Notice

NSIP Call 3: Announcement of Opportunity

Published 20 July 2026

1. Introduction 

1.1. National Space Innovation Programme – Call 3  

The UK Space Agency (UKSA), part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) invites proposals for UK-based research and development projects that will deliver innovative space technologies, applications and services through the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP). NSIP provides co-funded grant support to derisk high-reward R&D projects with a clear target market.  

NSIP operates open funding calls for all space-related technologies under two strands: NSIP Kick Starter that supports highly disruptive early-stage innovations, and NSIP Major Projects which emphasizes commercialisation and growth of particularly lucrative ideas from UK businesses, universities and research organisations. Combined, these grant mechanisms provide an end-to-end support package to move great ideas across the “valley of death” and towards commercial success.  

NSIP Call 3 will expand the NSIP portfolio of innovative R&D projects that meet the programme’s objectives to: catalyse investment into the UK space sector, capture market growth, raise Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) of priority space capabilities, and position UK space activities closer to commercial and scientific exploitation.

1.2. Funding Available  

Through NSIP Call 3, the UK Space Agency intends to award up to £20m of funding via co-funded grants.  

Applicants may apply for the following funding and project durations: 

• Kick Starter proposals may request grant funding between £150,000 and £1,000,000 with a maximum duration of 30 months. Kick Starter projects are roughly defined as early stage (TRL 1-4) with an emphasis on highly disruptive or novel proposals. 

• Major Projects proposals may request grant funding between £150,000 and £2,000,000 with a maximum duration of 30 months. Major Projects should achieve high TRLs (5-9) with an emphasis on commercialisation and catalysing investment.

It is anticipated that with up to £20m of funding available, between 15-30 grants will be awarded. Beyond those initially awarded, a small pool of reserve list proposals for each stream will be kept in case additional funding becomes available or to replace any project that fails due diligence. As UKSA expects a very high level of interest in this funding call, a two-stage process will be conducted: an Outline Proposal stage and a Full Proposal stage. Those successful at Outline Proposal stage will be invited to submit a Full Proposal. We expect to invite Full Proposals from approximately 50 applicants.

2. Objectives, Scope and Key Information

2.1. Call Objectives 

Strategic Goals

NSIP contributes to the UK Space Agency’s Space Ecosystem – a foundational area described by the Space Strategy - as a key mechanism to support the government’s goals to:

1. Grow the UK space economy – increasing the space sectors’ capability to innovate, attract private capital needed to scale up and ultimately, increase the rate of commercialisation of UK developed space products and services.  

2. Make the UK one of the best places globally to start up and grow a space business.

Through NSIP grants, UKSA aims to: 

• Catalyse investment: leverage private investment and secure contract and sales revenue into the UK space sector of 5-8 times the value of NSIP investment. 

• Drive innovation: support an average improvement in Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 2 or more for supported projects, as measured over the lifetime of each project. 

• Capture market share: support a generation of new products and services that are sold into the fastest growing and highest potential space markets.

We welcome promising innovations from any part of the space sector to apply for support, though we are would particularly encourage proposals aligned to the Government’s priority subsectors announced at Space Comm Expo in March 2026:  

• Space Domain Awareness 

• In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing 

• Assured Access to Space 

• Satellite Communication Technology. 

Although NSIP primarily supports R&D for civil uses of space, defence-related projects are within scope. In particular NSIP welcomes proposals that address requirements of the Defence Highly Assured Technical Areas as set out in annex to the Space Industrial Plan.

Call 3 Thematic Focus

Although most of the funding available through this funding call will be open allowing proposals on any space technology, application or service, UKSA intends to strategically target up to 40% of the Call 3 budget on two priority technology areas (~20% each). These are Space Domain Awareness and In-Orbit Assembly and Manufacture. In support of these themes, we welcome projects that seek to deliver capabilities that address the following points:

Space Domain Awareness

The below list is solution-agnostic, proposals could involve technology, sensors, software, modelling, analysis, innovative tools or techniques etc. 

Examples of projects that would fit within this theme include: 

• Positive identification of satellites - able to derive characterisation information to define a Resident Space Object’s identity with respect to an RSO catalogue 

• Satellite payload identification (incl. Subsystems) - able to derive characterisation information on activity of a Resident Space Object’s payloads and subsystems 

• Fault/anomaly detection incl. Damage assessment - able to derive characterisation information which enables the detection of faults and/or anomalies on board a Resident Space Object 

• RSO pointing vector/attitude and rotation axis - able to derive characterisation information on a Resident Space Object’s pointing vector and/or attitude; on its effective rotation rate and/or rotation axis 

• Construction Materials and mass estimation - able to derive characterisation information on a Resident Space Object’s construction materials and mass properties 

• Payload activity - able to derive characterisation information of a Resident Space Object’s payload activity 

• Electro-Magnetic (EM) activity - able to derive characterisation information on an RSO’s electromagnetic activity

In-Orbit Assembly and Manufacture

Selection of assembly and manufacturing proposals for investment should be driven by identified customer needs, rather than a technology-push approach. 

Examples of projects that would fit within this theme include: 

• Robotics and AI-enabled control systems to support remote manipulation and in-orbit assembly tasks (e.g. handling, moving, aligning, mating/de-mating components), including adapting existing systems from other sectors and advancing capabilities to TRL 6+, especially in low-cost, high-reliability solutions. 

• Methods for assembling structures in space, including material handling, welding, and joining/fastening. 

• Additive manufacturing techniques for in-orbit fabrication of structures and components (where required by system architecture studies). 

• In-Orbit Manufacturing payload development. 

• In-situ test equipment and techniques to verify and validate manufactured products in the space environment. 

• Re-entry and return capabilities for products manufactured in space for use on Earth.

2.2. Scope 

Proposals are sought for innovative research and development projects that progress the Technology Readiness Level and commercialisation of novel concepts, technological step-change, new technologies, satellite applications or space-related service developments, or establishing new academic/industrial research collaborations targeting emerging disruptive technologies and business models.  

Examples of acceptable activities include, but are not limited to: 

• Innovative and/or emerging technology research and development – proof of concept, testing targeting emerging disruptive technologies or novel markets. 

• Prototyping or engineering model with relevant environment testing. 

• Adapting technology from a non-space use to provide disruptive advancement or make significant efficiencies with space application. 

• Prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions where the primary objective is to make further technical improvements. 

• System/subsystem model, application, service demonstration. 

• Flight qualification through test and demonstration (ground or space). 

• Prove out of flight qualified system through successful mission operations.

Proposals must be clearly identifiable as space-related innovation, with a space-based use case or with a strong space component. NSIP welcomes proposals from adjacent sectors who aim to enter the space sector, but projects that fail to meet the space-specific criteria will be rejected as ineligible. 

As a national programme, proposals must be UK based, led by UK based organisations with clear national benefit. Projects can include non-domestic partners (including those within the EU) who bring their own funding. No grant funding is available in this call for organisations outside the UK. Applicants should note that all applicants, irrespective of geographic location, must still satisfy the core eligibility requirements set out in this call guidance and award will be subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence checks.  

Projects must have clearly defined and tangible outputs and benefits measurable against success criteria showing progress towards technical, project and commercial goals. 

Some examples of previous successful proposals can be found on our website.

2.3. Important Information for Applicants 

• NSIP Call 3 will utilise an online portal for applications; the “Flexigrant” system will be used to manage the end-to-end application process, including submission of Expressions of Interest (EOIs), outline proposals, and full proposals, as well as the review and assessment of applications. Applicants are required to register for the Flexigrant portal in advance of submission and can do so here. For additional questions not covered in the FAQs or technical support on the Flexigrant portal please contact UKSA.NSIP@dsit.gov.uk . 

• The anticipated start date for successful projects is 1 April 2027. All projects must be fully completed by 30 September 2029. Projects planning to use the full 30-month duration should be prepared to start promptly in April, allowing for any required recruitment activity to take place within the project schedule and be aware that extensions requests beyond the end date are unlikely to be successful. 

• Proposals will be selected for funding through a two-stage process. An initial short Outline Proposal will be reviewed against the assessment questions set out in this call guidance. Successful proposals at that stage will then be invited to complete the Full Proposal documentation and proceed to detailed review against the full assessment questions.  Feedback on unsuccessful proposals will be provided. 

• Although it is not mandatory, applicants are strongly urged to complete and submit an “Expression of Interest” via the Flexigrant link by the 7 August 2026, a link to which can be found here.  The form requests the project title, and a short description of the project. EOIs will not be scored and are requested only to support the NSIP team to understand demand and organise an appropriate pool of independent external assessors.  

• The Flexigrant application portal will close at 11:59pm on Friday 21 August for Outline Proposals, any applications not submitted by this time will not be accepted. Details on the full timeline and application stages are set out in the “Call and Delivery Timeline” section 3 below. 

• Grant funding (exclusive of match funding contributions) per project is expected to range from £150k to £1m for Kick Starter and from £150k to £2m for Major Projects. In exceptional circumstances, UK Space Agency reserves the right to adjust the value or duration of the grant funding available.  

• Applications from industry are limited to one per lead organisation per scheme (Kick Starter and/or Major Projects). Academic institutions and Research Organisations may submit up to three proposals per scheme. A lead organisation is defined as the organisation submitting the application and who is responsible for delivery of the Grant.
  • Due to the high number of applications received in NSIP Call 1 and Call 2 this limit aims to maximise submission of high-quality proposals, aid swift assessment, and increase the success rate for applicants.
  • Please note the limit on application numbers will be determined by the lead organisation submitting the application and will not prevent partners/collaborators involved in other applications submitting their own proposals as a lead organisation. If organisations fail to adhere to the limit the NSIP team will endeavour to confirm which of the proposals should be assessed but will otherwise accept those in order that they were submitted. Please engage any colleagues within your organisation who may apply to NSIP to coordinate and prioritise your submissions.  
  • The larger allowance of applications from academic and research organisations has been given to recognise the distinct and varied areas of space technology covered across their departments.

• A detailed FAQs document can be found in the call document pack. Any further clarification required can be directed to UKSA.NSIP@dsit.gov.uk UKSA will not respond to questions asking for applications to be reviewed ahead of the submission deadline. 

• All proposals should include regular milestones to address applicant cash flow needs; however, applications should not exceed 6 milestones per year. Where possible, capital costs and long lead items should be brought forward. Initial milestones may not be earlier that 1st April 2027 and must represent a material progression stage of the project. 

• Projects should plan to commence work from the 1st of April 2027, however the NSIP team will work with successful applicants to determine whether a delayed kick-off can be achieved within the available time to allow for essential recruitment or to secure internal investment or if an earlier start date is feasible. Delay to start dates has no bearing against the assessment scoring.  

• Collaboration Agreements between project leads and partners must be signed within 6 weeks of completing the Grant Funding Agreement. Failure to do so risks termination of the grant. Collaboration Agreements must flow down grant terms and conditions and should include provisions regarding how the results of the work, including any IPR and spinouts, will be exploited by project partners. It is the responsibility of the lead organisation to ensure suitable Collaboration Agreements are drafted and agreed – UKSA will not provide advice on these documents. 

• Letters of Support (LoS) from project partners are a mandatory part of the application process for projects who intend to have collaboration.   

• Grant funding is offered on a cost recovery basis only. Payments will only be made once evidence of successfully delivered milestones has been provided.  

• Applications will be assessed against NSIP’s grant assessment questions, which are published with this Call. Please note that question weighting differs between Kick Starter and Major Project applications and between outline and full proposal stages.

• Successful applicants will be required to provide baseline data at the point of award and to participate in ongoing outcomes monitoring during delivery and following project completion.

Grant Funding Limitations  

• Funding for NSIP Call 3, through both Kick Starter and Major Projects is provided in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the Act) Streamlined Scheme for Research, Development and Innovation. As such, enterprises are required to provide match funding at the minimum levels outlined in Section 9 of this document and satisfy the requirements of this scheme. Companies wishing to apply will need to demonstrate eligibility to this scheme- including not having received previous project funding that is in excess of the cumulation caps (£3m) identified within the scheme. More guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subsidy-control-act-2022-streamlined-routes 

• NSIP 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. 

• UKSA do 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.  

• UKSA reserves the right to reject proposals if they are outside of the call remit, do not contain all of the required information, do not use the provided templates, if they are clearly frivolous/spurious, or do not provide sufficient information for assessment. 

• 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 independent expert panel to allow them to carry out their assessment. 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 from UKSA via UKSA.NSIP@dsit.gov.uk that we have received this information.   

• Please note that the pay costs submitted in your provided budget breakdown will apply for the full duration of the project and the UK Space Agency will not approve any requests to uplift pay rates, even if actual pay increases during the life of the project. For the avoidance of doubt, if actual pay increases, any increase will be borne by the recipient as an increased match funding contribution and any requests to re-allocate or increase grant funding to increase pay costs will be rejected, including any costed increase should not exceed published indexation values for academics. 

3. Delivery Timeline

The following schedule sets out the timing of processes for this funding call. Please note that each deadline may be subject to change in the event of operational constraints. We will notify applicants by email should this occur. 

Call Opens	20th July 2026
Expression of Interest Submission Deadline	7th August 2026
Outline Proposal Submission Deadline	23:59 on Friday 21st August 2026
Outline Proposal Selection concludes / Full Proposals Invited	Monday 5th October 2026
Call Closes (Full Proposal Submission Deadline)	23:59 Thursday 12th November 2026
Successful Applicants Notified	Monday 8th February 2027
Project Kick-off	From 1st April 2027
Projects Conclude	No later than 30th September 2029

4. Eligibility Requirements 

All successful proposals must meet UKSA’s eligibility criteria for grant funding, which are set out online under the heading “Are there any eligibility requirements I must meet to receive funding?”.   

4.1. Project Requirements

• Grant recipients should be prepared to kick off by 1st April 2027 or propose a start date in the application form which allows the project to have concluded by 30th September 2029 at the latest. The start date is dependent on completion of UK Space Agency due diligence checks. These checks require timely applicant involvement to avoid delays to project kick off.  

• The following project management responsibilities will be required:

  a. Engage with the NSIP team to complete due diligence checks ahead of project commencement, providing additional information if requested and facilitating swift communication between any supporting teams (i.e. finance, legal, partners).

  b. The grant recipient, a representative from their finance team (and project partners) will attend a kick-off meeting to initiate the project.   

  c. The grant recipient will schedule a mid-term review meeting with the UK Space Agency at an appropriate time to review project progress. 

  d. The grant recipient will define milestone deliverables and associated dates within the proposal using the template provided.  

  e. The grant recipient will provide details of project risks and reduction activities which will include detail of additional time included in the Schedule for risk mitigation, risk related cost included against any budgeted items and best/worst case project outcomes. Risk consideration should also include technical, commercial and supply chains. 

  f. The grant recipient will provide regular updates on the risk and issues register via the monthly reporting tool (template provided) and communicate any realised risk or issues in a timely manner so that the UKSA grant manager may have oversight of mitigating actions and confirm these are acceptable to UKSA. 

  g. The grant recipient will provide evidence of successfully meeting the milestone, supporting financial reports and other deliverables agreed in their Grant Funding Agreement in accordance with the agreed milestone schedule.  

  h. In addition to the financial claim details in the completed milestone reporting template 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.  Full evidence to support all claims may be required at any time so supporting evidence of spend must be retained throughout the grant duration and for 10 years following the grant end date. 

  i. Confirmation is required that the Grant Recipient has expended funds in respect of the period in which milestone payments have been claimed. For this purpose, an independent assurance report must be completed and sent to UKSA within 6 months of the end of the grant. As per the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement, it is not possible to claim the cost of this report.   

  j. As a public funding body, UKSA grants may be audited at any time which can involve information requests to project teams. Grant recipients are required to comply with these requests as part of the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement. Audit costs are not eligible to be claimed under the grant. 

  k. The grant recipient will provide information to NSIP relating to monitoring and evaluation activity for the duration of the project and up to 10 years following, whether conducted by UK Space Agency or by a third party.

4.2. Reporting Requirements 

Projects are required to report to UK Space Agency to provide confidence in project management, financial probity, to share successes and to inform NSIP internal reporting. 

For the avoidance of doubt, reporting for delivery purposes is distinct from outcomes monitoring, which is undertaken separately and solely for programme and portfolio‑level evaluation.

Reporting Schedule 

• Monthly delivery updates using the Monthly & Milestone reporting template provided in the template Grant Funding Agreement at Annex 14. This focuses on progress, risk, finance, and milestone delivery. 

• Periodic leading indicator updates, captured via a short, structured check to provide early signals of outcomes (e.g. technical progress via TRL, route-to-market signals). These are not a measure of performance. UKSA reserves the right to update the information and indicators it requires grantees to report for the purposes of programme evaluation and benefits management. 

• A minimum of 3 core meetings: kick off, mid-term review and final review at which reports are provided on:

  • Schedule 

  • Risk 

  • Finance (Spend to date, any variation on upcoming spend) 

  • Achievement against project goals as set out in the Grant Funding Agreement 

  • Realised Benefits (e.g. training and knowledge exchange, publications and knowledge dissemination, spin-out opportunities) 

  • Progress against Outcomes Monitoring and Evaluation Plans.

• Other meetings – e.g.  technology demonstration or milestones. Please resource appropriately for at least 1 in-person and 1 virtual meeting per year, more if indicated by your project plan.  

• The grant recipient will provide a final project report including but not limited to; an executive summary, delivery, actual outcomes, lessons learned, benefits, communication and outreach, next steps. The executive summary should be IPR free and not contain any confidential information, as it may be uploaded onto the UK Space Agency website.

• Milestone reviews, supported by the Monthly & Milestone report template, acceptance of deliverables and reporting results in milestone payment being released.  

• Additional reporting may be required to support individual projects, discussed on a case-by-case basis with the UKSA grant manager.

Programme‑level outcomes monitoring 

UK Space Agency undertakes outcomes monitoring to support programme‑ and portfolio‑level evaluation and benefits management. As a condition of funding, successful applicants will be required to: 

• complete a baseline data return around the point of grant award, capturing organisational and project-level information against outcome indicators; 

• provide periodic updates against the same indicators during project delivery and at project completion; and 

• participate in light touch post-completion outcomes monitoring, where requested, including responding to surveys and interviews and providing updated organisational data 

• The specific indicators, frequency of reporting, and duration of post-project monitoring will be confirmed by UKSA and set out in the Grant Funding Agreement. 

Note that outcomes monitoring: 

• is not a measure of project‑level performance; 

• does not form part of milestone approval; and 

• is undertaken solely to support evaluation and learning across the NSIP portfolio. 

Further detail is provided in the Grant Funding Agreement (Annex 12). UKSA reserves the right to update the information and indicators it requires grantees to report for the purposes of programme evaluation and benefits management.

4.3. Financial Requirements  

Grant funding is offered on a cost recovery basis only. This means grant funding must only be used to cover the cost of delivering the agreed activity or goal as set out in the project plan and payment of pre-agreed costs will only be made after successful milestone review confirms agreed goals have been fully achieved. Any surplus funds not spent will be lost to the project unless there are alternative arrangements agreed in advance of spend. You can find details about what costs our grant funding can and cannot be used for on our standardised grants Gov.uk page, under the section headed “What costs will UK Space Agency grant funding cover”.

If you are seeking to claim calculated overheads, you must complete the overhead section of Application Form Part A (please see Section 10 for further advice on completing this sheet).  When claiming calculated overheads, we may request to see evidence of costs incurred for verification purposes prior to releasing any payments.

4.4. Grant Funding Agreement Requirements 

The Grant Funding Agreement template is included as a separate document. Applicants must sign up to the terms as set out in the Grant Funding Agreement 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 Grant Funding Agreement 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 Full Proposal application, ideally with a marked-up copy of the Grant Funding Agreement. 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: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/754555/2018-11-06_Code_of_Conduct_for_Grant_Recipients.pdf

All projects in receipt of grant funding may be subject to an external annual audit to ensure that costs claimed from the grant funding are eligible, have been incurred on agreed project related expenditure and comply to UKSA grant funding policies (e.g. match funding). Projects are selected for audit using a risk-based approach. The auditor will be appointed by UKSA. All subcontractors and partners must provide access to project relevant expenditure. Therefore, grant recipients must maintain, and be able to provide upon request for up to 10 years, any supporting evidenced as deemed necessary, including: 

• 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) 

UKSA reserves the right to conduct ad-hoc audits throughout the life of the project.

5. Guidance for Preparing an Application 

5.1. Submission Overview 

Only the lead organisation can submit an application. It is the lead organisation’s responsibility to ensure that all required information is complete and accurately submitted before the deadline.   

The decision of UKSA is final in all cases. There is no course for appeal, but we endeavour to provide feedback on all applications in due course. Incomplete or late applications and altered templates will not be considered.

5.2. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool to support your application is permitted. However, proposals must represent the applicants’ own original ideas and AI should not be used to substantially develop applications.  Applicants are fully responsible for the content of their application and should thoroughly review any AI generated material to ensure it is truthful, accurate, and, where applicable, correctly attributed and cited. 

Where AI tools are used, applicants are required to declare which tool was used and in what capacity. Additional checks will be undertaken as part of the UK Space Agency’s due diligence to ensure that the information provided is accurate. 

If plagiarism is identified (presenting AI-generated content or the ideas and experiences of others as your own) applications may be rejected. 

If substantive or undeclared use of AI is identified post-award, the UK Space Agency may take enforcement actions including but not limited to withholding funds, grant suspension or termination. 

The information you supply to AI tools may be commercially sensitive, and caution should be exercised when sharing organisational data, ensuring that you adhere to your organisation’s policy of AI use at all times. 

There have been cases which suggest that some AI models may act in a manner which is inconsistent with regulations or access files not requested by the user, presenting security risks. Responsibility for actions taken by AI models lies with the user; please bear in mind your duty of care as you proceed, seeking guidance from subject matter experts where needed.

5.3. Stages of the Application Process  

Applications for project funding must be submitted as follows:  

Expression of Interest submitted by 7 August 2026.  

Expressions of Interest are encouraged to be submitted via Flexigrant, a link to the form can be found HERE. 

We understand these early plans may change; this information is only used for internal planning and preparation to support the running of the call and will not be assessed.  

Stage 1: Outline Proposal submitted by 11.59pm on Friday 21 August 2026.  

Outline Proposals must be submitted via Flexigrant, a link to the form can be found HERE. Outline Proposal questions, guidance and linked Assessment criteria may be found in the Outline Proposal template, provided in Word format for reference, or in the NSIP Outline Proposal Assessment Criteria published with this call. Please note that weighting is different between funding streams, so you are required to indicate which you are applying to. The Flexigrant Outline Proposal form should be used to answer the application questions: 

1. What is your proposal, and, how does your proposal align with the strategic goals of this call, support wider UK government priorities, and deliver social value? 

2. How innovative and technically feasible is your proposal? 

3. Who will deliver the project? 

4. What are the potential economic benefits of this proposal and what is the route to exploitation?

• Applicants must include letters of intent from any named project partners confirming their involvement with the application.  

• Applicants must state the indicative cost of the grant request. 

If letters of intent are missing, the application will be rejected. UKSA reserves the right to reject applications at Full Proposal stage in the event their budgets are materially different from those set out at Outline Proposal stage.  

Feedback provided by assessors will be shared with both successful and unsuccessful applicants. 

If uploading supporting documents to Flexigrant, please follow the document naming convention: 

• [KS3/MP3] Lead Organisation Letter of Intent – Partner Organisation (if submitted to confirm involvement of project partners) 

• [KS3/MP3] Lead Organisation Letter of Support (if submitted in support of question 4) 

• [KS3/MP3] Lead Organisation Q2b Image/Diagram (if submitted in support of question 2) 

• [KS3/MP3] Lead Organisation Q4b Diagram (submitted in support of questions 4)

All Outline Proposal documentation must be submitted via the Flexigrant portal in advance of the Stage 1 deadline. Applications submitted by email will not be accepted. 

Stage 2: Full Proposal (Applications successful at Stage 1 will be invited to submit their Full Proposal). To be submitted by 11:59pm Thursday 12 November 2026.

Full Proposals for project funding shall take the form of a proposal of mandatory parts (A, B and C) and relevant accompanying documents as required (see list below).  Part A is an excel spreadsheet, please follow the instructions for completion within the template.  

This will include:

a. Application Form Part A (excel file titled KS3/MP3_Part_A) - to be uploaded as an attachment to the Flexigrant portal

b. Application Form Part B - to be completed as a digital form on the Flexigrant portal

c. Application Form Part C: National Security Questionnaire (excel file titled KS3/MP3_NSQ) - to be completed as a digital form on the Flexigrant portal

d. 2 additional images/diagrams to allow full definition quality (file titled KS3/MP3_image) - to be uploaded as an attachment to the Flexigrant portal

e. Application Form Part D: Additional Overheads Template if required (excel file titled KS3/MP3_OHT) - to be uploaded as an attachment to the Flexigrant portal 

f. CV’s (file titled KS3/MP3-CV) - to be uploaded as attachments to the Flexigrant portal

g. Letters of Intent if appropriate (PDF file titled KS3/MP3_LoS) - to be uploaded as attachments to the Flexigrant portal

h. Marked up Grant Funding Agreement, only where an applicant wishes to request changes (word file titled KS3/MP3_GFA) - to be sent to the NSIP inbox

• Where a Template is specified, this must be used unaltered and submitted via upload on the Flexigrant portal. 

• Should any section be omitted, or a Template altered, the proposal will be rejected. 

All Full Proposal documentation must be submitted via the Flexigrant portal in advance of the Stage 2 deadline.

Pre-Award: For successful applicants only

Successful project teams will be required to provide information to UKSA in to support due diligence checks before a grant is awarded, in addition to completing the following documents: 

1. Partner Assurance Statement for all partners (if applicable) 

2. Confirmation of TRAC methodology and overhead rates (Academic organisations) 

3. Baseline outcomes monitoring return (see Annex 12 of GFA) 

UKSA will not commit to grant funding until these checks are satisfied. Funding offers at this stage are conditional and may be withdrawn if insurmountable issues become apparent or queries are not resolved in a timely manner.

5.4. Application Form Part A 

The Application Form template provided summarises key information concerning the project proposal submission. Please see Section 6 (Application Assessment) for full details of the assessment questions for this funding scheme.  

The Part A excel template should be used to complete key organisation, finance and project information. Please check that all automatic summary cost calculations are correct ahead of submission. You should complete all indicated sheets as per the instructions within the document. The completed Part A should be uploaded as an attachment to the Flexigrant portal where requested. 

There is a fixed maximum of 12 payment milestones, these do not all need to be used.  

Though an indicative start date is provided, UKSA is not able to commit to a start date until successful projects are identified and due diligence checks are satisfied. If the start date for your project is restricted by external factors, such as additional time required to recruit or secure matched funding, please make these clear in your proposal. 

Information provided in this template will be made available to any external assessors and will be scrutinised by UK Space Agency to ensure all costs proposed represent eligible expenditure under grant funding terms and conditions. Please note the requirements set out in Section 4 around eligible and ineligible expenditure. 

Application Form Part A sections to complete: 

A checklist to support applicants in completing the application process can be found in the “Instructions” tab in the Part A application form.

• Project Information Sheet 
  • Section 1: Project Details 
  • Section 2: Organisation Details 
  • Section 3: Other Funding 
  • Section 4: Document Checklist & Consistency Check 
  • Section 5: Declaration 
• Subsidy Control & Overheads Sheet
  • Section 6: Subsidy Control Category
  • Section 7: Overheads Category
• Related Funding Information Capture
  • Section 8: Related Funding
• Work Package Breakdown 
  • Section 9: Work Package Breakdown
• Milestone Table 
  • Section 10: Summary Milestone Table & Annual Profile 
• Milestone Details 
  • Section 11: Milestone Details 
  • Section 12: Milestone Deliverables (Work Package Costs) 
• Instruments and Equipment 
  • Section 13: Instruments, Materials and Equipment List 
• Risk Register 
  • Section 14: Risk Register 
• Schedule 
  • Section 15: Schedule 
• Calculated Overhead Detail (only for organisations selecting this Overhead Category) 
  • Section 16: Calculated Overhead Detail

5.5. Application Form Part B 

Application Form Part B should be submitted via digital form on the Flexigrant portal. An Application Form Part B in Word format is provided for reference. 

Part B should be used to provide a project summary and answer the application questions: 

1.  How does your proposal align with the strategic goals of this call, support wider UK government priorities, and deliver social value?

• 2.1. What is your proposal and how is it innovative?  
• 2.2. How technically feasible is it

3.  What economic benefits do you aim to capture for your organisation and outside your organisation following successful delivery of your grant and what will this become when fully realised? 

4.  What is your plan to reach commercialisation or exploitation of this technology?  

5.  How will you ensure effective delivery of this project throughout its full duration?  

6.  Why do you need grant funding, how will you spend it, and how does this represent good value for money? This document also contains a declaration section which must be signed by the appropriate authority on behalf of the lead organisation.

5.6. Calculated Overheads Sheet (Application Form Part A & D) 

Please refer to Section 10 below for full instruction on the use of this sheet. As per Part A, the Part D excel template should be used and uploaded as an attachment to the Flexigrant portal when requested. 

5.7. Application Form Part C National Security Questionnaire 

The threat to space is real and coming increasingly closer to the UK space industry as attempted breaches have demonstrated. Everyone needs to protect assets and services from adversaries, incorporating Secure by Design principles as projects, processes and systems are developed. Demonstrating a commitment to security is critical to the ongoing success of any business. Ensuring secure, robust and recoverable services and services can provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace and avoids unnecessary costly retrofitting.

The UK Space Agency works with the space industry to improve security and resilience to attack. As part of the requirements for this scheme, applicants must: 

1. Complete the Application Form Part C National Security Questionnaire via the Flexigrant portal (please note that project partners are not required to complete this, only the lead organisation).  

2. Apply for a free login for the UKSA security extranet (Resilience Direct, please see further guidance here to obtain security alerts and other communications and access guidance and other useful information tailored for the space sector. 

3. Successful applicants will be engaged at the Pre-Award stage by the UKSA National Security team. All successful grant recipients must undertake measures that are appropriate and proportionate for the purposes of reducing the risks of security compromises occurring and preparing for the occurrence of security compromises.  

4. Successful grant recipients must provide a mitigation, response and recovery plan within six months of a Grant Funding Agreement being signed to UKSA.resilience@DSIT.gov.uk. Plans should include an annex or separate plan (proportionate to the company/project size and level of risk) detailing specific activity planned in response to a cyber security attack. Further guidance on plans is available on the Resilience Direct secure extranet and the National Cyber Security Centre website.

5.8. Licensing Implications 

Your activity may require a licence, granted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, under the Space Industry Act 2018, Outer Space Act 1986, or both. This must be obtained prior to commencing any licensable activity. For more information on the licensing process, including the types of activity these Acts apply to, minimum timelines, and information required for the licensing process, please visit www.caa.co.uk/space. The CAA encourages potential licence applicants to engage with them early to help identify what licences might be required and guide applicants through the process. We highly recommend reading the CAA’s Space Licensing in the UK document which can be found here: https://www.caa.co.uk/space/licences-and-permissions/getting-started-with-licensing/.

6. Assessment of Applications

Applications for this funding scheme will be assessed by UKSA with support from relevant independent external assessors drawn from a variety of backgrounds including academia, industry and government. All external assessors are required to sign appropriate confidentiality and conflict of interest agreements. External assessors are not permitted to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the assessment of applications. 

The panel will assess the proposals according to the questions listed below, considering the commitment of the organisations involved, in particular the lead organisation, to the success of the project and the financial viability of the organisations involved.  

A summary of the assessment process is below:  

• Applicants will be invited to submit a short Outline Proposal. Only those received by the closing time and date will be considered.  

• An initial internal sift of Outline Proposals will remove any which do not meet the eligibility criteria.  

• Eligible Outline Proposals will be assessed by independent reviewers and scored against the Outline Proposal assessment criteria. 

• A scored and ranked list of proposals will be generated, from which the highest scoring will be invited to proceed to Stage 2.  Unsuccessful applicants will receive feedback from assessor comments. 

• Applicants invited to continue to Stage 2 will be given 5 weeks to complete the Full Proposal document set. 

• Stage 2, Full Proposals will be assessed by external reviewers to be scored against Full Proposal assessment criteria and a ranked list of proposals generated. 

• A moderation panel of external reviewers led by UKSA will follow to review the ranked proposals and address any inconsistencies. 

• A scored and ranked list of fundable proposals will be generated in which 15 – 30 will be selected for funding. A reserve list of approximately 2-3 proposals per stream will be kept in case additional funding becomes available or to replace any project that fails due diligence.  

• If needed, clarifications will be sought from organisations. 

• All applicants will be advised of the outcome, and feedback will be provided to both successful and unsuccessful applicants. 

• Due diligence will be conducted throughout the call process as set out in section 7. If due diligence results in irreconcilable differences, the grant will not be placed. 

• A reserve list of fundable but unfunded projects will be retained by UKSA, and should any additional funding be made available, UKSA will contact relevant project leads. 

• At any stage of the assessment process UKSA may decline a proposal that does not meet eligibility requirements for public funding or specific to this call as described within this document, including but not limited to: 

• Funds must only be requested by UK based organisations 

• Grants must demonstrate additionality, i.e. that the activity would not proceed, or would proceed at a reduced scale, speed or quality, without public support 

• Proposals must have a Space application 

• Requested funding must be within the published value offered 

NSIP are using programme specific proposal questions and assessment criteria for this call. Please note that the weighting applied to the questions varies between Kick Starter and Major Project proposals. Please consider this when determining which scheme to apply for. A full list of scored proposal questions and assessment criteria for both the Outline and Full Proposal is provided.

• Outline Proposal Assessment Criteria

• Full Proposal Assessment Criteria

7. Due Diligence 

UKSA 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 value, nature and complexity of your grant. All applications will be subject to basic checks such as credit reports and Companies House checks.  You can find details of the checks we conduct on our grants page here.  

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.

8. Confidentiality  

The procedure for handling and assessing the applications for project funding will be as follows:  

• Applications will be treated as Commercial in Confidence.  

• All external assessors will sign conflict of interest and confidentiality forms prior to receiving access via the Flexigrant portal to review proposals.  

• For those applications not recommended by the panel for funding, documentation will be retained by UKSA for reference. The proposals will not be visible to any others, and the names of any unsuccessful applicants will not be published. 

• Summary information about the projects selected for funding will be published on the UKSA website. 

• UKSA will monitor the funded project through monthly reports and the submission of project deliverables. The Agency requests that any confidential information is clearly marked Commercial in Confidence 

Full details of our privacy notice and how we handle your data is provided here.

9. Subsidy Control 

9.1. Subsidy Control: Research Organisations, Public & Third Sector 

The UK Space Agency supports organisations to invest in research, development and innovation. The support we provide is consistent with the UK’s international obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control. Please see this page for further information about UKSA’s obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. To ensure this competition provides funding in line with obligations and commitments, the intervention rates detailed in this section shall apply, unless: 

a. The applicant seeks to claim exemption from having to make a contribution under the Minimal Financial Assistance Allowance (previously known as de-minimis under State Aid and Small Amounts of Financial Assistance under Trade and Co-operation Agreement) rules 

b. The applicant is a research or public sector organisation, or charity pursuing non-economic activity

When referring to research organisations, UK Space Agency uses the definition from the Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation which states: 

“research and knowledge dissemination organisation’ or ‘research organisation’ means an entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology transfer agencies, innovation intermediaries, research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative entities), irrespective of its legal status (organised under public or private law) or way of financing, whose primary goal is to independently conduct fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development or to widely disseminate the results of such activities by way of teaching, publication or knowledge transfer. Where such entity also pursues economic activities, the financing, the costs, and the revenues of those economic activities must be accounted for separately. Undertakings that can exert a decisive influence upon such an entity, for example in the quality of shareholders or members, may not enjoy a preferential access to the results generated by it.” 

Within UK Space Agency, this means: 

• Universities – higher education institutions 

• Non-profit research and technology organisations (RTOs) including catapults 

• Public sector organisations (PSOs) 

• Public sector research establishments (PSREs) 

• Research Council Institutes 

• Research Organisations (ROs) 

• Charities 

Research organisations should be non-profit distributing to qualify. They should explain how they will disseminate the output of their project research as outlined in the application. Research organisations who are engaged in economic activity (i.e. putting goods or services onto market) will be treated as business enterprises and subject to Subsidy Control intervention rates.

Research Organisations

Universities undertaking non-economic research activity will be funded at 80% of full economic cost. All other research organisations will be funded at 100% of eligible costs.  

Public Sector Organisations and Charities

Public Sector Organisations and Charities can work with enterprises to achieve innovation through knowledge, skills and resources. These organisations must not take part in any economic activity or gain economic benefit from a project. They can apply for 100% funding of eligible costs, providing all of the following conditions are satisfied: 

• They are undertaking research (this may be experimental, theoretical or critical investigation work to gain knowledge, skills or understanding which is vital to the project) 

• They meet requirements for dissemination of their project results and state in the application how this will be achieved 

• They include eligible costs for research purposes in the total research organisation involvement 

• They are not applying for funding towards costs which are already being paid from the public purse such as labour or overheads

Third Sector

Third Sector organisations are primarily voluntary and community organisations, such as associations, self-help groups, mutuals and cooperatives. Third sector organisations can be non-funding partners in a project.  

9.2. Streamlined Scheme for Research, Development and Innovation 

This award is being offered under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme subcategory 2: Industrial Research and Experimental Development Projects in accordance with Section 10 (4) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Projects funded as part of this scheme qualify as “feasibility study”, “industrial research” or “experimental development”, where:  

• ‘Feasibility study’ means the evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision-making by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately its prospects for success. 

• “Industrial research” means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or for bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services. It can include the creation of component parts to complex systems and may include prototypes in a laboratory or environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems, particularly for generic technology validation.
  • This would include digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies). Industrial research comprises the creation of component parts of complex systems and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, where necessary for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.
• “Experimental development” means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services. This may include, for example, activities aimed at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services.

  • This includes digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as for example super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud or edge technologies). This may also encompass, for example, activities aimed at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services.  

  • Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions where the primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set. This may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is necessary for the final commercial product and which is too expensive to produce for it to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes.  

  • Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes made to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services and other operations in progress, even if those changes may represent improvements.

Further guidance around these definitions can be found within the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route guidance. It is the applicant’s responsibility to determine which category their project falls within based on their knowledge of the work they are proposing to undertake the UK Space Agency cannot provide pre-application advice on which to select.  

Match Funding Rates

Subsidies given under these categories are subject to maximum award amounts and subsidy ratios set out in the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme. These are as follows:

	Feasibility Study	Industrial Research	Experimental Development
Small Enterprises	70% of the eligible project costs	70% of the eligible project costs	45% of the eligible project costs
Medium Enterprises	60% of the eligible project costs	60% of the eligible project costs	35% of the eligible project costs

Enterprises may receive a 15% uplift to the subsidy ratios for Feasibility Studies, Industrial Research or Experimental Development where the project involves collaboration between enterprises, where at least one of the enterprises is an SME, or between an enterprise and one or more research and knowledge dissemination organisation, which must have the right to publish its own research results. Academic partners on projects led by enterprises will still be funded in all cases at 80% of full economic cost. 

For the purposes of subsidy control, the following definitions are applicable:  

• A small enterprise has an annual turnover below £10.2 million, a balance sheet total below £5.1 million and the average number of employees must not be more than 50  

• A medium enterprise has an annual turnover below £36 million, a balance sheet total below £18 million and the average number of employees must be no more than 250  

• A large enterprise has an annual turnover above £36 million, a balance sheet total above £18 million and the average number of employees is above 250  

To qualify, two of the three conditions in the above definition must be met.  

Applicants should note that under the Streamlined Scheme the maximum award amount for both industrial research and experimental development projects is £3,000,000 per enterprise per project. Due to cumulation rules and limits of the scheme, organisations seeking project funding that would exceed a total of £3 million from public bodies in the last 3 years for this project will be ineligible to apply for this opportunity. Applicants should be aware that under the streamlined scheme, subsidies cumulate and so if you have already received funding from the UK Space Agency under the streamlined scheme, it may not be possible to receive further funding through NSIP. Subsidies must be cumulated if it meets the following conditions and was given: 

• To the same enterprise by any public authority 

• For the same project or activities as defined under the relevant categories of the streamlined scheme 

• For the same or substantially the same specific purposes as set out under the relevant categories in the route 

• Within the last 3 financial years (that is, the last 2 complete financial years running from 1 April to 31 March and the lapsed part of the current financial year).

Applicants must ensure that they supply the correct information that allows the UK Space Agency to award grants within the scheme. It is the responsibility of the grant funder to ensure compliance with the relevant subsidy controls rules and the applicant to assist the funder in doing this by acting within the terms and conditions of the scheme.  

As a subsidy, the proposal must be for activity that would only take place if the funding is awarded. As such, it cannot be awarded for business-as-usual activity or projects that would otherwise be funded using existing funds.

9.3. Minimum Financial Assistance 

The Subsidy Control Act 2022 includes provision relating to Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA). MFA allows authorities to provide grants that are considered small enough to support individual businesses without giving them an unfair advantage. Enterprises can receive up to £315,000 of MFA funding over a rolling 3 fiscal year period without having to provide match funding. You must declare any previous MFA awards you have received in your application form.  

When calculating eligibility for the application of the MFA provision, applicants must also include cumulation of any EU State aid de minimis grants under the EC’s de minimis regulation and Small Amounts of Financial Assistance (SAFA) under the EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) for the same 3 fiscal year period. The maximum total under the EC de minimis regulation is €200,000, the maximum total under SAFA is £340,000 or £325,000 Special Drawing Rights. This is for all project types and for most purposes, including operating aid.  

The application form asks you to tell us about any awards, including those made under de minimis and SDR, (from any source of public funding) over a rolling 3 fiscal year period.   

If you have received an award under de minimis or SDR for the same period, this will be added to your total allowance under MFA. This means that the total award must not exceed £315,000) for any one organisation. You must declare this allowance to any other funding body who requests it.  

If you are seeking to apply for more than £315,000, any funding required beyond your remaining MFA allowance would require you to meet the match funding requirements set out in section 4. For example, if an enterprise applies for a £500,000 grant and seeks to claim £315,000 as MFA, the remaining £185,000 would be subject to match funding requirements.    

Further information on UKSA’s obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 can be found on our grants page here.

10. Calculated Overheads Sheet Instructions

10.1. Calculated Overheads Sheet (Application Form Part A & D) 

This is only required for applicants utilising custom overhead rates – for academic applicants submitting full economic costing (FEC), please include confirmation of your most recently accepted TRAC methodology or similar to allow UK Space Agency to validate your overhead costs.  

Organisations opting for the 20% of staff cost overhead rates do not need to complete this template.  

For organisations who choose the calculated overheads option, the spreadsheet has two sections to complete: 

• indirect (administration) overheads 

• direct overheads (for those listed in the staff costs table) 

Once each section is completed, the ‘total overheads spreadsheet’ will calculate your total amount.

Indirect (administration) overhead

We class indirect overheads as those costs associated with back-office functions (such as finance, human resources, administration staff) whose primary function is to support the running of a business enterprise. Typically, these costs are not directly related to a particular product or service production. 

Indirect overhead costs are eligible for inclusion if they are incurred directly because of undertaking the project. They must be additional, which means over and above your ‘business as usual’ costs. 

Where you have already identified specific ‘indirect’ individuals working directly on the project, these should have been captured in the staff costs together with the overhead attributed to them. 

We have provided cost categories in the template. The following list provides our definition for each category.

Board and senior management

The proportion of salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of the board and senior management of the company. This should be where they are engaged in strategic or administrative tasks. Do not include those working directly on the project or who are customer-facing or operational. 

Administrative staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of main administrative staff, such as receptionists and central administration. Do not include administrative staff employed to support sales, marketing, account management and profit-generating departments. 

Human resources staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of human resource staff. 

Employed estates staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of employed cleaning, maintenance, security and other estates staff. 

Finance department staff

The salary costs based upon PAYE (gross salary, employer’s NI, company pension contribution, life insurance) of main finance department staff, such as payroll, accounts payable and receivable. Do not include staff employed to support sales, marketing or account management activities. 

Administrative support temporary or agency staff costs

This should include fees paid for the provision of temporary staff in administration or support services as listed above. Do not include any staff that are operational, such as marketing, sales, engineering, quality assurance, research and development and supply chain. 

General office IT services

This includes general IT services used across the whole organisation. Do not include IT costs where they relate purely to non-eligible staff or manufacturing, production or fee earning activities. 

General postage

This includes postage and courier expenses for general administration needs. Do not include product delivery or any postage costs incurred through promotion, sales, marketing customer relationship or accounts management. 

Office supplies, printing and stationery costs

General office stationery and supplies such as paper, business cards, corporate stationery, office equipment for support or admin staff listed above. Do not include specific costs associated with sales, marketing, product delivery, product literature or reports. 

Security and safety costs

This includes costs associated with site and staff safety and security, including signage and health and safety costs. 

Building maintenance (administration office facilities only)

This includes general repair and maintenance costs of administration facilities. Do not include repair and maintenance of manufacturing or production facilities and exceptional items such as new works or extensions, which are not eligible for inclusion in this section. 

Building rental (administration office facilities only)

Where office space is leased, include the rental costs. Do not include rental costs relating to manufacturing or production facilities, or the cost of any deposits or penalties. 

Contracted site services (administration office facilities only)

Costs of contracted services relating to administration facilities such as cleaning of offices. Do not include contracted service costs related to manufacturing or production facilities. 

Site property taxes (administration offices facilities only)

Property taxes and charges relating to office space. Do not include manufacturing or production facility property taxes and charges. 

Utilities (administration office facilities only)

Electricity, gas, water, waste disposal, telecoms costs relating to administration office facilities. 

The following is a step-by-step guide to help you fill in the relevant details to make your costs claim for indirect overhead. 

Column A

Starting with your latest set of audited accounts, please input your details against the relevant cost category in column A. If you are a new company or this information is unavailable, please use internal management accounts or forecast data. 

Note that for the administration support staff costs section, the costs included here must be based upon PAYE (gross salary, NI, company pension contribution, life insurance). They should exclude discretionary package costs such as bonuses, awards, profit-related pay and dividends. In addition, please exclude any members working directly on the project who are customer-facing or those engaged in operational or production areas. 

Column B

In this column you should state the percentage of the spend stated in column A is attributable to core administrative activity (business as usual excluding any other projects as well as this one)  

Column C

In column C please state what percentage of these costs you would assess as being additional and directly attributable administration activity to the project you are undertaking. By additional we mean over and above business as usual. 

Column D

Based upon the details you’ve given in the previous columns, column D will automatically calculate the costs you’ve stated as being attributable to this project. 

Column E

In column E you will need to provide some description of the cost constituent parts. 

Once you have filled in this data you will see a percentage calculation (column F). This calculates what you consider as being eligible indirect overhead costs for your project (D) as a proportion of the annual audited figures (A). To save you time we use this calculated percentage and apply it to the remainder cost categories you have completed. 

Any administration costs that are ineligible in this section, but which directly relate to the project (for example based on invoices), should be claimed as direct costs within other sections of the finance form. 

Completion of the indirect overheads template will calculate an annual total which will be proportioned for the length of time you are working on the project. You will see a per annum, per month and a per project cost. The per project costs will form your total indirect overheads as a monetary value. 

Once you have filled out your indirect overhead information, choose the ‘return to the overheads section’ to take you back to the main overheads section. Here you will see a summary of your indirect overhead. 

Direct overhead

We understand that in undertaking a project you may incur associated costs with those staff working directly on the project and listed in the staff costs table. We refer to these as direct overheads. 

Typical costs in this area could include: 

• direct staff provision of laptops (non-capital only) 

• desks 

• office (such as occupancy, facilities and utilities) 

• IT infrastructure and systems 

This section is provided in free format for you to list out such costs.

Direct overhead costs must be directly attributable to the project you are undertaking and should not represent a full recovery methodology inclusive of redundant, spare capacity time or cost. 

You should detail the costs and include a description of each item together with the methodology or the basis of how the costs have been apportioned. This should include the calculations that support the claimable costs. This will help us to validate these costs if your project is successful. 

If your costs have been subject to an independent audit verification, we may ask you to provide this report to support our financial eligibility reviews. 

Please note that costs associated with laboratories or workshops should be included within the ‘other costs’ section of the application form. 

Once you have completed the direct overhead, you should select ‘return to the overhead section’. You will return to the main overhead tab where you will see a summary of your overhead claim for both direct and indirect overheads.