Notice

National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) Call 1 – Bidders Briefing presentation slides

Updated 26 October 2023

1. Housekeeping

• Please keep all mics muted
• If you have any questions, please ask them in the Q&A function. These will be visible for others to see so please do not include sensitive information
• The team has received a lot of questions and will try to get through these and new questions during the briefing, but it may not be possible
• The Q&A will be published after the meeting (with answers to all questions asked – including those not covered in the meeting)

2. Core NSIP Objectives

• Catalyse Investment
• Innovation
• Market Space

3. History of NSIP

The National Space Technology Programme (2011-2022) led to the Enabling Technologies Programme Pilot (2022-2025) and the NSIP Pilot (2020-2025). These pilots led to the NSIP Kick starter (2023-2027) and NSIP Major Projects (2023-2027) programmes.

The NSIP Kick Starter and Major Projects calls are now live.

4. NSIP Calls

4.1 Kick Starter

• Grant Values: £150k-£1m
• Technology Readiness Levels: 1 – 4
• Duration of Projects: <18 months
• Emphasis: Innovation and Disruptive Technology

4.2 Major Projects

• Grant Values: £1m - £5m
• Technology Readiness Levels: 5 - 9
• Duration of Projects: <36 months
• Emphasis: Commercialisation and Catalysing Investment

5. Advice for applicants

• Applications not received by midday on Friday 17 November cannot be considered
• Ensure you have signed and checked each box required on the forms as failure to do so will result in a voided application
• We do not have the resource to review applications before they are submitted, but will endeavour to answer all questions sent into the team’s mailbox, nsip@ukspaceagency.gov.uk
• Please carefully review and understand the Grant Funding Agreement to check you are content with the terms and conditions. We cannot alter conditions eg liability, payment on delivery, intervention rates etc
• Ensure a good level of thought and detail are given to project management eg risk register, Gantt chart
• Ensure there is a clear rationale and as much detail as possible for costs, timelines, travel and subsistence etc
• Applicants are requested to provide an “Expression of Interest” email to the team’s mailbox by 31 October to help us with our planning

6. Q&A

• KS delayed start option - How much of a delay is possible? Can the projects still be 18 months? (WH)
• Can start-up and micro-companies apply? (IH)
• Do NSIP Major Project applicants (with a higher starting TRL level) need to have come via the NSIP pilot first to apply? (LT)
• What are the options for projects with TRL 5 or higher that could require less than £1m or shorter possible project lengths such as 12-18 months? (IH)
• We believe that our technology will be able to reach TRL 5 within this project, but would that get us out of scope for this call? Will we need to de-scope this to fit within guidelines? (CBK)
• What is meant by low-TRL vs. high-TRL? What is expected at each TRL level? (WH)
• What are the match funding intervention rates for this call? (CW)
• How many proposals can an applicant submit? (IH)
• I have applied to ETP 4 – can I put the same application forward? (WH)
• We have previously had funding from UKSA for our project. Are we eligible to apply for funding for this call? (IH)
• What is the submission process for this call? (CBK)
• Will there be any networking session for academics to talk to companies in this space? (LT)
• What is the selection criteria for applications? (WH)
• Can companies outside of the space sector (ie, no previous track record in space) apply? (IH)
• Is there guidance for the application? (LT)
• What are the implications of the Subsidy control for Universities? (WH)
• Does all the project work need to be completed in the UK, or can it be performed in another country? Can sub-contractors be international? (CBK)
• Can SMEs and Universities jointly apply for the call? (IH)
• Are applications from the UK subsidiary of an EU-based startup eligible? (CW)
• How is the funding split between the ‘kick starter’ and the ‘major projects’ call? (IH)
• Are there any differences in the key selection criteria between Kick Starter and Major Projects? (WH)
• Is there an expectation to work collaboratively across entrants and how highly is cross-industry collaboration rated? (IH)
• May a project that implies a change from TRL 7 to TRL 8 be taken in consideration? (LT)
• The projects can range from £150k to £5m per grant, is this amount for an 18-36 month project or will there be a Phase 1/Phase 2 approach? (WH)
• What is the expected timeline for the selection process, including the announcement of successful projects? (LT)
• Is the participation of an industry partner necessary/preferred or that all academic consortia may also be welcome to apply?
• What is the expected form of updating the UK Space Agency on the development of the North Star Metrics? (IH)
• I wondered if there is a training for dealing with the Finance documents? (CW)
• How different is the application to the ETP4? (WH)
• Does previous experience with the UK Space Agency confer any advantages or disadvantages on an applicant? (IH)

Please find answers to these questions in Annex 3 – FAQs.

7. Thank you for attending

For any further information please contact nsip@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

We look forward to receiving your proposals.