 October 2022
• Deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest: midday on 17 November 2022
• Deadline for submission of Outline Proposal cover sheet midday on 1 December 2022
• Notification of UK outcomes: 9 December 2022

Further competition dates will be published on gov.uk. Once a competition is opened, the latest guidance on how to apply, the assessment criteria and eligibility will be available online.

2.2 Process

There are three steps to applying for National Delegate support:

Step 1: Submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI)

To apply for National Delegate support, you must submit an Expression of Interest to artes@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Please note that the EOI form can be downloaded from the ARTES home page.

This can be submitted at any time up to 12 noon (GMT) on 17 November 2022. However, in order to ensure you have time to submit a proposal, we advise completing the EOI well in advance of the competition deadline.

You may submit as many EOIs as you want, in response to both feedback and changes to your plans. However, please be mindful of the time it takes the team to review these. Submissions deemed vexatious will not be considered.

Note: You must submit an Expression of Interest before 12 noon on 17 November 2022. If you do not, your proposal will not be considered.

Step 2: Submitting an Application for National Delegate support

If your EOI is approved, you will be invited to apply for National Delegate support. To do this you must submit a completed ‘Cover Application Form’ and ESA Outline Proposal by the published closing date and time artes@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Forms not sent to this address will not be considered.

We will send you links to the relevant UK Space Agency documents you need to complete. You will also need to submit an ESA Outline Proposal. Further details on forms and how to apply to ESA can be found here: https://artes.esa.int/.

Applications can be submitted at any time while the competition is live. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt.

The UK Space Agency will review your application in partnership with ESA. If your application meets the criteria, it will be considered by a panel of experts within the UK Space Agency.

You will be notified of the outcome of your application by email by 9 December 22 We reserve the right to extend this date or to consider any application under a different programme line if there more suitable funding opportunities are available.

Step 3: Provisional National Delegate support

If your ‘Cover Application Form’ and Outline Proposal are approved by UK Space Agency you will receive provisional National Delegate support.

Once you have received this approval, your proposal can be progressed with ESA. You will be invited to submit a Full Proposal, which requires an ‘Authorisation of Funding’ letter from the UK National Delegate in UK Space Agency. You will be given details on how to request this if you are successful at Step 2.

Please note: If you do not provide the required information by the date agreed, you may not receive your letter in time.

Once we have provided an ‘Authorisation of Funding’ letter approving your proposal, our support is confirmed. You can then submit your Full Proposal to ESA, who will begin their formal consideration.

We expect you to stay in touch throughout the life of the programme, from contracting to completion. We expect to publicise most funding awards in coordination with winning companies and to be kept informed of any changes or developments for the duration of the project. This ensures we can support you if any adjustments are needed.

3. Eligibility

Please check the ESA guidance on eligibility criteria under the ARTES Programme. In addition to this, the UK Space Agency will apply the following eligibility criteria:

3.1 Telecommunications

ARTES is a telecommunications programme. Although this may include projects that support other activities, they should be in the context of telecommunications. Activities that are primarily for another purpose, such as Earth Observation or climate monitoring, will not be supported.

You can find details of other funding programmes for space on the UK Space Agency website.

3.2 UK-based organisations

To be considered for UK National Delegate support, organisations must be UK-based and, for commercial companies, must have a UK registration at Companies House. If you are considering moving to the UK, or you do not have a UK registration, you can seek further guidance from the team at artes@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. You may partner with non-UK companies, but these must be funded by other ESA Delegates or be self-funded.

3.3 Essential non-UK spend requests

Products and services from non-UK suppliers that are considered essential to deliver successful projects may be included in proposals. However, all proposals must demonstrate their value to the UK and non-UK spend requests are unlikely to score highly against other, UK-based activities. Any non-UK spend requests should be clearly stated in your initial application. Late requests will not be considered if they have not been declared and approved at the applications stage.

3.4 Match-funding

ESA eligibility on match funding states companies can apply for up to 80% funding for programmes, whereas in the UK two funding limits are available depending on the size of the company applying:

1. For all large or non-SME companies, including companies who are wholly owned by large companies or groups of companies, or for SMEs undertaking very high-value programmes – up to 50%.
2. For all other SME companies and activities – we may consider up to 75%.

However, all matched funding decisions remain at the discretion of the UK Space Agency and rates will be applied to individual organisations relative to their individual projects.

Research and technology organisations should follow the ESA criteria on funding.

3.5 Regulation, licensing and spectrum use and filing

The UK Space Agency will not fund licensing or regulatory compliance activities, either in the UK or overseas.

We expect to see a viable approach to spectrum use in projects and we will not fund activities that are not supported by current UK Government policy. Where activities involve the novel use of spectrum, we will expect to see evidence of engagement with relevant regulators which demonstrates programmes are viable and are not dependent on a single high-risk or novel use of spectrum.

Please note, launch costs are not eligible for funding under the ARTES programme.

3.6 Travel and Subsistence

UK will only support reasonable travel and subsistence costs. No claims for alcohol or entertainment will be accepted.

All projected expenditure must be recorded in the relevant ESA proposal. The UK Space Agency reserves the right not to support projects where costs appear excessive, and any challenges may delay your application to ESA.

If you are in any doubt about what is reasonable you should contact the team.

4. Assessment Criteria

In addition to delivering against the themed criteria of the Call, all proposals will be considered under five general assessment criteria. Successful bids must demonstrate a successful balance across these criteria, but we reserve the right to consider proposals which are more weighted towards some than others.

All proposals are considered in competition with other proposals received. We reserve the right to fund up to the funding level sought, or less, where we consider the need for the sum requested has not been sufficiently demonstrated.

The general criteria are:

Approach and methodology – there should be a well-considered approach to the project, with clear goals.

Financial return – there should be a strongly demonstrated financial return to the UK space sector, including both to the lead applicant and their partners and supply chains.

Innovation – we will consider whether the goal of the programme is challenging enough to warrant support, as well as whether it is a suitable innovation target. Importantly, innovation can be in product or service development, including design, manufacture or demonstration.

Supply chain – we will consider whether the benefits of the proposal are suitably distributed within a sustainable UK supply chain. We will look to see how the supply chain is incorporated into the project, to ensure maximum benefits. As such, consortium bids will score highly.

Wider benefits – Environmental, Social or Economic – we will consider the wider direct or indirect benefits from the programme, which can be supplemented with case studies or other formats.

5. Additional Information

5.1 Complaints

If you are unhappy with either the outcome of your application or how the process was managed, or for any other reason, you can make a complaint by contacting the team at artes@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Please set out the nature of your complaint in detail. The team will try to resolve a complaint in the first instance but, if resolution is not possible, we will refer it to the UK Space Agency central complaints process, where it will be independently assessed.

5.2 Further information

If you would like any further information, or have any questions or feedback about this guidance, or would like to join our mailing list to receive updates about future funding opportunities, please contact the team: artes@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.