Notice

NAVISP Industry Guidance

Updated 11 February 2026

1. The NAVigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) in the UK

Modern life increasingly relies on precise positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, which underpin critical infrastructure and enable innovations such as autonomous systems, smart logistics, and resilient networks. To ensure the UK can seize emerging opportunities in this domain, we are supporting projects that drive innovation in PNT technologies and applications across new and evolving markets.

In November 2025 the UK Space Agency (UKSA) subscribed £53 million over a three-year period to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP). This investment reflects a strategic effort to strengthen the UK’s capabilities in satellite navigation and related services, improving industrial competitiveness and capability in a rapidly evolving global market. NAVISP is a commercially driven initiative designed to foster innovation by supporting UK businesses in developing cutting-edge technologies, products, and services. The programme encompasses the full spectrum of navigation solutions, including components, systems, and integrated services, and spans all segments, space, ground, and user. By enabling advancements across these areas, NAVISP aims to position the UK as a leader in next-generation navigation technologies, driving economic growth and reinforcing national infrastructure for critical applications.

You can apply for ESA NAVISP support and funding through one of our three Elements:

Competitive Tenders– Element 1

Organisations can respond to opportunities released by ESA on a regular basis. These are directed at a specific problem or opportunity identified by ESA. These competitive tenders are open for a limited time. Each application received is assessed in competition with other proposal applications.

Open Call for Proposals – Element 2

Discuss your ideas with the ESA NAVISP and UK Space Agency teams, then submit your ideas via the ESA Open Space Innovation Portal (OSIP) portal, setting out the opportunity you wish to pursue.  These applications will each be assessed on their own merits.

Open Call for Proposals – Element 3

Two routes are possible under Element 3. In the “Industry Route”, you propose your ideas directly to UK Space Agency, setting out the opportunity you wish to pursue and are expected to have a contact from a UK Government department already in place, that will liaise with UK Space Agency. In the “Competition Route”, UK Space Agency, via ESA, may issue a call based on national strategic priorities which industry can respond to in an open competition.

To apply for funding within each of the three NAVISP elements, UK companies must obtain funding approval for their proposal from their National Delegate prior to final bid submission.

This guidance focusses on obtaining National Delegate support. Information on applying to ESA for funding through NAVISP can be found here.

2. What is National Delegate support?

Applicants must obtain national support when applying to ESA. This is called ‘National Delegate support’ and the UK delegates its national support for the NAVISP to the UK Space Agency PNT team.

3. When to apply

Application deadlines for NAVISP can be found via website here. 

Applicants are strongly advised to apply for National Delegate support at the earliest opportunity and for Element 1, at least two weeks’ prior the application deadline.

4. How to apply

As NAVISP is managed by ESA, Applicants should familiarise themselves with the application guidance provided by ESA. Information on applying to ESA for funding through NAVISP can be found here, with instructions for each of the three Elements.

5. How to obtain National Delegate support

The steps to obtaining National Delegate support are different for each Element of NAVISP.

5.1 Element 1- Approval obtained through OPQ submission

Element 1 projects are posted as an Invitation to Tender (ITT) on the ESA tendering portal (bidders must be registered on the ESA-STAR platform to see ITTs and submit proposals). Submission is not possible without prior written approval of the National Delegate, which is obtained as follows:

1. Element 1 competition opens. Read available guidance including the UK Space Agency prioritisation and download the Outline Proposal Questionnaire (OPQ) template. Please refer to the UK Space Agency prioritisation list of Element 1 ITTs.
2. Follow completion guidance provided within the OPQ template. Bidders may start drafting the ESA proposal before receiving the UK Space Agency approval at their risk.
3. Submit the finalised OPQ by emailing as an attachment to PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk . Applicants are strongly advised to submit an OPQ at the earliest opportunity to allow for UKSA review, and time to complete the application before the deadline (preferably two weeks prior to the application deadline).
4. The UK Space Agency reviews all submitted OPQs weekly based on published criteria (see Section 6.1) and will endeavour to provide a decision by email within 7 working days. You should not contact the team prior to this time elapsing, and any enquiries may not be dealt with until after this period. We reserve the right to extend the review period if required.
5. If successful, you will receive a ‘Letter of Support’ (LoS) from the National Delegate to proceed with submission of your proposal to ESA in accordance with the applicable guidance.

5.2 Element 2- Approval obtained after OSIP submission

There is a standing Element 2 call for proposals managed by ESA through the ESA-STAR tendering portal. Tenders are required to engage with the UK Space Agency both before and after completion of an outline proposal through ESA’s OSIP as follows:

1. Read available guidance on ESA Element 2 submission process.
2. The team recommend emailing PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk before completion of an OSIP outline proposal requesting an informal meeting with the UK Space Agency PNT Team to discuss your idea.
3. Follow completion guidance for OSIP submission process.
4. At the point of OSIP outline submission, email PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk confirming your submission.
5. ESA and the UK Space Agency will review the OSIP proposal based on published scoring criteria (see below). The UK Space Agency and ESA will endeavour to respond with a decision or requests for further information within 6 weeks of submission on OSIP.
6. Proceed to submit a full Element 2 proposal in compliance with ESA guidance, including the approval letter with your full application.

5.3 Element 3- Approval obtained after OSIP submission

The UK runs two Element 3 routes, Industry and Competition. Submissions are managed by ESA through their ESA-OSIP portal as follows:

• Read available guidance on the ESA NAVISP website regarding the Element 3 submission process.

• If following the “Industry route” (i.e. industry sourced idea), a potential bidder is expected to contact the UK Space Agency PNT team by email via PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk before completion of an OSIP outline proposal and discuss their potential idea or submission. At their discretion, the UK Space Agency may choose to invite independent advisors to a meeting to better support feedback on your idea.
  • In the case of the “Industry route”, you will be expected to have a government partner already in place before initial discussions. The UK Space Agency will then work with your government partner to develop a joint agreement prior to completion of an OSIP outline proposal.
  • For the Competition route, Government will publish a Statement of Work and then open as competition with a deadline for outline proposals.
• Proceed with the OSIP outline submission process in compliance with ESA submission guidelines and email PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk confirming that you have made a submission.
• Both ESA and UK Space Agency will review the OSIP proposal. If successful, you will be informed by ESA of the outcome, provided feedback, and the UK Space Agency PNT Team will issue you a signed delegate approval letter. Feedback will be provided if unsuccessful.
• Proceed to submit a full Element 3 proposal in compliance with ESA guidance, including the approval letter with your full application.

Note, the UK Space Agency reserves the right to communicate with the bidder to confirm that the full proposal submission outputs are in line with OSIP outline proposal.

5.4 Contract Change Notice Support

In some cases, changes in understanding may support adjustment of the initial project, if these would affect the output and scope of the project a Contract Change Notice (CCN) is needed. These also need to be supported by National Delegates. CCNs will be subject to the same scrutiny by the National Delegate as the initial application. A CCN application document can be provided, on request, by ESA, which UK Space Agency will assess against the criteria in line with the full process for the element the initial project support was issued under, and follow the same process as outlined above.

6. Eligibility and assessment criteria 

Please check the ESA guidance on eligibility criteria for NAVISP. In addition to this, the UK Space Agency will apply the following eligibility criteria.

6.1 Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)

NAVISP is a PNT programme which can be both space and ground focused. Although this may include projects that support other activities, they should be in the context of PNT. Activities that are primarily for another purpose, such as Telecommunications, Earth Observation or climate monitoring, can be supported through other UK Space Agency and ESA programmes.

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

6.2 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 to PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. 

6.3 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 proposal. Late requests will not be considered if they have not been declared and approved at the applications stage.

6.4 Matched-funding 

Element 1

The activities carried out under Element 1 shall be funded up to 100%. Some of the Element 1 projects may be: - limited to SMEs & R&D organisations, preferably in cooperation (referred to as C3 rules, which can be found in supporting documentation when completing your application to ESA, or here: Procurement policy on fair access for SMEs - the C1-C4 Clauses) - bidders are required to do their utmost to include in their bid an adequate participation of SMEs as subcontractor(s) (judged in terms of quantity indicated as guidelines of the ITT known as “C4” measures). If no such participation is offered, the bid shall contain evidence of the effort made to meet these requirements and the reasons for the lack of success.

Element 2

The maximum levels of funding of the total allowable cost:

• 50% for non-SMEs, and up to 80% for SMEs;
• up to 100% for  universities, research institutes, and public sector entities, whose work as subcontractor is requested, justified, and supervised by the Industry consortium, and provided they do not retain any commercial (i.e. financial) interest in the future exploitation of the final product or service, and their funding does not exceed 30% of the total allowable cost (ESA Implementing Rules do not differentiate between Universities or Research Institutes).
• up to 75% for universities and research institutes pursuant to the previous paragraph, which have a demonstrated commercial interest in the future exploitation of the final product or service.
• The overall funding level for a given activity may be the result of different funding levels corresponding to different phases of the activity.

Element 3

• Both routes are 100% funded For an “Industry route” proposal, the project must:
• Have at least one Government partner supportive of the project meeting a Governmental need
• Not have a funding request exceeding €1million
• Preferably be a project in collaboration with one or more UK entities

6.5 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. 

6.6 Travel and Subsistence 

The UK Space Agency 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 at PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.

7. Assessment criteria

The Element 1 OPQ and OSIP outlines will be evaluated and scored by the UK Space Agency’s PNT team as outlined below. Where appropriate, the UK Space Agency may engage external subject matter experts to provide additional support during the assessment process.

7.1 Technical Review 

Assessment criteria are for Element 1 are:

Criteria	Alignment	% weighting
Background and Experience	Aligns to the ESA assessment criteria and will allow companies to explain their competencies, skills, expertise and experience [of the company or team]. It will also allow new entrants to state their position and why they want to enter this area, and what experience they can bring.	15
Project Management	Demonstration of the application of appropriate industry standards and sound approach to project and risk management, including evidence of appropriate tailoring to meet the project objectives and deliverables. Demonstration of prior consideration of specific approaches, risks and mitigations to achieve high quality deliverables.	20
Benefits and funding	Identification of wider benefits identified from the project, and awareness of how they will generate these benefits from the funding and clear advantages the funding will offer the company(ies) and the UK. This could include scientific publications anticipated, spill over benefits or skills development. Consideration of what will happen if they are not successful in securing Element 1 funding for this opportunity, and the advantages and benefits that public funding offer would your project above other routes.	15
Understanding of ITT	A section where the bidder can demonstrate an understanding of the ITT’s context and rationale. Further, their full understanding of the application area and underlying technology being developed, including identifying any opportunities and exploitation routes post project (if selected). The bidder should also show a clear understanding of how project outcomes will meet UK and global strategic needs and priorities.	50

Element 3 competition assessment criteria will be published when the call is announced. The assessment criteria for Element 2 and Element 3 Industry led proposals are:

Criteria	Alignment	% weighting Element 2	% weighting Industry Element 3	Relevant OSIP Section
Strategic Fit	The criteria assessment covers the alignment to the strategic nature of NAVISP Element 3, and to the call if a competed approach. The assessment will evaluate evidence of also meeting wider Government priorities that are appropriate to the project (e.g. net zero, levelling up, Space Industrial Plan). Clear and specific evidence provided about how the project supports both UKSA strategic aims and other wider Government objectives.	N/A	20	The project, relevance to national context
Value for money	This criteria assessment covers what the funding will be spent on and how are costs distributed between consortium partners. A breakdown of costs aligned with tasks or work packages, and how best value for money has been calculated, for example quotation comparison. How you and any project partners will fund their contribution to the project and ensure that this is in place.	20	20	Summary of costs
Project Management	Assessors will be looking for demonstration of the application of appropriate industry standards and sound approach to project and risk management, including evidence of appropriate tailoring to meet the project objectives and deliverables. The roles, skills, expertise and experience in project and risk management, of all team members, which are relevant to ensuring successful delivery of the project. The approach to delivery in the required timeframe, given existing business activities or constraints. Details of how subcontractors (if any) will be managed, including the current relationships between project partners and how these will change because of the project.	10	10	Subcontractors, product development
Catalysing Investment	The criteria scoring for this function indicates the readiness for NAVISP funding and demonstrates a path for investment to be catalysed (e.g. accelerated or enabled), supported by clear evidence. Aspects such as what will happen to your project if you are not successful in securing NAVISP funding, and the clear advantages of NAVISP funding are included. The value of co-investment should be explained and how this will be implemented.	20	N/A	Commercial viability, summary of costs
Benefits	Assessors will be looking for evidence that the funding is appropriate to deliver the proposed approach, awareness from the bidder(s) of how they will generate benefits from the funding and clear advantages the funding will offer the company(ies) and the UK. Bidder(s) are encouraged to present the counterfactual if funding is not provided.	25	20	Product (Relevance to PNT) Commercial viability, summary of costs
Technical feasibility	The specific Product or Service you propose to develop, how this is clearly different from alternative solutions that are already available, if this is a new solution in existing areas, or a totally new approach or idea. What is the specific need or challenge you propose to address and who would benefit from it immediately and longer term. What is the approach to developing the product/service, work breakdown, development challenges and risks, exploitation approach.	25	30	Product, Product development, Project management

7.2 National Security Test 

The UK Space Agency’s due diligence process includes a national security assessment, to determine company viability and project suitability against government security objectives, guidance on national Security Tests can be found here.  

8. 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 PNT@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. 

9. Further information 

If you would like any further information, or have any questions or feedback about this guidance, please contact the team: PNT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk