Monitoring, Evaluation and Benefits Management for the UK’s investments in the European Space Agency

Space shuttle flying over the clouds, photo by 3dsculptor/Adove Stock

Photo by 3dsculptor/Adobe Stock

What is the issue?

The United Kingdom (UK) has been a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since its inception in 1975 and has played a significant role in its programmes and initiatives. The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is responsible for managing the UK's involvement in ESA, which provides access to European space infrastructure and collaboration opportunities with other member states. This partnership has been crucial in supporting the delivery of the UK National Space Strategy (NSS), with approximately 70–75% of UKSA's annual budget dedicated to ESA activities.

There are clear technological, economic, collaborative, social and environmental benefits associated with the UK’s investment in ESA, but there remains a need to be accountable and transparent on how the investment is benefiting the UK in public return.

How did we help?

RAND Europe was commissioned by the UK Space Agency to conduct a monitoring, evaluation and benefits management study for UK Space Agency’s investments in ESA. RAND Europe led the study with economic evaluation experts from Ipsos, two senior space technology colleagues from RAND US (Bonnie Triezenberg and Peter Whitehead) and Amanda Regan (ex-ESA engineer and programme leader).

The UK’s investments in ESA are a highly complex intervention. Our theory-based evaluation included refinements to the investment’s Theory of Change and a proportionality assessment to guide decisions around the appropriate level of evaluation across investments. The study consisted of the following components:

Process evaluation: This captured strengths and weaknesses in design, implementation and contextual factors affecting delivery of the UK’s ESA investments and identified improvements to portfolio and project management and benefits realisation.
Impact evaluation: This assessed how the UK’s investments in ESA have contributed to technological advances, capability and capacity building, sector growth, and wider socioeconomic impacts. It also examined the extent to which these investments have achieved their intended objectives.
Economic evaluation and value for money assessment: This assessment used a multi-method approach to capture and, where possible, monetise the benefits and costs from UKSA’s funding of ESA programmes, evidencing the economic return of investments.
Benefits management study: This study built a framework to allow UKSA to better support and manage the realisation of benefits from ESA investments, supporting improvements in long-term outcomes for the space sector and the wider UK economy.

What did we find?

The UK’s investment into ESA represents good value for money.
Overall, every £1 public investment in ESA programmes leads to £7.49 directly benefiting the UK economy. The local and wider UK economies benefit significantly from ESA membership, with lasting increases in growth, employment, productivity and private investment for UK firms involved in delivering ESA contracts over the last decade. Thanks partly to efforts from teams within UKSA and efforts from organisations bidding for ESA contracts, the UK has achieved near parity in the UK’s geo-return figure, a measure of how many contracts UK firms win relative to overall spending.

The UK’s investments into ESA enable UK entities to secure important contracts and mission leadership, yielding cutting-edge scientific and technical achievements.
As a result of engagement with ESA, UK entities have developed world-leading technologies and capabilities, including facilities, instruments and mission leadership. The UK can also exploit the results of that Research and Development (R&D), with UK firms commercialising and leveraging the products of their ESA engagements.

UKSA plays a major role in helping UK entities participate in ESA programmes.
UKSA's intermediary role is crucial in bridging the gap between policy and industry. UKSA has also made a concerted and successful effort to increase the industrial return figures, resulting in more UK contracts and a lower deficit than overall spending.

What can be done?

UKSA should establish a long-term ESA strategy and stronger industrial policy to provide UK industry with clear targets, consistent direction and confidence to invest in priority technologies. UKSA should prioritise specific areas of interest to better align the UK’s space strategy with ESA implementation and guide investment decisions.
UKSA should more proactively engage other member states to encourage participation in missions aligned with UK strategic priorities, leveraging its leadership in areas such as space weather and its position as a major ESA contributor to influence investment decisions.
Stronger cross-government alignment is needed to maximise the benefits of the UK’s ESA membership and to achieve domestic goals. Despite initiatives to promote alignment, space decision making functions are still fragmented across different government departments and agencies. UKSA should work with key sector bodies such as DSIT, STFC, MoD and Innovate UK to align strategy and funding, streamline the R&D pipeline and eliminate duplication.
Despite the UK’s strengths in early-stage technology development, national capacity to manufacture and integrate a full mission is limited. The small number of industrial primes in the UK underscores the importance of funding space sector investments throughout the development pipeline.