Notice

Announcement of Opportunity

Updated 8 April 2025

NSIP Call 2 guidance video

Go back to the NSIP Call 2 main page.

1. Introduction

1.1 National Space Innovation Programme – Call 2

The UK Space Agency invites proposals for UK-based research and development projects that will deliver innovative space technologies, applications and services through the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP). NSIP provides co-funded grant support to de-risk high-reward projects with a clear target market.

NSIP operates “open” funding calls under two strands: NSIP “Kick Starter” that supported highly disruptive early-stage innovations, and NSIP “Major Projects” which emphasizes commercialisation and growth of particularly lucrative ideas from UK businesses, universities and research organisations. Combined, these grant mechanisms provide an end-to-end support package to aid great ideas across the “valley of death” and towards commercial success.

NSIP funded projects catalyse investment into the UK Space sector and contribute to the UK’s research base and future capabilities by raising Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and positioning UK space activities closer to commercial or scientific exploitation.

1.2 Funding Available

Through NSIP Call 2, the UK Space Agency intends to award at least £17 million of funding via co-funded grants.

Applicants may apply for the following funding and project durations:

• Kick Starter proposals may request grant funding between £150,000 and £1,000,000 with a maximum duration of 16 months. Kick Starter projects are roughly defined as early stage (TRL 1-4) with an emphasis on highly disruptive or novel proposals.

• Major Projects proposals may request grant funding between £150,000 and £2,000,000 with a maximum duration of 16 months. Major Projects should achieve high TRLs (5-9) with an emphasis on commercialisation and catalysing investment.

It is anticipated that with at least £17 million of funding available, between 9-15 grants will be awarded. Should additional funding become available, UKSA will seek to increase the number of projects it supports. As UKSA expects a very high level of interest in this funding call, we are implementing an Outline Proposal stage. Those successful at Outline Proposal stage will be invited to submit a Full Proposal. We expect to seek Full Proposals from approximately 50 applicants.

2. Objectives, Scope and Key Information

2.1 Call Objectives

Strategic Goals

NSIP contributes to the National Space Strategy vision to make the UK one of the world’s most innovative and attractive space economies. Through its co-funding grant scheme, NSIP aims to:

• catalyse investment: secure contract revenue and capital into the UK space sector of 5-8 times the value of NSIP investment by 2030

• drive innovation: support an average improvement in Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 2 or more for supported projects, as measured over the lifetime of each project

• capture market share: support generation of new products and services that are sold into the fastest growing and highest potential space markets by 2030

NSIP Call 2 will expand the NSIP portfolio, providing companies, universities and research organisations with co-funded grants to support the development of innovative, UK-based, space technologies, applications and services that will meet the programme’s ambitions.

Despite running open funding calls that allow any great innovation to apply for support, NSIP seeks to encourage the development of the UK’s National Space Capabilities as set out in the Space Industrial Plan, supporting projects that align with the in the 5 capability goals, which are:

• Space Domain Awareness

• In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing

• Space Data for Earth Applications

• Position, Navigation and Timing

• Satellite Communication Technology.

NSIP also welcomes proposals that address the Defence Highly Assured Technical Areas as set out in annex to the Space Industrial Plan.

Call 2 Thematic Focus

Although most of the funding available through this funding call will be “open” allowing proposals on any space technology, application or service, UKSA intends to strategically target up to 30% of the Call 2 budget on the theme of “Space Data for Earth Applications”. In support of this theme, we welcome projects that seek to deliver capabilities and applications that utilise satellite data to the benefit of UK citizens and grow the economy.

Examples of projects that would fit within this theme include:

• use of Earth Observation data, satellite communications, or Global Navigation Satellite Services PNT that help to address public sector, industry or defence requirements

• development of space data related technologies and instruments that could deliver new UK capabilities or significantly disrupt existing business models

• development or utilisation of on-board computing to improve the efficiency or quality of satellite data capabilities

• integration of Artificial Intelligence and space data/technology to support smarter decision-making or to deliver new capabilities and business models

• activities that support capacity building, integration or scale up of space-data related applications and services which offer high returns on investment

• initiatives that aim to improve data sharing and interoperability between different satellite systems and ground-based infrastructure

• Economic Monitoring and Forecasting: leveraging satellite data to inform strategic analysis and planning in support of public and business needs

• projects leveraging satellite technology or data to enhance the delivery of healthcare services and support the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future. This could include operationalising enhanced telemedicine capabilities supported by satellite connectivity or remote sensing

• projects that use satellite data, AI, or PNT technologies to improve transport infrastructure planning and enhance network resilience. This could include predictive analytics for road and rail maintenance

• targeted initiatives in the EO Ground Segment sector with a view to winning ESA and Copernicus opportunities for EO Data and Operations Management e.g. FutureEO Pillar 2, Copernicus Data Ecosystem, Collaborative Ground Segment, TRUTHS, Digital Twin Earth

2.2 Scope

Proposals are sought for projects in areas including innovation; innovative technology proof of concept that could result in a significant technological step-change; new technology, satellite application or space-related service developments; establishing new academic/industrial research collaborations and feasibility studies targeting emerging disruptive technologies.

Examples of acceptable activities are:

• innovative and/or emerging technology research and development – proof of concept, testing or feasibility studies targeting emerging disruptive technologies or novel markets

• prototyping or engineering model with relevant environment testing

• adapting technology from a non-space use to provide disruptive advancement or make significant efficiencies with space application

• prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions where the primary objective is to make further technical improvements

• system/subsystem model, application, service demonstration

• flight qualification through test and demonstration (ground or space)

• prove out of flight qualified system through successful mission operations

Proposals must be for space-based innovation, innovation interacting with space, or application of space-based technologies. A clear space use-case should be made.

As a national programme, proposals must be UK based, led by UK based organisations with clear national benefit. Projects can include non-domestic partners (including those within the EU) who bring their own funding. No grant funding is available in this call for organisations outside the UK. Applicants should note that all applicants, irrespective of geographic location, must still satisfy the core eligibility requirements set out in this call guidance and award will be subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence checks.

Funding for NSIP Call 2, through both Kick Starter and Major Projects is provided in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the Act) Streamlined Scheme for Research, Development and Innovation. As such, enterprises are required to provide match funding at the minimum levels outlined in Section 9 of this document and satisfy the requirements of this scheme.

Projects must have clearly defined and tangible outcomes measurable against success criteria showing progress towards technical, project and commercial goals.

Some examples of previous successful proposals can be found on our website.

2.3 Important Information for Applicants

The anticipated start date for successful projects is 10 November 2025. All grants must be fully completed by 31 March 2027. Projects planning to use the full 16-month duration should be prepared for a prompt start, allow for any required recruitment activity to take place within the project schedule proposed and be aware that extensions requests beyond the end date are unlikely to be successful.

Proposals will be selected for funding through a two-stage process. An initial short Outline Proposal will be reviewed against the assessment questions set out in this call guidance. Successful proposals at that stage will then be invited to complete the Full Proposal documentation and proceed to detailed review against the full assessment questions. Feedback on unsuccessful proposals will be provided.

Although it is not mandatory, applicants are strongly urged to complete and submit an “Expression of Interest” MS Form by 23 April 2025.

The form requests the project title, and a short description of the project. EOIs will not be assessed but will help the NSIP team to organise an appropriate pool of independent external assessors.

The call for Outline Proposals will close at 23:59 on 8 May – no extensions are permitted, and to ensure fairness, late applications will not be accepted. Details on the full timeline and application stages are set out in the “Call and Delivery Timeline” section 3 below.

Grant funding per project is expected to range from £150,000 to £1 million for Kick Starter and from £150,000 to £2 million for Major Projects (exclusive of match funding contributions). In exceptional circumstances, UK Space Agency reserves the right to adjust the value or duration of the grant funding available.

A detailed FAQs document can be found in the call document pack. Any further clarification required can be directed to NSIP@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. The UK Space Agency will not respond to questions asking for applications to be reviewed ahead of the submission deadline.

All proposals should aim to include at least 1 milestone payment before the end of February 2026 and should include regular milestones to address applicant cash flow needs. Where possible, capital costs and long lead items should be brought forward.

Due to the reduced project durations available under NSIP Call 2, projects cannot be deferred however the NSIP team will work with successful applicants to determine whether a delayed kick-off can be achieved within the available time.

Where required, Collaboration Agreements between project leads and partners must be signed within 2 months of completing the Grant Funding Agreement. Failure to do so risks termination of the grant. This should include provisions regarding how the results of the work, including any IPR and spinouts, will be exploited by project partners. It is the responsibility of the lead organisation to ensure suitable Collaboration Agreements are drafted and agreed – the UK Space Agency will not provide advice on these documents.

Grant funding is offered on a cost recovery basis only. Payments will only be made once evidence of successfully delivered milestones has been provided.

Applications will be assessed against the UK Space Agency’s grant assessment questions. Please note that question weighting differs between Kick Starter and Major Project applications.

Grant Funding Limitations

These grants are being awarded under the streamlined subsidy scheme, Research, Development & Innovation. Companies wishing to apply will need to demonstrate eligibility to this scheme- including not having received previous project funding that is in excess of the cumulation caps (£3m) identified within the scheme.

More guidance can be found here.

NSIP funding is constrained by financial year funding limits and cannot allow slips in financial profiling across financial years. The financial year is from 1 April to 31 March of the following year. Please be mindful of appropriately allocating costs to the correct financial year and that slips out of year or beyond may need to be funded by the recipient organisation or result in de-scoping of the project.

NSIP do not take responsibility for risk management or mitigations within the project, though we retain the right to have sight of risk management to provide confidence in project success and to terminate projects in the event critical risks materialise that render a project undeliverable.

The UK Space Agency reserves the right to reject proposals if they are outside the call remit, do not contain all the required information, or do not provide sufficient information for assessment.

Protection of any Intellectual Property (IP) rights on the project will remain the responsibility of the project participants. The UK Space Agency does not seek any ownership of project IP. Future ownership of any potential IPR should be dealt with as part of any Collaboration Agreement.

Any sensitive information (such as IP) shared in your application will be shared with our independent expert panel to allow them to carry out their review. All reviewers will be required to complete a confidentiality agreement and conflict of interest form before accessing proposals. If you have any specific concerns (e.g. direct competitors) please state these clearly on your communication with us and request confirmation by email from NSIP@ukspaceagency.gov.uk that we have received this information.

3. Delivery Timeline

The following schedule sets out the timing of processes for this funding call. Please note that each deadline may be subject to change in the event of operational constraints. We will notify applicants by email should this occur.

Call Opens
Expression of Interest Submission Deadline	23 April 2025
Outline Proposal Submission Deadline	23:59 on 8 May 2025
Outline Proposal Selection concludes / Full Proposals Invited	19 June 2025
Call Closes (Full Proposal Submission Deadline)	23:59 on 23 July 2025
Successful Applicants Notified	25 September 2025
Project Kick-off	By 10 November 2025
Projects Conclude	No later than end of 31 March 2027

4. Eligibility Requirements

All successful proposals must meet the UK Space Agency’s eligibility criteria for grant funding.

4.1 Project Requirements

Grant recipients should be prepared to kick off by Monday 10 November 2025 or propose a start date in the application form which allows the project to have concluded by 31 March 2027 at the latest. The start date is dependent on completion of UK Space Agency due diligence checks. These checks may require timely applicant involvement to avoid delays to project kick off.

The following project management responsibilities will be required:

• engage with the NSIP team to complete due diligence checks ahead of project commencement, providing additional information if requested and facilitating swift communication between any supporting teams (i.e. finance, legal, partners).

• the grant recipient (and project partners) will attend a kick-off meeting to initiate the project.

• the grant recipient will schedule a mid-term review meeting with the UK Space Agency at an appropriate time to review project progress.

• the grant recipient will define milestone deliverables within the proposal using the template provided.

• the grant recipient will provide details of project risks and reduction activities which will include detail of additional time included in the Schedule for risk mitigation, risk related cost included against any budgeted items and best/worst case project outcomes. Risk consideration should also include technical, commercial and supply chains.

• the grant recipient will provide regular updates on the risk register and communicate any realised risk in a timely manner so that the grant co-ordinator may have oversight of mitigating actions and confirm these are acceptable to the UK Space Agency.

• the grant recipient will provide evidence of successfully meeting the milestone and other deliverables agreed in their Grant Funding Agreement in a timely manner.

• confirmation is required that the Grant Recipient has expended the sums in respect of the period in which milestone payments have been claimed. For this purpose, an independent assurance report must be completed and sent to the UK Space Agency within 6 months of the end of the grant. As per the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement it is not possible to claim the cost of this report.

• as a public funding body, UK Space Agency grants may be audited at any time which can involve information requests to project teams. Grant recipients are required to comply with these requests as part of the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement. Audit costs are not eligible to be claimed under the grant.

• the grant recipient will provide information to NSIP relating to monitoring and evaluation activity for the duration of the project and up to 10 years following, whether conducted by UK Space Agency or by a third party.

4.2 Reporting Requirements

Projects are required to report to UK Space Agency to provide confidence in project management, share successes and to inform NSIP internal reporting.

Reporting Schedule

Monthly updates using the Monthly & Milestone reporting template provided in the template Grant Funding Agreement at Annex 14

Quarterly updates to inform UKSA metrics, including TRL progression and the North Star Metric (see full information below) – incorporated into the Monthly & Milestone report

A minimum of 3 review meetings: kick off, mid-term review and final review at which reports are provided on:

• schedule

• risk

• finance (spend to date, any variation on upcoming spend)

• achievement against project goals as set out in the Grant Funding Agreement

• realised Benefits (e.g. training and knowledge exchange, publications and knowledge dissemination, spin-out opportunities)

• alignment with future exploitation and next steps of technical development

The grant recipient will provide a final project report including, but not limited to; an executive summary, delivery, actual outcomes, lessons learned, benefits, communication and outreach, next steps. The executive summary should be IPR free and not contain any confidential information, as it may be uploaded onto the UK Space Agency website.

Milestone reviews, supported by the Monthly & Milestone report template, acceptance of deliverables and reporting results in milestone payment being released

Additional reporting may be required to support individual projects, discussed on a case-by-case basis with the UK Space Agency coordinator

North Star Metric Information

Applicants who submit successful proposals are required to provide information to support UK Space Agency’s North Star Metric and other benefits of funding (i) before commencement as a forecast of project impact and (ii) following commencement actual data to be on a quarterly basis for the duration of the project and for at least 5 years. Additional information can be found in the Grant Funding Agreement at Annex 13 and on the Agency’s grants page.

4.3 Financial Requirements

Grant funding is offered on a cost recovery basis only. This means grant funding can only be used to cover the cost of delivering the agreed activity or goal as set out in the project plan. Any surplus funds not spent will be lost to the project unless there are alternative arrangements agreed. You can find details about what costs our grant funding can and cannot be used for on our new standardised grants Gov.uk page, under the section headed “What costs will UK Space Agency grant funding cover”.

If you are seeking to claim calculated overheads, you must complete the overhead section of Application Form Part A (please see Section 10 for further advice on completing this sheet). When claiming calculated overheads, we may request to see evidence of costs incurred for verification purposes prior to releasing any payments.

4.4 Grant Funding Agreement Requirements

The Grant Funding Agreement template is included as a separate document. Applicants must sign up to the terms as set out in the Grant Funding Agreement when submitting an application.

No material changes to the terms will be considered (including to liability provisions). Minor changes may be considered if an applicant can demonstrate that agreeing to the provision within the Grant Funding Agreement would result in the applicant breaching its statutory or regulatory obligations. Grant applicants wishing to propose changes should submit their request ahead of or with their Full Proposal application, ideally with a marked up copy of the Grant Funding Agreement. Changes requested by successful applicants at Pre-Award stage will be rejected.

All organisations in receipt of grant funding must abide by the UK government Code of Conduct for Grant Recipients.

All projects in receipt of grant funding may be subject to an external annual audit to ensure that costs claimed from the grant funding are eligible, have been incurred on agreed project related expenditure and comply to UK Space Agency grant funding policies (e.g. match funding). Projects are selected for audit using a risk-based approach. The auditor will be appointed by the UK Space Agency. All subcontractors and partners must provide access to project relevant expenditure. Therefore, grant recipients must maintain, and be able to provide upon request for up to 10 years, any supporting evidenced as deemed necessary, including:

• timesheets (prime and, where applicable, partners)

• staff costs (contractors)

• all receipts (including T&S)

• all partner and subcontractor invoices

• breakdown of overhead costs

• breakdown of capital usage (e.g. licence, data costs etc)

The UK Space Agency reserves the right to conduct ad-hoc audits throughout the life of the project.

5. Guidance for Preparing an Application

5.1 Submission Overview

Only the lead organisation can submit an application. It is the lead organisation’s responsibility to ensure that all required information is complete and accurately submitted before the deadline.

The decision of the UK Space Agency is final in all cases. There is no course for appeal, but we endeavour to provide feedback on all applications in due course. Incomplete or late applications and altered templates will not be considered.

Applications for project funding must be submitted as follows:

Expression of Interest submitted by the 23 April 2025.

Expressions of Interest are encouraged to be submitted via MS forms.

We understand these early plans may change, this information is used for internal planning and preparation to support the running of the call and will not be assessed.

Stage 1: Outline Proposal submitted by 23:59 on 8 May 2025.

The Outline Proposal word document should be used to provide a project summary and answer the application questions:

1. What is your proposal, how does it align with the strategy of the call, and who will deliver it?

2. How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?

3. How is your idea both innovative and technically feasible?

Applicants must include letters of support/letters of intent from any named project partners confirming their involvement with the application. Applicants must state the indicative cost of the grant request. The UK Space Agency reserves the right to reject applications at Full Proposal stage in the event their budgets are materially different from those set out at Outline Proposal stage.

Outline Proposals will be considered against the assessment questions outlined in Section 6.

Feedback provided by assessors will be shared with unsuccessful applicants

Please follow the document naming convention: [KS2/MP2] *Lead Organisation* Outline

All Outline Proposal documentation must be sent by email to the National Space Innovation Programme team at NSIP@ukspaceagency.gov.uk with the subject ‘NSIP [Kick Starter/Major Projects] Call Two Outline [organisation]*”

Stage 2: Full Proposal (Applications successful at Stage 1 will be invited to submit their Full Proposal). To be submitted by 23:59 on 23 July 2025.

Full Proposals for project funding shall take the form of a proposal of three parts (A, B and C) and relevant accompanying documents as required (see list below). Part A is an excel spreadsheet, please follow the instructions for completion within the template. For ODT document templates provided these must be formatted, in single-spaced typescript (minimum font size 11-point Calibri, minimum 1.5 cm margins all round, including diagrams and tables).

This will include:

• Application Form Part A (excel file titled KS2/MP2_Part_A)

• Application Form Part B (word file titled KS2/MP2_Part_B)

• Application Form Part C: National Security Questionnaire (excel file titled KS2/MP2_NSQ)

• 1 additional image outside of the template to allow full definition quality (file titled KS2/MP2_image)

• Application Form Part D: Additional Overheads Template if required (excel file titled KS2/MP2_OHT)

• CVs (file titled KS2/MP2-CV)

• Letters of Support if appropriate (PDF file titled KS2/MP2_LoS)

• Marked up Grant Funding Agreement, only where an applicant wishes to request changes (word file titled KS2/MP2_GFA)

Where a Template is specified, this must be used unaltered and submitted.

Should any section be omitted, or a Template altered, the proposal will be rejected.

Should any part of the application overrun the specified page/word limit, we will only consider material up to the designated page/word limit that is in the correct format.

All Full Proposal documentation must be sent by email to the National Space Innovation Programme team at NSIP@ukspaceagency.gov.uk with the subject ‘NSIP Kick Starter / Major Projects Call 2 Application” in advance of the Stage 2 deadline.

Pre-Award: For successful applicants only

Successful project teams will be required to provide information to the UK Space Agency to support due diligence checks before a grant is awarded, in addition to completing the following documents:

• Partner Assurance Statement for all partners (if applicable)
• North Star Metric, Annex 13 of the Grant Funding Agreement
• Confirmation of TRAC methodology and overhead rates (Academic organisations)

The UK Space Agency is not able to commit to grant funding until these checks are satisfied. Funding offers at this stage are conditional and may be withdrawn if insurmountable issues become apparent or queries are not resolved in a timely manner.

5.2 Application Form Part A

The Application Form template provided summarises key information concerning the project proposal submission. Please see Section 6 (Application Assessment) for full details of the assessment questions for this funding scheme.

The Part A excel template should be used to complete key organisation, finance and project information. Please check that all automatic summary cost calculations are correct ahead of submission. You should complete all indicated sheets as per the instructions within the document.

There is a fixed maximum of 12 payment milestones, these do not all need to be used. Where possible we ask for the first of those milestones to take place before the end of March 2026.

Though an indicative start date is provided, the UK Space Agency is not able to commit to a start date until successful projects are identified and due diligence checks are satisfied. If the start date for your project is restricted by external factors, please make these clear in your proposal.

Information provided in this template will be made available to any external assessors and will be scrutinised by the UK Space Agency to ensure all costs proposed represent eligible expenditure under grant funding terms and conditions. Please note the requirements set out in Section 4 around eligible and ineligible expenditure.

Application Form Part A sections to complete:

A checklist to support applicants in completing the application process can be found in the “Instructions” tab in the Part A application form.

• Project Information Sheet

Section 1: Project Details

Section 2: Organisation Details

Section 3: Other Funding

Section 4: Document Checklist & Consistency Check

Section 5: Declaration

• Subsidy Control & Overheads Sheet

Section 6: Subsidy Control Category

Section 7: Overheads Category

• Related Funding Information Capture

Section 8: Related Funding

• Work Package Breakdown

Section 9: Work Package Breakdown

• Milestone Table

Section 10: Summary Milestone Table & Annual Profile

• Milestone Details

Section 11: Milestone Details

Section 12: Milestone Deliverables (Work Package Costs)

• Instruments and Equipment

Section 13: Instruments, Materials and Equipment List

• Risk Register

Section 14: Risk Register

• Schedule

Section 15: Schedule

• Calculated Overhead Detail (only for organisations selecting this Overhead Category)

Section 16: Calculated Overhead Detail

5.3 Application Form Part B

The Application Form template provided summarises key information concerning the project proposal submission. The format of this document must not be altered including any changes to, or the removal of, the UK Space Agency logo. Please see Section 6 for full details of the assessment questions for this funding scheme.

The Part B word document should be used to provide a project summary and answer the application questions:

1. How does your proposal advance the strategic goals identified within the call document and the wider goals of the UK Space Agency?

2. Why do you need grant funding, how will you spend it and how does this represent good value for money for the taxpayer?

3. How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?

4. What will be the impact of receiving the grant, both for your organisation and outside your organisation?

5. What is your idea and how is it both innovative and technically feasible?

6. How will you ensure effective delivery of this project throughout its full duration?

This document also contains a declaration section which must be signed by the appropriate authority on behalf of the lead organisation.

This document should be submitted in both Word and PDF format as part of your proposal document set.

5.4 Calculated Overheads Sheet (Application Form Part A & D)

Please refer to Section 10 below for full instruction on the use of this sheet.

5.5 Application Form Part C National Security Questionnaire

The threat to space is real and coming increasingly closer to the UK space industry as attempted breaches have demonstrated. Everyone needs to protect assets and services from adversaries, incorporating Secure by Design principles as projects, processes and systems are developed. Demonstrating a commitment to security is critical to the ongoing success of any business. Ensuring secure, robust and recoverable services and services can provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace and avoids unnecessary costly retrofitting.

The UK Space Agency works with the space industry to improve security and resilience to attack. As part of the requirements for this scheme, applicants must:

1. Complete the National Security Questionnaire and return with your application documentation by the deadline set out in this guidance (please note that project partners are not required to complete this, only the lead organisation).

2. Apply for a free login for the UK Space Agency security extranet (Resilience Direct, please see further guidance here) to obtain security alerts and other communications and access guidance and other useful information tailored for the space sector.

3. Successful applicants will be engaged at the Pre-Award stage by the UK Space Agency National Security team. All successful grant recipients must undertake measures that are appropriate and proportionate for the purposes of reducing the risks of security compromises occurring and preparing for the occurrence of security compromises.

4. Successful grant recipients must provide a mitigation, response and recovery plan within six months of a Grant Funding Agreement being signed to resilience@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Plans should include an annex or separate plan (proportionate to the company/project size and level of risk) detailing specific activity planned in response to a cyber security attack. Further guidance on plans is available on the Resilience Direct secure extranet and the National Cyber Security Centre website.

5.6 Licensing Implications

Your activity may require a licence, granted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, under the Space Industry Act 2018, Outer Space Act 1986, or both. This must be obtained prior to commencing any licensable activity. See here for more information on the licensing process, including the types of activity these Acts apply to, minimum timelines, and information required for the licensing process.

The CAA encourages potential licence applicants to engage with them early to help identify what licences might be required and guide applicants through the process. We highly recommend reading the CAA’s Space Licensing in the UK document.

6. Assessment of Applications

Applications for this funding scheme will be assessed by the UK Space Agency with support from relevant independent external assessors drawn from a variety of backgrounds including academia, industry and government. All external assessors are required to sign appropriate confidentiality and conflict of interest agreements.

This will be a two-step assessment process consisting of an outline proposal stage followed by a full proposal stage. Successful outline proposal applicants will be invited to submit full proposals.

The panel will assess the proposals according to the questions listed below, considering the commitment of the organisations involved, in particular the lead organisation, to the success of the project and the financial viability of the organisations involved.

A summary of the assessment process is below:

Applicants will be invited to submit a short Outline Proposal. Only those received by the closing time and date will be considered.

An initial internal sift of Outline Proposals will remove any which do not meet the eligibility criteria.

Eligible Outline Proposals will be assessed by external reviewers and scored against the assessment questions outlined below.

A scored and ranked list of proposals will be generated, from which the highest scoring will be invited to proceed to Stage 2. Unsuccessful applicants will receive feedback from assessor comments.

Applicants invited to continue to Stage 2 will be given 5 weeks to complete the Full Proposal document set.

Stage 2 Full Proposals will be assessed by external reviewers to be scored against assessment questions and a ranked list of proposals generated.

A moderation panel of external reviewers led by the UK Space Agency will follow to review the ranked proposals and address any inconsistencies.

A scored and ranked list of fundable proposals will be generated. This will inform an internal UK Space Agency portfolio selection panel that will determine the projects to be funded. This is to ensure a portfolio of projects that represents the breadth of NSIP objectives, rather than a portfolio of projects focused on very similar technologies and outcomes.

If needed, clarifications will be sought from organisations.

All applicants will be advised of the outcome and feedback to unsuccessful applicants will be provided.

Due diligence will be conducted throughout the call process as set out in section 7. If due diligence results in irreconcilable differences, the grant will not be placed.

A reserve list of fundable but unfunded projects will be retained by the UK Space Agency, and should any additional funding be made available, the UK Space Agency will contact relevant project leads.

The UK Space Agency now uses standard assessment questions for grant funding schemes which are set out below. Please note that the weighting applied to the questions varies between Kick Starter and Major Project proposals. Please consider this when determining which scheme to apply for.

The UK Space Agency provides details of how proposals are scored.

Stage 1 - Outline Proposal

Outline Proposal Questions	Weighting (KS)	Weighting (MP)	Page Limit
What is your proposal, how does it align with the strategy of the call, and who will deliver it?	40%	40%	1
How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?	25%	35%	1
How is your idea both innovative and technically feasible?	35%	25%	1

Question	Guidance
What is your proposal, how does it align with the strategy of the call, and who will deliver it?	Responses should provide a short description of the proposed project. This should include a clear problem statement or demand requirement, how the proposed project will address this problem, and what grant funding will enable. Responses should outline how the proposal advances the strategic goals identified within the call document, benefits the wider space sector and contributes to wider government objectives. Responses should identify the resources needed to deliver the proposed project, including an overview of the team that will deliver it and the necessary skills they possess. Information should be provided on any key subcontractors and project partners. Letters of support should be included in Section 6 of the Outline Application Form.
How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?	Responses should discuss the extent to which the proposed project will attract additional investment or funding from external sources beyond the life of the project. This can include reference to future growth and innovation within the industry ecosystem (e.g. potential for new jobs, potential for benefits to the UK supply chain). If you include estimates of future growth arising from the grant please explain how these have been calculated. Your answer can include reference to: key partnerships, potential follow-on contracts , additional internal investment unlocked, potential private investment leveraged , target customers or sectors and any work you have done to validate interest, your route to market, potential commercialisation of project outputs, analysis of the competitiveness of the project (e.g. other competitors in the UK or globally working on the same or substantially similar technology), position of any IP , future revenue streams arising from the project , future growth projections (and how these have been calculated), any new jobs created, any anticipated further investments in UK facilities, offices, infrastructure etc. and where this would be located, export potential of any outputs, the size of the target market, anticipated market share with justification
How is your idea both innovative and technically feasible?	Responses should demonstrate the proposed feasibility of the technology to ascertain if the proposed project has a good chance of success. Responses should outline any research methodology relied upon, work undertaken on earlier stages of technology development and plans for future development during the proposed project.

Stage 2 – Full Proposal (for applicants successful at Stage 1)

For assessment guidance of the full proposal please refer to our grants page and click on “Investment Assessment Criteria”.

Full Proposal Questions	Weighting (KS)	Weighting (MP)	Page Limit
1. How does your proposal advance the strategic goals identified within the call document and the wider goals of the UK Space Agency?	5%	5%	1
2. What will be the impact of receiving the grant, both for your business and outside your organisation?	5%	5%	1
3. Why do you need grant funding, how will you spend it and how does this represent good value for money for the taxpayer?	10%	10%	1
4. How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?	25%	35%	3
5. What is your idea and how is it both innovative and technically feasible?	35%	25%	4
6. How will you ensure effective delivery of this project throughout its full duration?	20%	20%	3

7. Due Diligence

The UK Space Agency will carry out due diligence on grant applications as required using internal and, where necessary, external subject matter experts. The scope and degree of due diligence will be determined by the value, nature and complexity of your grant. All applications will be subject to basic checks such as credit reports and Companies House checks. You can find details of the checks we conduct on our grants page.

Grant Applicants who opt to work with project partners (entities involved in delivery of the project under a flow down or collaboration agreement rather than a subcontractor) will assume all responsibility for partner due diligence and will be required to submit a Partner Assurance Statement prior to Grant Funding Agreements being signed.

8. Confidentiality

The procedure for handling and assessing the applications for project funding will be as follows:

• Stage 1 outline proposals must be submitted to the UK Space Agency using the gov.uk form provided
• Completed Stage 2 full proposals must be submitted to the UK Space Agency at the email address specified in the guidance documentation. All proposals will be held in confidence.
• Once the call closing date has passed, electronic copies of all eligible documents will be distributed to the independent assessment panel members. UK Space Agency confidentiality rules will apply.
• For those applications not recommended by the panel for funding, documentation will be retained by the UK Space Agency for reference. The proposals will not be visible to any others, and the names of any unsuccessful applicants will not be published.
• Summary information about the projects selected for funding will be published on the UK Space Agency website.

The UK Space Agency will monitor the funded project through project reports and the submission of project deliverables. The Agency requests that any confidential information is clearly marked Commercial in Confidence.

9. Subsidy Control

9.1 Subsidy Control: Research Organisations, Public & Third Sector

The UK Space Agency supports organisations to invest in research, development and innovation. The support we provide is consistent with the UK’s international obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control. Please see this page for further information about the UK Space Agency’s obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. To ensure this competition provides funding in line with obligations and commitments, the intervention rates detailed in this section shall apply, unless:

a) The applicant seeks to claim exemption from having to make a contribution under the Minimal Financial Assistance Allowance (previously known as de-minimis under State Aid and Small Amounts of Financial Assistance under Trade and Co-operation Agreement) rules

b) The applicant is a research or public sector organisation, or charity pursuing non-economic activity

When referring to research organisations, UK Space Agency uses the definition from the Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation which states:

“research and knowledge dissemination organisation’ or ‘research organisation’ means an entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology transfer agencies, innovation intermediaries, research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative entities), irrespective of its legal status (organised under public or private law) or way of financing, whose primary goal is to independently conduct fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development or to widely disseminate the results of such activities by way of teaching, publication or knowledge transfer. Where such entity also pursues economic activities, the financing, the costs, and the revenues of those economic activities must be accounted for separately. Undertakings that can exert a decisive influence upon such an entity, for example in the quality of shareholders or members, may not enjoy a preferential access to the results generated by it.”

Within UK Space Agency, this means:

• universities – higher education institutions

• non-profit research and technology organisations (RTOs) including catapults

• public sector organisations (PSOs)

• public sector research establishments (PSREs)

• Research Council Institutes

• research organisations (ROs)

• charities

Research organisations should be non-profit distributing to qualify. They should explain how they will disseminate the output of their project research as outlined in the application. Research organisations who are engaged in economic activity (i.e. putting goods or services onto market) will be treated as business enterprises and subject to Subsidy Control intervention rates.

Research Organisations

Universities undertaking non-economic research activity will be funded at 80% of full economic cost. All other research organisations will be funded at 100% of eligible costs.

Public Sector Organisations and Charities

Public Sector Organisations and Charities can work with enterprises to achieve innovation through knowledge, skills and resources. These organisations must not take part in any economic activity or gain economic benefit from a project. They can apply for 100% funding of eligible costs, providing all of the following conditions are satisfied:

• they are undertaking research (this may be experimental, theoretical or critical investigation work to gain knowledge, skills or understanding which is vital to the project)

• they meet requirements for dissemination of their project results and state in the application how this will be achieved

• they include eligible costs for research purposes in the total research organisation involvement

• they are not applying for funding towards costs which are already being paid from the public purse such as labour or overheads

Third Sector

Third Sector organisations are primarily voluntary and community organisations, such as associations, self-help groups, mutuals and cooperatives. Third sector organisations can be non-funding partners in a project.

9.2 Streamlined Scheme for Research, Development and Innovation

This award is being offered under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme subcategory 2: Industrial Research and Experimental Development Projects in accordance with Section 10 (4) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Projects funded as part of this scheme qualify as “feasibility study”, “industrial research” or “experimental development”, where:

• “Feasibility study” means the evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision-making by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately its prospects for success.

• “Industrial research” means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or for bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services. It can include the creation of component parts to complex systems and may include prototypes in a laboratory or environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems, particularly for generic technology validation.

This would include digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies). Industrial research comprises the creation of component parts of complex systems and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, where necessary for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.

• “Experimental development” means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services. This may include, for example, activities aimed at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services.

This includes digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as for example super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud or edge technologies). This may also encompass, for example, activities aimed at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services.

Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions where the primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set. This may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is necessary for the final commercial product and which is too expensive to produce for it to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes.

Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes made to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services and other operations in progress, even if those changes may represent improvements.

Further guidance around these definitions can be found within the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route guidance. It is the applicant’s responsibility to determine which category their project falls within based on their knowledge of the work they are proposing to undertake the UK Space Agency cannot provide pre-application advice on which to select.

Match Funding Rates

Subsidies given under these categories are subject to maximum award amounts and subsidy ratios set out in the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme. These are as follows:

	Feasibility Study	Industrial Research	Experimental Development
Small Enterprises	70% of the eligible project costs	70% of the eligible project costs	45% of the eligible project costs
Medium Enterprises	60% of the eligible project costs	60% of the eligible project costs	35% of the eligible project costs
Large Enterprises	50% of the eligible project costs	50% of the eligible project costs	25% of the eligible project costs
Academic Partner	80% Full Economic Cost	80% Full Economic Cost	80% Full Economic Cost

Enterprises may receive a 15% uplift to the subsidy ratios for Feasibility Studies, Industrial Research or Experimental Development where the project involves collaboration between enterprises, where at least one of the enterprises is an SME, or between an enterprise and one or more research and knowledge dissemination organisation, which must have the right to publish its own research results. Academic partners on projects led by enterprises will still be funded in all cases at 80% of full economic cost.

For the purposes of subsidy control, the following definitions are applicable:

A small enterprise has an annual turnover below £10.2 million, a balance sheet total below £5.1 million and the average number of employees must not be more than 50

A medium enterprise has an annual turnover below £36 million, a balance sheet total below £18 million and the average number of employees must be no more than 250

A large enterprise has an annual turnover above £36 million, a balance sheet total above £18 million and the average number of employees is above 250

To qualify, two of the three conditions in the above definition must be met.

Applicants should note that under the Streamlined Scheme the maximum award amount for both industrial research and experimental development projects is £3,000,000 per enterprise per project. Due to cumulation rules and limits of the scheme, organisations seeking project funding that would exceed a total of £3 million from public bodies in the last 3 years for this project will be ineligible to apply for this opportunity. Applicants should be aware that under the streamlined scheme, subsidies cumulate and so if you have already received funding from the UK Space Agency under the streamlined scheme, it may not be possible to receive further funding through NSIP.

Subsidies must be cumulated if it meets the following conditions and was given:

• to the same enterprise by any public authority

• for the same project or activities as defined under the relevant categories of the streamlined scheme

• for the same or substantially the same specific purposes as set out under the relevant categories in the route

• within the last 3 financial years (that is, the last 2 complete financial years running from 1 April to 31 March and the lapsed part of the current financial year).

Applicants must ensure that they supply the correct information that allows the UK Space Agency to award grants within the scheme. It is the responsibility of the grant funder to ensure compliance with the relevant subsidy controls rules and the applicant to assist the funder in doing this by acting within the terms and conditions of the scheme.

As a subsidy, the proposal must be for activity that would only take place if the funding is awarded. As such, it cannot be awarded for business-as-usual activity or projects that would otherwise be funded using existing funds.

9.3 Minimum Financial Assistance

The Subsidy Control Act 2022 includes provision relating to Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA). MFA allows authorities to provide grants that are considered small enough to support individual businesses without giving them an unfair advantage. Enterprises can receive up to £315,000 of MFA funding over a rolling 3 fiscal year period without having to provide match funding. You must declare any previous MFA awards you have received in your application form.

When calculating eligibility for the application of the MFA provision, applicants must also include cumulation of any EU State aid de minimis grants under the EC’s de minimis regulation and Small Amounts of Financial Assistance (SAFA) under the EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) for the same 3 fiscal year period. The maximum total under the EC de minimis regulation is €200,000, the maximum total under SAFA is £340,000 or £325,000 Special Drawing Rights. This is for all project types and for most purposes, including operating aid.

The application form asks you to tell us about any awards, including those made under de minimis and SDR, (from any source of public funding) over a rolling 3 fiscal year period.

Please note this guidance has been updated to reflect that Minimum Financial Assistance can only be claimed for partners applying for up to £315,000 of grant funding – it cannot count towards a larger amount of subsidy. MFA is calculated per company so it would only be available to companies seeking £315,000 or less in grant funding (this can be as part of a consortium).

Further information on UK Space Agency’s obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 can be found on our grants page.

10. Calculated Overheads Sheet Instructions

10.1 Calculated Overheads Sheet (Application Form Part A & D)

This is only required for applicants utilising custom overhead rates – for academic applicants submitting full economic costing (FEC), please include confirmation of your most recently accepted TRAC methodology or similar to allow UK Space Agency to validate your overhead costs.

Organisations opting for the 20% of staff cost overhead rates do not need to complete this template.

For organisations who choose the calculated overheads option, the spreadsheet has two sections to complete:

• indirect (administration) overheads

• direct overheads (for those listed in the staff costs table)

Once each section is completed, the ‘total overheads spreadsheet’ will calculate your total amount.

Indirect (administration) overhead

We class indirect overheads as those costs associated with back-office functions (such as finance, human resources, administration staff) whose primary function is to support the running of a business enterprise. Typically, these costs are not directly related to a particular product or service production.

Indirect overhead costs are eligible for inclusion if they are incurred directly because of undertaking the project. They must be additional, which means over and above your ‘business as usual’ costs.

Where you have already identified specific ‘indirect’ individuals working directly on the project, these should have been captured in the staff costs together with the overhead attributed to them.

We have provided cost categories in the template. The following list provides our definition for each category.

Board and senior management

The proportion of salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of the board and senior management of the company. This should be where they are engaged in strategic or administrative tasks. Do not include those working directly on the project or who are customer-facing or operational.

Administrative staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of main administrative staff, such as receptionists and central administration. Do not include administrative staff employed to support sales, marketing, account management and profit-generating departments.

Human resources staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of human resource staff.

Employed estates staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of employed cleaning, maintenance, security and other estates staff.

Finance department staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of main finance department staff, such as payroll, accounts payable and receivable. Do not include staff employed to support sales, marketing or account management activities.

Administrative support temporary or agency staff costs

This should include fees paid for the provision of temporary staff in administration or support services as listed above. Do not include any staff that are operational, such as marketing, sales, engineering, quality assurance, research and development and supply chain.

General office IT services

This includes general IT services used across the whole organisation. Do not include IT costs where they relate purely to non-eligible staff or manufacturing, production or fee earning activities.

General postage

This includes postage and courier expenses for general administration needs. Do not include product delivery or any postage costs incurred through promotion, sales, marketing customer relationship or accounts management.

Office supplies, printing and stationery costs

General office stationery and supplies such as paper, business cards, corporate stationery, office equipment for support or admin staff listed above. Do not include specific costs associated with sales, marketing, product delivery, product literature or reports.

Security and safety costs

This includes costs associated with site and staff safety and security, including signage and health and safety costs.

Building maintenance (administration office facilities only)

This includes general repair and maintenance costs of administration facilities. Do not include repair and maintenance of manufacturing or production facilities and exceptional items such as new works or extensions, which are not eligible for inclusion in this section.

Building rental (administration office facilities only)

Where office space is leased, include the rental costs. Do not include rental costs relating to manufacturing or production facilities, or the cost of any deposits or penalties.

Contracted site services (administration office facilities only)

Costs of contracted services relating to administration facilities such as cleaning of offices. Do not include contracted service costs related to manufacturing or production facilities.

Site property taxes (administration offices facilities only)

Property taxes and charges relating to office space. Do not include manufacturing or production facility property taxes and charges.

Utilities (administration office facilities only)

Electricity, gas, water, waste disposal, telecoms costs relating to administration office facilities.

The following is a step-by-step guide to help you fill in the relevant details to make your costs claim for indirect overhead.

Column A

Starting with your latest set of audited accounts, please input your details against the relevant cost category in column A. If you are a new company or this information is unavailable, please use internal management accounts or forecast data.

Note that for the administration support staff costs section, the costs included here must be based upon PAYE (gross salary, NI, company pension contribution, life insurance). They should exclude discretionary package costs such as bonuses, awards, profit-related pay and dividends. In addition, please exclude any members working directly on the project who are customer-facing or those engaged in operational or production areas.

Column B

In this column you should state the percentage of the spend stated in column A is attributable to core administrative activity (business as usual excluding any other projects as well as this one)

Column C

In column C please state what percentage of these costs you would assess as being additional and directly attributable administration activity to the project you are undertaking. By additional we mean over and above business as usual.

Column D

Based upon the details you’ve given in the previous columns, column D will automatically calculate the costs you’ve stated as being attributable to this project.

Column E

In column E you will need to provide some description of the cost constituent parts.

Once you have filled in this data you will see a percentage calculation (column F). This calculates what you consider as being eligible indirect overhead costs for your project (D) as a proportion of the annual audited figures (A). To save you time we use this calculated percentage and apply it to the remainder cost categories you have completed.

Any administration costs that are ineligible in this section, but which directly relate to the project (for example based on invoices), should be claimed as direct costs within other sections of the finance form.

Completion of the indirect overheads template will calculate an annual total which will be proportioned for the length of time you are working on the project. You will see a per annum, per month and a per project cost. The per project costs will form your total indirect overheads as a monetary value.

Once you have filled out your indirect overhead information, choose the ‘return to the overheads section’ to take you back to the main overheads section. Here you will see a summary of your indirect overhead.

Direct overhead

We understand that in undertaking a project you may incur associated costs with those staff working directly on the project and listed in the staff costs table. We refer to these as direct overheads.

Typical costs in this area could include:

• direct staff provision of laptops (non-capital only)

• desks

• office (such as occupancy, facilities and utilities)

• IT infrastructure and systems

This section is provided in free format for you to list out such costs.

Direct overhead costs must be directly attributable to the project you are undertaking and should not represent a full recovery methodology inclusive of redundant, spare capacity time or cost.

You should detail the costs and include a description of each item together with the methodology or the basis of how the costs have been apportioned. This should include the calculations that support the claimable costs. This will help us to validate these costs if your project is successful.

If your costs have been subject to an independent audit verification, we may ask you to provide this report to support our financial eligibility reviews.

Please note that costs associated with laboratories or workshops should be included within the ‘other costs’ section of the application form.

Once you have completed the direct overhead, you should select ‘return to the overhead section’. You will return to the main overhead tab where you will see a summary of your overhead claim for both direct and indirect overheads.