Guidance

UK Space Agency - Space Florida Space Innovation Partnership Call Guidance

Published 29 September 2026

Introduction

The goal of the Space Florida – UK Space Agency Space Innovation Partnership is to promote joint R&D collaboration amongst companies in the State of Florida and the United Kingdom.  The partnership builds on the longstanding UK-US relationship, translating our shared commitment to innovation and economic growth into new commercial opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.

Proposals are welcome on any area of the space sector, but the following areas are of particular interest between the UK and Florida:

• In-orbit servicing and manufacturing
• Space transportation
• Satellite systems
• In-space research
• Advanced exploration technologies

The UK Space Agency and Space Florida call aims to stimulate collaborative innovation between UK and Florida space organisations, accelerating the development and commercialisation of cutting-edge space technologies. The call will support projects with strong market potential, strengthen bilateral relationships, and help organisations access opportunities within respective space ecosystems.

Awardees will be funded directly by their home country’s delivery partner, in line with its own rules and procedures: UK companies will be funded by the UK Space Agency, and Florida companies will be funded by Space Florida.

Funding available totals £150,000 from the UK Space Agency and $200,000 from Space Florida. Up to two projects are expected to be funded, each with a total value of £150,000/$200,000, including contributions of up to £75,000 (UKSA) and $100,000 (SF).

Mode of Collaboration

To be eligible to apply for a grant, applicants must be a partnership consisting of at least one for-profit Florida company and one for-profit UK company. Companies are required to comply with the application requirements and programme conditions respective to each funding jurisdiction. Participation of research institutions/universities are welcome to participate in projects in accordance with each jurisdiction’s funding regulations.

Schedule

Item	Time and Date Due
Call closes	11 January Applications* should be submitted to Florida by 5:00 pm, eastern time. Applications* should be submitted to UK Space Agency by 3:00 pm UK time. *One joint and identical submission should be submitted to both funders
Evaluation period	Jan-March 2027
Grants begin	03-May

Application Evaluation Criteria

Space Florida and the UK Space Agency will independently assess applications submitted by eligible Florida and UK applicants following the submission deadline. After completing their evaluations, both organisations will jointly determine whether a proposal should be recommended for funding.

All proposals will be assessed against the following criteria and weighting.

QUESTION	CRITERIA	ASSESSMENT CONSIDERATIONS	WEIGHTING
1	Commercialisation & Growth Potential	Quality of the route to market; likelihood of securing customers, contracts or investment; scalability of the solution / business model; potential to generate sustainable commercial activity beyond the grant period.	30%
2	Partnership and Delivery Capability	Strength of the UK–Florida collaboration; complementary expertise of the partners; credibility of the workplan; ability to deliver the proposed outputs within time, budget and technical constraints. Costs should deliver Value for Money and be supported by robust financial accounting practices.	30%
3	Technical Merit & Strategic Relevance	Strength of the technology or service being developed; degree of innovation; IP; alignment with the UK Space Agency and Space Florida priorities; potential to address a recognised market, operational or strategic challenge.	20%
4	Benefits	Expected direct and indirect benefits to the UK and Florida space ecosystems, including business growth, job creation, inward investment, supply chain development, capability building and long-term collaboration between organisations in both regions. As well as any wider spillover effects that strengthen skills, innovation, and commercialisation across other sectors and regions.	20%
		Total	100%

Each question will be scored from 0 to 5 (with 0.5-point increments where appropriate) using the assessment criteria below. Scores will be weighted according to the percentage allocation for each question to produce an overall score. Proposals will then be ranked, reviewed by the funders, and applicants notified of the final funding decisions.

Evaluation Criteria Scoring

(5) Excellent
Comprehensive, compelling and fully evidenced response to the criterion. Demonstrates exceptional alignment with the aims of the call and clear strategic relevance to both UK Space Agency and Space Florida priorities. Provides strong evidence of innovation, a credible delivery plan, a robust UK-Florida partnership, significant commercial potential, and substantial benefits to both ecosystems. Risks are well understood and mitigated, value for money is clearly demonstrated, and there is very high confidence that the project will successfully deliver impactful and sustainable outcomes.

(4) Good
Strong response to the criterion, with clear alignment to the aims of the call and good supporting evidence. Demonstrates a credible approach, strong partnership, realistic delivery plan, and clear potential for commercial and wider economic benefits. Minor weaknesses or gaps are present but do not materially undermine confidence in successful delivery or impact.

(3) Satisfactory
 Adequately addresses the criterion and meets the requirements of the call. Alignment, delivery approach, partnership arrangements, commercial potential or anticipated benefits are described with some supporting evidence. However, aspects lack detail, robustness, or supporting justification, resulting in moderate confidence in delivery and impact.

(2) Weak
Partially addresses the criterion but contains significant gaps, weaknesses, or insufficient evidence. Strategic alignment, technical credibility, partnership arrangements, commercialisation plans, delivery feasibility or anticipated benefits are unclear or underdeveloped. Concerns exist regarding the likelihood of achieving the proposed objectives.

(1) Poor
Fails to provide a convincing response against the criterion. Limited evidence of alignment with the call objectives, insufficient detail regarding delivery, partnership, commercialisation, benefits, or value for money. Serious concerns exist regarding feasibility, credibility, or the ability to deliver meaningful outcomes.

(0) Unacceptable / Not Evidenced
Criterion not addressed, response contains insufficient information for assessment, or no evidence is provided to demonstrate that the proposed project meets the requirements of the call.

Funding Process

Please note that different payment arrangements apply to UK and Florida project partners.

Contact details for more information:

Space Florida	IAIF@spaceflorida.gov
UK Space Agency	UKSA.ibf@dsit.gov.uk

Important notice:

The Bilateral Application Form – Annex A is identical for all applicants – whether applying through Space Florida or the UK Space Agency. The Bilateral Application Form – Annex A should be written in partnership, and checks will be undertaken to ensure the information is consistent across applications to the UK Space Agency and Space Florida.

Funding for Florida companies:

Space Florida provides grants up to $100,000 per award as detailed on the Space Florida website.

Space Florida and the UK Space Agency have full discretion and authority to determine:

1. Which applicants, if any, receive grants under this program
2. The amounts of such grants, and
3. Whether material changes to the project, as described in the application submittal documents, are cause for rescission of a portion or the entire grant award.

Submission of an application does not guarantee an award or receipt of any grant funding under this program.

Funding for UK companies:

UK Space Agency funding is paid in arrears against the successful completion of agreed milestones and deliverables, rather than in advance of expenditure. UKSA will work closely with UK grant recipients throughout the project to ensure that these payment arrangements are well understood and do not adversely affect project delivery, cash flow, or timelines.

The UK Space Agency provides grants up to £75,000 for each project, which will provide a contribution towards project costs based on the UK guidelines for subsidy control, therefore match funding is expected for UK applicants.

Funding Eligibility & Awards

Florida Funding Eligibility

In Florida, failure to clearly demonstrate eligibility prerequisites will result in disqualification of the proposal. Companies will not have the opportunity to submit additional information to prove eligibility after the submission date has passed.

For-profit corporations or limited liability companies, must provide clear documentation that they satisfy two (2) out of three (3) of the following activities located in Florida: business operations, research & development, or manufacturing, which are defined as follows:

• Business Operations: a Florida-based location where the company employees conduct business activities. Company must be a registered business in Florida.

• Research & Development: activities related to research of relevant existing and new technologies, and development of these products into new and improved products,

• Manufacturing: activities related to the assembly, test and inspection of the company’s products.

All funding eligibility decisions made by Space Florida are final and will not be subject to review.

Universities and research institutions can apply as subcontractors. Research projects should focus on the aerospace/related areas listed above.

Florida Grant Awards

Space Florida intends to provide grant awards under the following terms and in accordance with funding jurisdiction requirements.

Project Duration:    12 months

Project Funding Amount:  $100,000.00 is available for each Florida project team.

Additional Information:

Companies that are selected for funding will need to enter into a binding grant agreement with Space Florida that specifies the amount of the company’s contribution and identifies milestones/deliverables, prior to receiving a formal grant award and being able to draw funds against it. Terms and conditions are not subject to negotiations.

Annexes attached to this Call for Florida applicants are as follows:

• Annex A – UKSA Space Florida Joint Bilateral Application Form
• Annex B – UKSA SPace Florida Joint Cooperation Agreement
• Annex C – Space Florida Grant Agreement Template
• Annex D – not used for USA applicants.
• Annex E – not used for USA applicants.
• Annex F - not used for USA applicants.
• Annex G - not used for USA applicants.

UK Funding Eligibility

For UK companies, eligibility and conditions of funding is in line with standard UK Space Agency terms and conditions and grant funding agreements. Further information is available in Annex E (GFA).

UK Grant Awards

In the UK, the UK Space Agency intends to provide grant awards to UK recipients in line with UK Space Agency funding regulations, more information on this and the grant funding agreement is available in Annex E.

Grant duration: 12 months

Grant Funding Amount: £75,000 is available for each UK project team.

Annexes attached to this Call for UK applicants are as follows:

• Annex A – UKSA Space Florida Joint Bilateral Application Form

• Annex B – UKSA Space Florida Joint Cooperation Agreement
• Annex C - not used for UK applicants.
• Annex D - UKSA National Security Questionnaire
• Annex E – UKSA Grant Funding Agreement Template
• Annex F - UKSA Subsidy Controls
• Annex G - UKSA Application form Part B – Finance Sheet

Space Florida – Funding Guidelines

Property of Space Florida:

All information submitted by a Florida company will become part of the project file and, unless otherwise exempt or confidential in accordance with Florida law, will become a public record. All information will become the property of Space Florida and will not be returned.

Florida Due Diligence:

Space Florida will carry out due diligence on grant applications as required using internal subject matter experts. The scope and degree of due diligence will be determined by the nature, technical complexity, and delivery risk of the grant application.

Florida Applicant’s Cost to Develop Proposal:

Costs for developing proposals responsive to this program are entirely the obligations of the applicant and shall not be chargeable in any manner to Space Florida. Space Florida reserves the right not to award a contract.

UK Space Agency – Funding Guidelines

The anticipated start date for successful projects is 3 May 2027. Projects should be prepared for a prompt start with the relevant technical and project management resources, allowing for any required recruitment to take place within the project schedule proposed.

Proposals must outline a practical and credible delivery plan with clearly defined milestones that demonstrate progressive achievement of the project’s technical, commercial and programme management objectives, ensuring deliverables and payments are not disproportionately weighted in the final months of the project.

Milestones should be scheduled at appropriate intervals throughout the project, aligned with the planned progression of the work, to support effective project delivery while addressing applicant cash flow needs; however, projects should not exceed six milestones per year.

Milestones should be based on clearly defined technical, commercial or programme management deliverables, with objective, measurable and proportionate acceptance criteria that provide clear evidence of successful completion. Milestones and acceptance criteria should be agreed between the UK and Florida teams to ensure no delays.

Grant funding is offered on a cost recovery basis only. Payments will only be made once evidence of successfully delivered milestones has been provided. Agreed deliverables will be reviewed by the UK Space Agency against acceptance criteria before payments are disbursed, selected evidence of spend (receipts, invoices, timesheets – as relevant) will also be required.

Funding for the IBF is provided in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the Act) Streamlined Scheme for Research, Development and Innovation. As such, all enterprises included in the project consortium are required to provide match funding at the minimum levels outlined in Annex F “UK Only – Subsidy Controls”.

UK Grant Funding Limitations

• This grant scheme complies with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and awards are made under the Streamlined Route for Research, Development and Innovation. Companies applying for this funding will need to demonstrate they meet eligibility requirements for this scheme, including not having received previous project funding in excess of the cumulation caps within the scheme (£3 million). Further information on eligibility requirements is listed in Section 9 (Subsidy Control). More guidance can be found here.
• 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.
• IBF funding is constrained by financial year funding limits and cannot allow slips in financial profiling across financial years. The financial year is from 1st April to 31st 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.
• The UK Space Agency does 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.
• Terms and conditions set out in the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) will govern the grant awards with no scope to make material changes, including to liability levels. Minor changes may be considered if an applicant can demonstrate that agreeing to the provision within the GFA would result in the applicant breaching its statutory or regulatory obligations. Requests for changes must be made at application stage.
• 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 assessors and 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 to UKSA.ibf@dsit.gov.uk that we have received this information.
• Questions or clarifications can be directed to UKSA.ibf@dsit.gov.uk.The UK Space Agency will not respond to questions asking for applications to be reviewed ahead of the submission deadline or clarification questions directed to any other email address.

UK Grant Reporting

The grant holder will be required to undertake a review meeting to be held at appropriate points such as project kick off, quarterly and final review which cover:

• schedule
• risk
• finance (spend to date, any variation on upcoming spend)
• achievement against project goals as set out in the Grant Funding Agreement, including technical progress and achievement against agreed milestone acceptance criteria.
• realised benefits in areas relevant to each project, including but not limited to project-specific metrics such as job creation and skills, knowledge generation and exploitation, global leadership, inspiration and increased follow-on revenue.
• 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, project delivery, technical achievements, actual outcomes, lessons learned, benefits, communication and outreach, exploitation activities, next steps. The final report should describe the project’s contribution to the development or strengthening of UK strategic capability, including technical, commercial and wider sector impacts where appropriate.

UK 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 nature, technical complexity, and delivery risk of your grant. All applications will be subject to basic checks such as credit reports and Companies House checks and may be subject to additional security, or delivery assurance checks where appropriate. 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 confirming that appropriate governance, technical oversight and financial management arrangements are in place.

UK Grant Funding Agreement Requirements

The Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) template is included in the application pack as a separate document. Applicants must sign up to the terms as set out in the GFA 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 GFA 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 application, with a marked up copy of the GFA. 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 have been expensed on agreed project related expenditure and comply to the UK Space Agency’s 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, any supporting evidenced as deemed necessary, such as:

• 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.