Policy paper

Measuring the progress of the National Space Strategy (technical annex)

Published 19 July 2023

DSIT has identified an initial set of indicators to aid in the monitoring and evaluation of progress against the four pillars set out in the NSS.

These indicators aim to overcome various measurement challenges associated with the Space sector. Primary indicators serve as the primary means of describing the overarching impacts of the four pillars and monitoring progress towards them. Regular tracking of these indicators will ensure sufficient advancement is being made. Secondary indicators contain information that support the wider goals underpinning the pillars. By combining both primary and secondary indicators, a comprehensive understanding of progress within the pillars can be made. It is anticipated that these indicators will also be vital for the long-term evaluation of the NSS, which will be possible at a future point as the tangible benefits of programme delivery are realised.

Many of these indicators have been derived from the metrics calculated by the Size and Health of the UK Space Industry survey^{[footnote 1]}, which is UK government’s seminal report on the current size and recent growth of the UK Space sector. Furthermore, a few supplementary indicators have been included to align with the focus and scope set out in the “NSS in Action”. These indicators represent an aggregate measurement of the implementation of the individual programmes that are described throughout this document.

The list of indicators presented in table A are preliminary and not exhaustive or final at this stage. DSIT intends to gather input from various stakeholders, including other Government departments, delivery partners, academia and industry. This will be done via the National Space Board in the first instance, and further engagement externally. However, given the ever-expanding definition of the space sector, continued work to improve collection and segmentation of data representing the space sector and continued growth of space activities and interventions, we expect to revisit and potentially expand this indicator list in future years to better capture our ability to measure change in the space sector.

Defence is currently developing an approach to tracking the commitments in the Defence Space Strategy (DSS), which will inform an understanding of the progress towards its commitments under the Defence Space Portfolio. Going forward there will be collaboration between MoD and DSIT on how the NSS and DSS are measured.

Table A: metrics for monitoring the progress against the four pillars

pillar	indicators (primary/secondary)
pillar one: unlocking growth make the UK one of the most attractive countries for space businesses of all sizes to grow and thrive	total space sector income GVA per employee space employment % UK GDP supported by satellite services % of firms that report skills shortages value of revenue and investment in the UK space sector attributable to the UK Space Agency
pillar two: collaborating internationally making the UK the international partner of choice in all space activities	% income generated from abroad (exports) number and cumulative value of European Space Agency contracts (or UKSA grants made using ESA funding) allocated to UK entities number of new partnerships and collaborations reported by International Bilateral Fund participants
pillar three: growing as a Science Superpower increase our knowledge of space and the environment around us for the benefit of all join the global effort to explore the Moon and Mars and participating in human spaceflight	R&D investment as % of income Field-Weighted Citation Index (FWCI) Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) institutions in top rankings for Astrophysics/other space subjects
pillar four: developing resilient capabilities develop national space capabilities, prioritising the goals that have been set out in the NSS in action[footnote 2]	supply chain resilience metric (multiple metrics under construction) extent of data use generated in Earth Observation Investment Package projects (e.g. measuring downloads) % of European small satellite launches that were from UK sites percentage of UK conjunctions (potential collisions) at 0.001% likelihood analysed by UKSA

Table B sets out more detail about the indicators, their data sources and regularity of reporting. Due to the timing of data collection and significant lag in the data reaching maturity, DSIT intends to report internally to the National Space Board on progress against these metrics on an annual basis.

Table B: list of indicators, sources and timeliness of reporting

indicator	source	timing
total space sector income	size and health survey	annual
GVA per employee	size and health survey	annual
space employment	size and health survey	annual
% UK GDP supported by satellite services	size and health survey	annual
% of firms that report skills shortages	space skills survey	annual (current expectations)
value of revenue and investment in the UK space sector attributable to the UK Space Agency	investment catalysing monitoring (UKSA owned)	annual
income generated from abroad (Exports)	size and health survey	annual
number and cumulative value of ESA contracts (or UKSA grants made using ESA funding) allocated to UK entities	contract data supplied by ESA	quarterly
number of new partnerships and collaborations reported by International Bilateral Fund (IBF) participants	International Bilateral Fund (IBF) evaluation (UKSA owned)	annual
R&D investment as % of income	size and health survey	annual
field-weighted citation index	Scival[footnote 3]	annual
knowledge transfer partnerships	InnovateUK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships database[footnote 4]	monthly
institutions in top rankings for astrophysics/other space subjects	QS university subject rankings[footnote 5]	annual
supply chain resilience (multiple metrics under construction)	multiple metrics are currently being considered to capture this	to be determined (TBD)
extent of data use generated in Earth Observation Investment Package (EOIP) projects (e.g. measuring downloads)	Earth Observation Investment Package (EOIP) evaluation (DSIT owned)	biannual
% of European small satellite launches that were from UK sites	Seradata launch database[footnote 6]	annual
percentage of UK conjunctions (potential collisions) at 0.001% likelihood analysed by UKSA	UKSA conjunction assessment software	monthly

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-size-and-health-of-the-uk-space-industry-2022/size-health-of-the-uk-space-industry-2022 ↩

2. Note that this pillar is still in development, and as such the proposed indicators are the most volatile depending on the outcome of programme design. ↩

3. Scival - https://www.scival.com/landing ↩

4. KTP Database - http://ktp.innovateuk.org/search.aspx ↩

5. Most recent rankings by subject - https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/ ↩

6. Seradata - https://www.seradata.com/product/ ↩