The UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) provides co-funding to support the development of innovations in the UK space sector. This evaluation found that NSIP is a well-run, continuously improving and positively viewed programme. NSIP has expanded its scope and impact since its Pilot phase. Feedback suggests a few key areas for improvement. Despite these issues, most applicants express willingness to reapply.

Process Evaluation for the National Space Innovation Programme

Interim Report

Katarina Pisani, Chris Carter-Gordon, Ioli Howard, Ishita Puri, Lara Marie Otto, Oliver Swainston, Billy Bryan

ResearchPublished Aug 7, 2025

The UK Space Agency’s (UKSA) National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) provides co-funding to support the development of innovations with high potential to catalyse investment into the UK space sector. Our headline result is that NSIP is a well-run and continuously improving programme, viewed positively by those who have received support via its multiple funding mechanisms. NSIP has expanded its scope and impact since its Pilot phase, supporting a diverse range of project themes and achieving a balanced distribution across National Space Strategy (NSS) technology topics. Recent calls have enhanced geographical and organisational diversity, with smaller and medium-sized organisations finding success. Previous evidence (i.e. NSIP Call 1 survey) suggests applicants are generally happy with the process of applying and the guidance available. The demand for the programme is healthy, with 500 submitted proposals resulting in 94 awards (18.8% success rate) across eight open calls, indicating a highly competitive programme compared to UKRI success rates (~25%). Feedback suggests a few key challenges in participating in NSIP, such as the need for better application feedback, supporting applicants to develop more comprehensive business cases, clearer guidance on financial reporting, longer proposal development timelines and mitigation of delays in project progression. Despite these issues, most applicants express willingness to reapply, and feedback is largely positive, suggesting that those barriers are not significantly discouraging applicants or project leads.

Key Takeaways

NSIP has made progress in expanding its scope and impact since its pilot phase

  • The programme now supports a diverse range of project themes through its KS and MP calls, achieving a balanced distribution across various National Space Strategy technology topics. Notably, recent calls have funded projects across the UK, enhancing geographical diversity beyond the Southeast, and fostering organisational diversity with smaller and medium-sized organisations finding success in domestic calls.

Amongst successful applicants, perspectives of project progression are largely positive, with interviewed and surveyed applicants generally satisfied by NSIP process

  • Some challenges persist, particularly around the short grant period for ETP and NSIP KS grants which can be compounded by delays in contracting, consortium building and procurement. Reporting processes are seen as appropriate and sufficiently flexible and the support and guidance provided by NSIP team is held in high regard by programme participants, especially when responding to a delay or unforeseen issue. As with the application process, these challenges represent opportunities for NSIP team to iterate and improve the post-award process for future calls, with opportunities to learn from other process across government, such as those utilised by Innovate UK

The programme has integrated feedback from past evaluations, leading to improvements in funding structures and thematic areas, such as the adoption of multi-year funding

  • However, ongoing challenges, including low satisfaction with feedback and complex processes, indicate that further refinements are necessary

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Pisani, Katarina, Chris Carter-Gordon, Ioli Howard, Ishita Puri, Lara Marie Otto, Oliver Swainston, and Billy Bryan, Process Evaluation for the National Space Innovation Programme: Interim Report. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3412-1.html.
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This research was conducted by the Science and Emerging Technology Program within RAND Europe.

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