Guidance

ESERO-UK grant call – Frequently asked questions

Published 14 October 2026

Applicants are advised to check back to this page as the FAQs will be updated during the competition. 

About the call, programme aims and evaluation

Within teacher and educator training and support, does that include governors who are able to drive the strategic direction within schools? 

Yes, this could include governors and other members of school leadership and governance. We recognise that governors can play an important part in driving strategic direction on space careers and STEM within schools. The exact role for governor engagement will be for the consortium and its members to design as part of their proposed delivery approach, but it is not excluded from the scope of teacher and educator support. 

Are community groups and families important audiences to reach, or is school engagement the main focus? 

Both. Schools engagement is a core part of ESERO-UK, but we also see the whole community around a young person, including families, community groups, museums and other informal learning settings, as an equally important part of the audience. Space to Inspire currently focuses on community, social and cultural engagement and Space to Learn is primarily schools-based; the intention for a refreshed ESERO-UK is to bring both work streams together so specialist organisations with experience of these audiences can co-deliver in and out of school. 

How can we ensure strong links to the space industry are built in?

Industry holds the space knowledge but is not always the education specialist, and schemes designed without industry can fail to work in practice. 

This is a critical point, and one we want the consortium model to enable. We would expect a strong bid to demonstrate how the consortium creates industry engagement. This will feed into the outcomes and activities we specify in the funding call. 

How will the UK Space Agency collect monitoring and evaluation data?

The successful applicant will be required to report regularly to the UK Space Agency and ESA on delivery progress, spend, risks, outputs, outcomes, reach, inclusion and agreed performance indicators. Final Key Performance Indicators, metrics and monitoring data will be agreed during mobilisation and formalised in the Grant Funding Agreement. Monitoring and evaluation will be embedded throughout delivery to understand what is working, for whom, in which settings and why, and to support continuous improvement. 

The UK Space Agency will monitor delivery, expenditure, risks, outputs, outcomes, reach, inclusion and agreed performance indicators through regular reporting and progress meetings. The successful applicant will also be expected to use evidence and feedback to improve delivery over time.

The UK Space Agency also may appoint an external monitoring and evaluation (M&E) consultancy to capture monitoring and evaluation M&E data and delivery findings for ESERO-UK. We ask that projects engage with the process, through surveys, interviews and information requests. The UK Space Agency reserves the right to update the information and indicators it requires grantees to report for the purposes of programme evaluation and benefits management during the project lifecycle.

Are we required to submit metrics?

Yes. The lead applicant will be responsible for coordinating reporting for the consortium as a whole. Final Key Performance Indicators, metrics and monitoring data will be agreed with UK Space Agency and ESA during mobilisation and formalised in the Grant Funding Agreement. Indicative measures are set out in the Call Guidance and cover programme delivery, equity and inclusion, young people’s learning and confidence, careers awareness, educator capability and employer engagement.

What scale of activity does the UK Space Agency expect? 

The UK Space Agency expects the programme to operate at a national scale and deliver significant reach and impact across the UK each year. 

As an indication of the scale of activity expected, UK Space Agency is seeking delivery that includes: 

• engagement with around 1,000–2,000 educators through professional development activity; 

• direct participation by more than 10,000 young people in challenges, competitions and related activities; 

• engagement with hundreds of thousands of young people through careers, enrichment and inspiration activity; 

• educational resources capable of reaching hundreds of thousands of learners through educator use; and 

• mobilisation of a substantial network of space sector volunteers, ambassadors and role models to support delivery. 

Applicants must demonstrate how their proposed programme will achieve this expected scale of delivery.

Eligibility and applicants

Are start-ups allowed to participate?  

Applications are welcomed from organisations that can demonstrate their ability to fulfil the objectives and requirements set out in the Call Guidance. Applications must be submitted by a consortium through an identified lead organisation, which will act as the single accountable body to the UK Space Agency. Start-ups are not excluded, but the lead applicant must provide sufficient evidence of its capability, capacity, financial management and governance arrangements to deliver a UK-wide, multi-year programme of this scale and complexity.

Can I resubmit a proposal that was rejected in a previous call? 

Yes, you may re-submit your proposal which will then go through the independent evaluation process when being considered for funding.  We recommend that any previous feedback is taken into consideration. 

Can a non-UK based organisation receive funding? 

A UK organisation must lead the consortium. A non-UK based organisation cannot receive national funding as the primary focus of the UK Space Agency is on the growth of the UK sector; therefore, any monies awarded cannot go outside the UK to a partner body.  If the proposed non-UK capability is essential the work can be subcontracted out, however the proposal must demonstrate clearly that this resource is not available in the UK. 

Does the organisational background information apply only to the lead organisation? 

No. All proposals must include organisational background information for all those involved, therefore including those put forward in collaboration. 

Who can submit an application?  

Applications must be submitted by the lead organisation on behalf of a consortium. The lead applicant must demonstrate that it has the capability, capacity and governance arrangements required to act as the accountable body for a UK-wide, multi-year programme of this scale and complexity. All consortium partners must be identified in the application and provide the required confirmation of their commitment.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm UK time, 20 January 2027 following the application guidance.

Does previous experience with the UK Space Agency confer any advantages or disadvantages on an applicant?  

No, applications will be scored on their individual merit. However, successful delivery of past government funded projects would be a beneficial factor to detail in reference to the project team’s experience. 

What is understood by staff cost?   

Costs should be applied for any staff that will be part of the project team/work regardless of employment status within the organisation (i.e.: short/long-term fixed or permanent contracts). However, any costs for project work done by sub-contractors must be declared as a separate cost to the project. Sub-contractors cannot be partners to the project and justification in the proposal would need to be clearly stated as to the requirement for use of sub-contractors.  

Please refer to the Call Guidance ‘Financial requirements’ and the UK Space Agency’s standard grant funding webpage for detail on “What costs will UK Space Agency grant funding cover?” 

Do all project staff have to be identified/hired prior to submitting the project application?   

No, not all staff have to be place/hired by submission of the proposal, but recruitment plans should indicate confidence that a position will be filled and the time required to do so must be contained within the project schedule.

Partnerships and consortia

Is there a way to link to others who are interested in joining a consortium? Would it be possible to share contact details with consent?   

We will not be part of the matching process between consortium members. We have shared contact details of the attendees to our market engagement events and webinars who consented to their details being shared, including organisation, scale of activity and the ESERO-relevant activities and audiences they work with. This was designed to give attendees jumping-off points to explore consortium partnerships.  However, it must be noted that our sharing of details does not represent an endorsement nor any other indication on behalf of the UK Space Agency bidders must undertake their own due diligence as to the suitability / capability of any consortia member or sub-contractor.

Can organisations bid in more than one consortium?   

Organisations can bid into more than one consortium, provided each bid delivers against the outcomes and requirements of the funding call.

Will there be any guidance about consortium building, e.g. the level of detail in EU Horizon tender processes?   

The UK Space Agency does not get involved in handling arrangements or agreements for consortia.  Consortium agreement templates are widely available.   

Are you trying to create a community vibe with the partners you work with, for example an ecosystem with quarterly meetings between consortium members?   

The UK Space Agency supports a collaborative consortium approach, but the lead organisation is responsible for proposing appropriate governance, decision-making and engagement arrangements for consortium members. The application must identify all consortium members and include the required letters of intent. Formal Collaboration Agreements do not need to be completed at application stage, but must be signed within six weeks of completing the Grant Funding Agreement and must flow down the relevant grant terms and conditions.

Can the UK Space Agency provide advice about any type of collaboration / partnership programme that the Agency is promoting?  

The Agency does not promote any particular collaboration although collaboration in essence is encouraged in projects. 

Are there minimum or maximum numbers of partners that can be in a project consortium? 

There are no minimum or maximum number of partners. However, we suggest each partner has a clear role within the project.  If you require more than 7 partner organisations please contact ESERO-UKgrantcall@DSIT.gov.uk in good time before the proposal submission date so that we can provide support with the Flexigrant application form limitations.

Is there a difference between a partner and a sub-contractor? 

Yes. If you are collaborating with another organisation or company, then they are your project partner and will be included in your proposal. 

If an organisation is collaborating in delivery as part of the project team, it should be identified as a consortium partner and included in the proposal. A subcontractor is a third-party organisation engaged to carry out essential work that requires expertise not available within the consortium and that it is not practical to develop in-house. Subcontractor appointments must be justified and demonstrate value for money.

Do all partners on the bid need to be identified or can they be found post bid success, with the guaranteed funding there to help bring them on board?  

All partners need to be identified and specified on the proposal Resolving collaboration agreements is often one of the key risks and can lead to significant delays and project failure so we strongly recommend having early discussions and agreements in place with partners. 

What is expected of a Project Lead?  

The project lead is the liaison between the project team and the UK Space Agency. They are expected to have comprehensive knowledge of work undertaken by their own and any partner organisations.    

The Lead Organisation is responsible for flow down of grant terms and conditions, due diligence of any partners and sub-contractors to ensure compliance with government wide and ESERO-UK grant specific funding rules. Milestone claims and payments will flow through the Lead Organisation who are responsible for checking parter claims are correct and disseminating payments. The Lead Organisation will be required to provide Post-award updates to support our monitoring and evaluation of the ESERO-UK programme for up to 7 years beyond the grant end, to allow us to follow-up on any long-term success.  

The Lead Applicant is the UK Space Agency’s main point of contact with the project and facilitates regular reporting and milestone reviews, in addition to ad hoc updates.  They should be confident reporting on technical progress, risk, budget and schedule, and should any of these areas indicate a change to the project plan, communicate early with the UK Space Agency to discuss ways forward. The Project Lead does not need to be the most experienced person in the project team but must ensure they have adequate time set aside for the role and authority within the team to relay information. The Project lead should be available to respond to queries from the point of proposal submission, through Pre-Award due diligence checks, completion of the project and until provision of the Independent Assurance Report. 

What are collaboration agreements?  

Collaboration Agreements should provide a flow-down of the UK Space Agency Grant Funding Agreement terms, explicitly define IP ownership and other terms of collaboration such as work schedules and payments.  

A collaboration agreement must be in place and shared with the UK Space Agency team by the lead organisation within six weeks of signing the Grant Funding Agreement. The Agency does not supply a template collaboration agreement or get involved in their negotiation – this is a matter for lead organisations and their project partners.   

Funding, costs, grant agreement and assurance

What format will the grant agreement take for any funded proposals, and can I adapt this to suit my proposal?  

We have provided a copy of our standard grant funding agreement. This is the document that will be used as the formal mechanism for any successful bidders to receive grant funding. Applicants are required to accept the main terms of this grant funding agreement when submitting your application.  

Applicants requesting changes to the agreement are required to submit a marked-up copy of the published grant funding agreement setting out the proposed variations, along with a justification for any amendment to the standard grant funding agreement terms via the Flexigrant portal. Please be aware that the UK Space Agency will only consider variations which are requested where the Applicant would be in breach of legal requirements or statutory regulations by complying with the clause, or series of clauses. 

Can we defer start dates or lengthen the project duration?  

Successful applicants should plan to begin delivery on 1 April 2027, with full delivery anticipated by September 2027, and to complete the funded programme by 31 March 2030. The grant may include provision for an extension period, but any extension would be subject to performance, funding availability and strategic requirements and would require a formal variation to the Grant Funding Agreement. Applicants should therefore not assume that an extension will be available.

Can a project be started before full proposal acceptance, if so, can payments be backdated?  

We do not advise starting at risk. Projects must start after Grant Funding Agreements have been awarded and the UK Space Agency will not backdate grant funding agreements or reimburse costs for work undertaken ahead of the Commencement Date in the Grant Funding Agreement.   

How should the overhead rate be managed?  

We understand that organisations calculate overheads in different ways.   

The Call Guidance and the Application Form Part B Finance Sheet template include notes on what information is required. Please refer to the ‘Financial Requirements’ of the Call Guidance document.    

• There are four options for overhead costs:   

• No overheads - You can select this option if you are not incurring or claiming grant for your overheads.   

• A 20% of labour costs option - allows you to claim 20% of your labour costs as overhead, which includes both direct and indirect overhead. Selecting this option allows us to review a successful grant application much faster as no further documentation is needed from you.   

• Academic institutions can submit overheads as part of their 80% full economic cost, which must be supported by a copy of your most recent approved TRAC methodology or suitable evidence to verify the legitimacy of the overheads request.

• The calculate overheads option - asks you to complete calculations for claiming direct and indirect overheads. Any value claimed under this method will need to be reviewed by our project finance team if your application is successful. This process allows us to assess the appropriateness of the overhead value you are claiming.   

Full overhead recovery or full absorption costing is not eligible.  

My organisation is not VAT registered; can we pass on VAT charges to UK Space Agency grant?  

Grants are not a payment for a service; they are provided without expectation of any return to the UK Space Agency. Grant funding is therefore outside the scope of VAT so you cannot charge output VAT on top of your submitted costs.  

However, organisations that are not registered for VAT may include VAT incurred within their costs and will be limited to reimbursement for pre-agreed project activities only. In some circumstances where VAT costs on items listed in the finance sheet cannot be reclaimed from other sources the UK Space Agency can consider this to be in scope. Please provide details on the Part B Finance Sheet Application Form: Instruments, Consumables and Equipment sheet including justification for why this cannot be reclaimed through any other route.  

Can staff cost be changed afterwards?  

Note that once a grant is awarded, the contribution to staff salaries cannot be increased in line with inflation or any other pay amendments. Please account for costs required for the full duration of your project and note you will only be able to claim for pay costs at the rates agreed in the proposal. The UK Space Agency will not increase the grant value or re-allocate budget to cover higher pay rates even if actual pay increases during the project duration.   

Costs for project work done by sub-contractors must be declared as a separate budget line classified as sub-contract costs. Sub-contractors cannot be partners to the project and justification in the proposal would need to be clearly stated as to the requirement for use of sub-contractors. 

How is funding scrutiny managed? Are we to expect financial scrutiny?   

At each milestone a finance report detailing breakdown of project spend by budget category is required and grant claims must be accompanied by evidence of spend (timesheets, receipts or similar) for all claimed items (from any budget category) over £500, or a minimum of the top three highest value items if none over £500, and any assets or asset improvement costs. Evidence of the values claimed may be requested at any time during the project or for 7 years following. We recommend you keep a file of all staff time sheets, receipts and sub-contracts.  

You will also be required to revisit the work package costs at any formal change, and project reviews, reporting on spend against profile and confidence in future spend values.  

Financial scrutiny extends beyond grant funded activity. The UK Space Agency must be satisfied that the recipient organisation is not in financial difficulties and must not provide rescuing or restructuring subsidies to ailing or insolvent enterprises so may request organisation level supporting information.   

What are the audit requirements on the grant?  

An independent reasonable assurance report is required as part of the total cost of the project. Confirmation will be required that the Grant Recipient has expended the sums in respect of the period in which the milestone payments have been claimed. For this purpose, a report must be completed within 6 months of the grant concluding. Reasonable assurance reports are an ineligible project cost (so can’t be claimed through the grant).  

As part of the UK Space Agency Grant Funding Agreements, recipients should keep project documentation for seven years following the completion of the grant. The UK Space Agency commissions audits of grant projects through the Government Internal Assurance Agency (GIAA) each year and the grants may be subject to this scrutiny at any time. 

Can I change the estimated costs?  

You are able to edit the estimated costs by financial year and matched funding information, up to the point of submission. Once the proposal has been submitted you cannot change the costings.

Applying through Flexigrant

How do I register for Flexigrant to apply for the ESERO-UK Call?  

Flexigrant is an online grant management tool being used to manage the ESERO-UK Call. To apply, you will need to register for Flexigrant via the Portal homepage - DSIT Grants. Once you have signed in you should be able to see on the Application Portal the details for applying to the ESERO-UK Call.   

Can I request multiple users to view the same application?  

You can enable the ‘application collaboration’ setting which allows the lead applicant to invite others (as long as you have a Flexigrant account) to view/complete the application with them. For instructions on this, select the Participants tab on the Summary page and add participants. This will then send an invite to collaborate on the application to the email address provided. The lead applicant is responsible for checking and submitting the final application. Collaborators or co-applicants can be deleted at any time during the application process. 

Do I need to add all collaborators and partners to the application?  

Yes. All consortium partners intended to deliver the project must be listed in the Organisation Details section of the Flexigrant application. A letter of intent from each consortium partner must be uploaded with the application to confirm its commitment and authorisation for the lead organisation to act on its behalf.

Can I work on the application over a period of time?  

Yes, as long as you submit before the proposal deadline on 23:59(GMT) 20 January 2027, you are welcome to edit your application and save progress as you go. The portal allows you to edit each part of the application at any time as follows:  

i. Main Details 

ii. Organisation Details 

iii. Estimated Costs  

iv. Proposal  

v. Letters of Support

vi. Declaration   

The portal times out after two hours. Please ensure you save progress as you go or have backed up answers elsewhere, so as not to lose any changes. 

Can I change the lead applicant details?  

The name of the individual creating the proposal on Flexigrant will be auto populated as the named contact at the top of page 1, in the Application forms. This cannot be amended. You must click ‘Edit’ and enter mandatory contact details before you are able to submit the forms. Messages sent via Flexigrant for administrative purposes, for example notifications regarding deadlines and proposal outcomes, will be sent to this contact.  

If you wish to name a different lead applicant, who will be responsible for communicating on the grant at later stages should it be successful, including any due diligence questions the UK Space Agency may ask, you can do so in each form where lead organisation details are requested.  

It is important that the named contact has the authority to submit on behalf of the lead organisation and reads and understands all the Call documents including the Call Guidance document before applying.  

If the named contact is no longer available, please contact the fund administrators and we will send further instruction on how to proceed with the application. 

Do I have to attach images and documents to the application form?  

A structure diagram identifying the roles and relationships between the consortium parties is mandatory. Letters of support from any project partners are also mandatory. Image/diagrams in support of other part of the application process are optional.  

Attachments should be uploaded to the Flexigrant portal where requested on the application form.  

You may edit/delete attachments at any point during the live application. 

Is Flexigrant compatible with Assistive Technology?  

No, Flexigrant is not compatible with Assistive technology. If you have accessibility requirements, or continue to have significant difficulties completing your application online using Flexigrant, please contact ESERO-UKgrantcall@DSIT.gov.uk before the deadline.   

Can we fill out the Word version of the application form?  

You may use the downloadable application form as a reference document or for drafting purposes. However, any application submissions using the offline form will not be accepted, and only those through the Flexigrant portal will be reviewed.    

You have the option of downloading your application form as a pdf document should you wish to keep an offline copy of your application, although all communications on the progress of your application will be managed through Flexigrant portal. 

I realised I missed out a section of the application after submitting, can I please recall and complete it?  

Once your application has been submitted, it is not possible recall the application and send a different version or edit it post-submission. Mandatory sections will be highlighted for completion and the application cannot be submitted without completion. All submissions are final, and multiple applications of the same proposal will not be accepted and the first submission taken as final. Please ensure that you check all the details in your application and all sections are ticked or completed before submission.