Notice

Unlocking Space for Business: Call 2 - Guidance

Published 12 May 2025

1. Introduction 

1.1 Unlocking Space for Business 

The UK Space Agency’s Unlocking Space for Business programme is seeking to drive greater long-term adoption of space solutions across commercial end-user businesses operating in the Financial Services and Transport & Logistics sectors in the UK. Following a successful 18-month pilot, the programme is entering phase 2 and is continuing to accelerate adoption of space solutions by businesses and catalysing investment into the UK space sector, by providing grant funding to de-risk pilot projects. 

The UK Space Agency invites proposals from end-user business led consortiums, with a space supplier and any relevant integrator organisations, for innovative pilot projects to commercialise space solutions within the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors in the UK. 

1.2 Funding available 

The UK Space Agency intends to award up to £2,000,000 total funding.  

Up to £400,000 of grant funding is available per project. Total project costs may be higher to account for match funding. In exceptional circumstances, the UK Space Agency reserves the right to adjust the value or duration of the grant funding available. 

The preferred duration of each project is 6 months (September 2025 – February 2026), with a maximum duration of 7 months. Projects must be ready to start by 1 September 2025 and should aim to conclude by 28 February 2026 but must finish by 31 March 2026. Three of the four milestones should be completed by 31st January 2026; a Commercialisation Plan and Final Report should be delivered by 28 February 2026. 

All applications must be submitted in full using the application form by email to the Unlocking Space for Business team at Commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk by 16:00 BST on 7 July 2025. Late applications will not be accepted and requests to submit late will be refused. 

Your application must include your:

• application form 
• budget breakdown spreadsheet  
• National Security Questionnaire (please see guidance on the UK Space Agency’s grants page here) 

2. Call Objectives, Scope and Key Information 

2.1 Strategic goals 

Innovative uses of satellite data and services already deliver significant value to UK businesses, with £364 billion of UK GDP supported by satellite services.1 The Unlocking Space for Business (USB) programme contributes to the National Space Strategy vision to make the UK one of world’s most innovative and attractive space economies, and the Plan for Change through de-risking pilot projects to support growth of the space sector.  

The USB programme has four aims, which are to:

• catalyse investment (directly and indirectly) in satellite-derived data, applications and services by non-space businesses in the Financial Services and Transport & Logistics sectors

• champion the benefits of space for the UK private sector, including supporting the realisation of business outcomes and helping to tackle the climate emergency

• enhance UK influence and reputation as a global leader in the exploitation of downstream satellite-derived data, applications and services  

• support the wider Unlocking Space programme and growth of the space sector by encouraging new customer groups and market segments 

The USB programme directly contributes towards the Space Industrial Plan, supporting projects that align with the capability goals of Space Data for Earth Applications; Position, Navigation and Timing; and Satellite Communication Technology.  The UK Space Agency aims to provide support to UK space companies across their investment journey, with an emphasis on supporting companies from start-up to scale-up, to maximise delivery against economic growth. The USB programme provides interventions at the later end of this journey, with a focus on commercialisation of downstream space solutions that can be readily adopted by end-user businesses. 

USB funding aims to support businesses in either the financial services or transport & logistics sectors to partner with a supplier of satellite data or services, in order to deliver a commercialised space solution for the end-user business. Projects must address at least one of the Strategic Grant Objectives for the end-user business, which are:

• driving revenue growth 

• improving customer retention 

• enhancing operational and financial efficiency 

• addressing environmental obligations 

2.2 Scope 

Projects must provide positive economic benefit to an end-user business within either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics in the UK. Proposals must be UK based, led by UK based organisations. 

Projects must involve at least one satellite data domain (Earth observation, Satcom, PNT), and may involve complementary enabling technologies such as AI, Quantum or Machine Learning. 

Projects must start at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5+ and must progress to at least TRL 7 by the end of the project. 

Projects must be able to demonstrate a tangible benefit to the end-user business within the 7-month maximum project duration. Projects must have clearly defined, and tangible outcomes measured against success criteria showing progress towards commercialisation. 

Examples of previous successful pilot projects can be found here. 

2.3 Consortium members 

The lead applicant in the consortium must be an end-user business from either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sector. 

End-user businesses are defined as businesses that directly use or consume data derived from space-based assets, such as satellites, to gain insights, improve communication or connectivity, make informed decisions and drive innovation, in either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors. 

Financial Services end-users include, but are not limited to, banks, insurance companies, asset managers. 

Transport & Logistics end-users include, but are not limited to, logistics firms, transport operators, fleet operators. 

There must also be a UK space supplier within the consortium (for example, a satellite data provider, satellite service provider or satellite insights provider). There may be other integrator organisations within the consortium. 

Projects should note the core eligibility requirements on the UK Space Agency’s grant funding page. Whilst non-domestic partners (including those within the EU) can apply as part of a consortium, they must be self-funded and are not eligible to receive any grant funding in this funding call. If international subcontractors are proposed, we expect applicants to demonstrate why the proposed capability is not available in the UK.  

The lead applicant must be an end-user business and must submit the application, with input from the project partners. As grant funding will flow through the lead applicant, they will be responsible for passing this onto the project partners. The lead applicant will also be responsible for providing financial evidence and verifying the spend of the project partners for each milestone. The lead applicant may delegate the project administration to a project partner; this should be specified on the application form and discussed with the UK Space Agency during kick-off. 

2.4 Milestones 

Each project proposal should include up to four milestones. Project teams are free to split the funding up between these milestones and to set their deliverables as required. The final milestone should include a Commercialisation Plan and a Final Report, alongside any other deliverables set by the project team.  

The milestones are:

• milestone 1: delivered by 31 October 2025 

• milestone 2: delivered by 30 November 2025 

• milestone 3: delivered by 31 January 2026 

• milestone 4: Commercialisation Plan and Final Report deliverables. Projects should deliver this by 28 February 2026. 

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

2.5 Important Information for Applicants:  

Awarded projects will start from 1 September 2025 and must have fully completed by 31 March 2026. Projects should aim to be completed within 6 months, i.e. by February 2026, to allow for final wrap-up in March, with three milestones completed by January 2026. Projects planning to use the full 7-month duration should be aware that extension requests beyond the 31 March 2026 are not possible. 

This call will close at 4pm BST on 7 July 2025 – no extensions are permitted, and late applications will not be accepted. 

Grant funding per project is expected to range from £150,000 to £400,000. In exceptional circumstances, UK Space Agency reserve the right to adjust the value or duration of the grant funding available. 

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 below in the “Subsidy Control: Research Organisations, Public & Third” section.

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.   

Applications will be assessed against the assessment criteria outlined later in this document, in the “Assessment of applications” section.

There will be an online session outlining the application process and to provide an opportunity for questions on 22 May 2025 at 11am – you can apply to attend here. 

Questions or clarifications can be directed to the Unlocking Space for Business Grant Team at USB_Grant@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. The UK Space Agency will not respond to questions asking for applications to be reviewed ahead of the submission deadline. 

The UK Space Agency reserves the right to reject proposals if they are outside the call remit, do not contain all of the required information 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.   

All proposals must be led by organisations based in the United Kingdom.  

Please see the Q&A section below for frequently asked questions. 

3. Call and Delivery Timeline  

The following schedule sets out the indicative timing of processes for this call. Please note that each deadline may be subject to change in the event of operational constraints.  

The deadlines are:

• call opens: 12 May 2025 

• webinar: 22 May 2025, 11am - 11:45am BST 

• call closes: 7 July 2025, 4pm BST 

• successful applicants notified: August 2025 

• project kick-off: 1 September 2025  

• projects conclude: No later than 31 March 2026 

4. Subsidy Control: Enterprises 

4.1 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 “industrial research” or “experimental development”, where:  

• “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.   

• “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.   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. 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 not necessarily the final 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. The onus is on applicants to determine which category their project falls within based on their knowledge of the work they are proposing to undertake and the UK Space Agency cannot provide pre-application advice on which to select.  

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:  

	Industrial Research	Experimental Development
Small Enterprises	70% of the eligible project costs	45% of the eligible project costs
Medium Enterprises	60% of the eligible project costs	35% of the eligible project costs
Large Enterprises	50% of the eligible project costs	25% of the eligible project costs
Academic Partner	80% Full Economic Cost	80% Full Economic Cost

Enterprises may receive a 15% uplift to the subsidy ratios 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 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 £3million from public bodies in the last 3 years for this project will be ineligible to apply for this opportunity. 

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.  

5. 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 the UK Space Agency’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 section 4.2 shall apply, unless: 

• 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 

When referring to research organisations, the 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 the 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.  

5.1 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. We do not expect research organisations to be in scope of this grant call. 

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

5.3 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.  

6. Subsidy Control: 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.  

7. Eligibility Requirements 

All UK Space Agency grant recipients are required to meet standard eligibility criteria set out on our grants page here. Additional requirements specific to this grant scheme are set out below: 

7.1 Project Reporting Requirements 

Projects should be ready to kick-off from 1 September 2025 and should aim to conclude by 28 February 2026 (6-month duration), but no later than 31 March 2026 (maximum 7-month duration). 

The start date is dependent on completion of UK Space Agency due diligence checks, which require timely applicant involvement to avoid delays to project kick off. 

The following project management responsibilities will be required: 

The grant recipient (lead applicant) will engage with the USB team to complete due diligence checks ahead of project commencement, providing additional information if requested and facilitating swift communication between all project partners. 

The grant recipient and all project partners will attend a kick-off meeting with the UK Space Agency coordinator to initiate the project. 

The grant recipient will provide monthly written progress reports (using the template provided) to the coordinator, along with monthly review meetings which should be attended by all project partners where possible.  

The grant recipient and all project partners will attend a mid-term review meeting where their progress will be reviewed against the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA).    

The grant recipient will provide milestone deliverables within the proposal using the template provided. 

The grant recipient will provide evidence of meeting the milestones and providing deliverables agreed in their GFA. This will include providing financial evidence, which includes but is not limited to timesheets, T&S receipts, partner and subcontractor invoices. 

The grant recipient will provide regular updates on risks, benefits and lessons learned throughout the project.  

The grant recipient and all project partners will also attend a final review meeting with the coordinator at the appropriate time.   

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. This final report should be IPR free and not contain any confidential information, as it may be uploaded onto the UK Space Agency website.   

The grant recipient will complete a case study using the UK Space Agency’s template, which will be uploaded onto the UK Space Agency website. 

The grant recipient will provide required information to support the North Star Metric monitoring and will engage in follow-up interviews as part of the Unlocking Space for Business programme’s monitoring and evaluation activity. 

Information about what can and cannot be claimed using grant funding is available on our grants page here. The UK Space Agency will carefully review your submitted budget to ensure all costs included represent eligible costs. This call does permit the submission of calculated overheads, which should be submitted using the Overheads Template. Guidance on how to populate this can be found below. Please note the UK Space Agency scrutinises overhead rates and reserves the right to challenge rates deemed excessive.  

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. No material changes to the terms will be considered. 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 the application deadline, ideally with a marked up copy of the Grant Funding Agreement detailing requested changes.  

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 UK Space Agency grant funding policies (e.g. match funding). Projects are selected for audit using a risk-based approach. The auditor will be appointed by 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 (grant recipient 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. 

8. Guidance for Preparing an Application 

The lead applicant (an end-user business) is accountable for the application process, including its compilation and submission (with input from the project partners), and for the content provided as it will be submitted under their name.  Only the lead organisation must submit an application. It is the lead organisation’s responsibility to ensure that all required information is complete and accurately submitted before the deadline.   

Your application for funding must be submitted by 4pm BST on 7 July 2025. This will include: 

• your application form 

• your budget breakdown spreadsheet  

• your National Security Questionnaire (please see guidance on the UK Space Agency’s grants page here).

All application documentation must be sent by email to the Unlocking Space for Business Grant Team at Commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk with the subject ‘Unlocking Space for Business Grant Call – Application’.   

Applications should be in single-spaced typescript (minimum font size 11-point Arial, minimum 1.5 cm margins all round, including diagrams and tables). Where a template is specified, this must be unaltered. Should any part of the application overrun the specified page limit, including the submission of appendices outside those requested, we will only consider material up to the designated page limit that is in the correct format. 

8.1 Budget Spreadsheet 

Please use the budget spreadsheet to provide an indication of the costs you expect to incur on the project. These tables will be made available to any external assessors and will be scrutinised by the UK Space Agency to ensure all costs proposed represent eligible expenditure under grant funding terms and conditions. 

Please include the following information: 

Subsidy Control category tab: please include each partner organisation proposed and their relevant size, which will automatically populate their subsidy control category. Subcontractors are not included in this section and should be listed as ‘additional costs’ for the lead organisation in the work package breakdown tab.  

Work Package breakdown tab: please include a detailed breakdown of each proposed work package and the spend associated with each item. Grant funding is provided on a cost recovery basis and so no profit margins should be included on any item.  

Proposed Milestone Table tab: grant funding is paid in arrears upon agreement of completed milestone deliverables. Please include details of your proposed milestone deliverables, the work packages these correspond to and how much grant funding is requested.  

Summary by Work Package: this tab will automatically populate. 

Summary by Organisation: this tab will automatically populate.  

Instruments and Equipment tab: please provide details of any instruments or equipment being used for the project, whether these are being purchased specifically for it or have an operational use beyond the end of the project.  

8.2 Overheads Template 

This is only required for applicants utilising custom overhead rates. Organisations opting for the 20% of labour 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, which are:

• indirect (administration) overheads 

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

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

8.3 Indirect (administration) overhead 

Selecting the indirect (administration) overheads link will take you to a template you’ll need to complete to calculate these costs. 

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 labour 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. 

8.4 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. 

8.5 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. 

8.6 Human resources staff 

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

8.7 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. 

8.8 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. 

8.9 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. 

8.10 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. 

8.11 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. 

8.12 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. 

8.13 Security and safety costs 

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

8.14 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. 

8.15 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. 

8.16 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. 

8.17 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. 

8.18 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. 

8.19 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. 

8.20 Column B 

In this column you should detail the proportion of the costs outlined in column A that day rate criteria outlined in the cost categories. You can use a percentage. 

8.21 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. 

8.22 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. 

8.23 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. 

8.24 Direct overhead 

Selecting the direct overheads link will take you to a template you’ll need to complete to calculate these costs. 

We understand that in undertaking a project you may incur associated costs with those staff working directly on the project and listed in the labour 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. 

9. Assessment of Applications   

Applications for this funding scheme will be assessed by the UK Space Agency.  

The UK Space Agency now uses standard assessment questions and criteria for grant funding schemes. Full guidance on scoring is available online here, including the scoring sheet and information we issue to assessors. The decision of the UK Space Agency is final in all cases. There is no course for appeal, but we provide feedback on all applications. Incomplete or late applications and altered templates will not be considered. 

A summary of the assessment process is as follows:

Only proposals received by the closing time and date will be considered.  

An initial sift of proposals will remove any proposals which do not meet the eligibility criteria. 

Eligible proposals will be assessed by reviewers to be scored against assessment criteria. 

A moderation panel will follow to ensure consistency in marking.  

A scored and ranked list of fundable proposals will be generated. The UK Space Agency takes a portfolio approach to funding, which means we look to fund a range of projects that cover the full breadth of the strategic objectives. This means we may move some fundable proposals up or down the ranked list. 

If needed, clarifications will be sought from organisations. 

All applicants will be advised of the outcome. 

Due diligence will be conducted throughout the call process as set out in section 8. If due diligence results in irreconcilable differences, the grant will not be placed. 

The following questions and weightings are applied to this scheme: 

Question	Weighting	Application Page Limit
How does your proposal advance the strategic goals identified within the call document and the wider goals of the UK Space Agency?	20%	2
Why do you need grant funding, how will you spend it and how does this represent good value for money for the taxpayer?	10%	1
How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?	15%	2
What will be the impact of receiving the grant, both for your business and outside your organisation?	15%	2
How is your idea both innovative and technically feasible?	15%	2
How does your proposed project aim to have a positive impact on the environment and incorporate sustainability practices?	10%	1
How will you ensure effective delivery of this project throughout its full duration?	15%	1

10. Due Diligence 

If your proposal is recommended for funding, the UK Space Agency will conduct due diligence checks ahead of issuing your Grant Funding Agreement to confirm you are eligible to receive funding and have sufficient resources to ensure a project is successful. You can find out about the checks we conduct on our grants page here. We expect lead organisations to conduct due diligence on project partners and may ask to see confirmation this has been completed.  

11. Confidentiality  

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

Completed applications must be submitted to the UK Space Agency at the email address specified in the guidance documentation. All bids will be held in confidence.  

Once the call closing date has passed, electronic copies of all eligible documents will be distributed to the independent assessment panel members. UK Space Agency confidentiality rules will apply.  

For those bids not recommended by the panel for funding, documentation will be retained by the UK Space Agency for reference. The proposals will not be visible to any others, and the names of any unsuccessful bidders will not be published. 

Information submitted for those projects selected for funding will be retained by UK Space Agency but remain confidential.  

Summary information about the projects selected for funding may be published on the UK Space Agency website.  

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

12. ANNEX 1: Q&A 

12.1 What has changed between the Unlocking Space for Business grant call released in 2024 and this call? 

While the scope and strategic goals of this grant call are largely the same as the first USB grant call, there are some differences in the grant delivery: 

Funding amounts: the maximum amount of funding available is £2,000,000, which reflects the reduced time available for projects to deliver. 

Length of project: this has been reduced to a maximum of 7 months, with projects asked to aim for 6 months of delivery (September 2025 – February 2026 inclusive). 

Assessment criteria: although there is a substantial overlap with the first grant call, the structure and wording of the questions has been altered to support consistency in UK Space Agency grant processes. 

Assessment process: assessment will be conducted internally by the UK Space Agency. 

Grant administration: in response to feedback from the first grant call, project leads may now delegate project administration to a partner organisation. Project leads will still be required to attend the monthly check-ins, with all project partners required to attend the kick-off meeting, mid-term review and end of project review. 

Continuous improvement: some changes have been introduced to finance forms, number of milestones and other reporting templates, following feedback from grant recipients. 

12.2 Can projects that were previously funded by an Unlocking Space for Business SBRI contract or grant apply? 

Yes, project partners that were involved in a previous Unlocking Space for Business funded SBRI or grant project can apply, either as part of the same consortium or a different consortium, as long as the project is sufficiently different from that which was previously funded (for example, the project involves a different product or service, and/or a different end-user business) and the project proposal demonstrates how the project will progress TRL towards commercialisation. The lead applicant must be an end-user business within either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors. We will not fund projects that are being funded elsewhere in the UK Space Agency or UK government. 

Applicants should be mindful of the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and the Streamlined Scheme for Research, Development and Innovation, which caps subsidies at £3,000,000 per enterprise per project. The UK Space Agency is required to consider any previous subsidies you may have received, including previous grant funding, to determine if they should count towards this £3,000,000 total. We are required to count them towards the total if they meet all of the following conditions:  

• were given to the same enterprise by any public authority  

• for the same project or activities as defined under the relevant categories of the Streamlined Route Schedule  

• for the same of 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)   

• if a project lasts for longer than 3 years, then the maximum award amounts and the subsidy ratios apply to the lifespan of that project or activity - therefore the cumulation period cannot restart after 3 years for the same project. 

It is the responsibility of applicants to consider their Subsidy Control Act 2022 compliance, as in the event a non-compliant subsidy is awarded, the UK Space Agency would be legally obliged to recover the funding. Please note we will not provide pre-application advice about your subsidy control cumulation: it is the applicant’s responsibility to determine if they are eligible or not. For further advice, please consult the guidance available for the streamlined scheme).  

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

Yes, you may re-submit your proposal which will then go through the independent evaluation process when being considered for funding.  We recommend proposals are checked for alignment with the current call objectives and that any previous feedback is taken into consideration. 

12.4 What is meant by space solutions? 

Space solutions cover satellite data and services derived from one or a combination of three satellite domains (Earth observation; satellite communication; positioning, navigation and timing). These can be combined with other enabling terrestrial data and technologies, for example AI, machine learning and quantum. 

12.5 What is considered positive economic benefit to end-users? 

Proposals must demonstrate how they anticipate positive economic benefit to end-users over the course of the grant project by reference to at least one of the grant call strategic goals: driving revenue growth; improving customer retention; enhancing operational and financial efficiency; and addressing environmental obligations. 

12.6 What if we identify an application outside of the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors – can we still apply? 

No. Projects must provide benefit to an end-user business within either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors. However, there may be other UK Space Agency opportunities available; find out about other available UK Space Agency funding here: Apply for funding: space-related R&D, innovation and education - GOV.UK 

12.7 Who is considered an end-user business? 

An end-user business is a private sector business that directly utilises or consumes data derived from space-based assets, such as satellites, to gain insights, make informed decisions and drive innovation, in either the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors. For Financial Services, this includes, but is not limited to, banks, insurance companies, asset managers. For Transport & Logistics, this includes, but is not limited to, logistics firms, transport operators, fleet operators. Proposals must be led by a UK-based end-user business. 

12.8 Who is considered a space supplier? 

A space supplier may be a satellite data provider, satellite service provider and/or satellite insights provider.  

12.9 Can suppliers/partners who are not lead applicants be involved in more than one bid? 

Yes. Depending on the nature of the awards and activity undertaken, the total amount of public funding may be limited per enterprise per project. This would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

You can submit more than one proposal, but it must be clear how the proposals differ. You cannot submit multiple versions of the same proposal or variations of the same proposal. All proposals will be considered as individual projects and will require separate invoicing, funding breakdowns and grant funding agreements. You will be expected to submit invoices separately and must be able to demonstrate how monies have been spent for each project. If you submit multiple different proposals and these are successful you will need to ensure that you can deliver all within the timeframes and that they remain separate projects throughout the process. 

12.10 As the lead applicant, is the end-user business responsible for making the application, including compiling of the information, and submitting the funding request? 

Yes. The lead applicant (an end-user business) is accountable for the application process, including its compilation and submission, and for the content provided as it will be submitted under their name. We have specified for this call that the lead applicant must be an end-user business as this is fundamental to the scheme’s objectives. 

The lead applicant may delegate project administration of the grant to a project partner if preferred. Project leads will still be required to attend the monthly check-ins, with all project partners required to attend the kick-off meeting, mid-term review and end of project review. 

12.11 Is it a requirement to have partners in the project? 

Yes. All applications should be led by an end-user business in either the financial services or transport and logistics sectors, alongside a space supplier, with any other required integrator organisations. 

12.12 Does previous experience with the UK Space Agency and the Unlocking Space for Business programme confer an advantages or disadvantages on an applicant? 

No, applications will be scored on their individual merit.  

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

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

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

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

If you wish to sub-contract some work, then that company cannot be considered as a project partner as payment to them will be made from the award and they will therefore be included in the costs of the project. 

12.15 What are collaboration agreements? 

Collaboration agreements should provide a flow-down of the UK Space Agency Grant Funding Agreement terms, explicitly define IP ownership and other terms of collaboration such as work schedules and payments. A collaboration agreement must be in place within 6 weeks of project kick off. The Agency does not supply a template collaboration agreement or get involved in their negotiation – this is a matter for lead organisations and their project partners. 

12.16 Would sub-contractors have any IP publication rights? 

If you sub-contract work this may not affect the IP publication rights of your company, but this is for the lead organisation to confirm.   

12.17 Will the UK Space Agency maintain any rights over any IP developed in the project? 

No, the UK Space Agency doesn’t retain any IP. Please refer to the template Grant Funding Agreement for terms and conditions. 

12.18 Can we defer the start date or lengthen the project duration? 

Projects cannot be deferred due to the requirement for all projects to be completed by 31 March 2026. Extensions beyond this date will not be permitted. 

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

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

12.20 Can information such as Gantt charts and project plans be submitted separately as Annexes, such as an Excel table? 

Documents should be submitted on the application form, however, Gantt charts may be submitted as a separate file if they cannot be easily viewed when embedded in the application form. They must not exceed the page limit for the relevant question. 

12.21 Can I have a consultation on an application before it is submitted? 

We are unable to offer consultations on applications. However, if you have any specific questions that are not answered in the call documents or FAQs please email USB_Grant@ukspaceagency.gov.uk and we shall get back to you. 

12.22 If we miss the deadline, will we be able to submit after the set date? 

We cannot accept any late applications unless a failure on the part of the UK Space Agency has been identified, where all applicants will be given extra time. Applications must be submitted to commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk by 4pm BST on 7 July 2025. 

12.23 Is there any font and font size recommended for answers on the application form? 

Applications for project funding shall take the form of a proposal in single-spaced typescript (minimum font size 11-point, including diagrams and tables). Answers must be provided on the application form. 

12.24 What if we can’t explain our proposal in the limits of the page count? 

All applications are required to adhere to the specified page limits per question. Anything over the specified count or using a smaller font size than permitted will be disregarded by evaluators. 

12.25 Why are we limited to four milestones? 

Following feedback from previous grant recipients, we have reduced the number of milestones in order to keep the reporting requirements on grant recipients to a minimum. Applicants should provide clear justification within their application for requesting any additional milestones. 

12.26 What is match funding and why is it required for this call? 

Match funding refers to the requirement for the grant recipient to contribute a portion of the total project costs themselves. Match funding is a requirement for UK Space Agency grants as it ensures shared investment in projects, encourages collaboration and innovation, and enhances the overall impact and sustainability of funded initiatives. Match funding is a requirement under the Subsidy Control Scheme that the call is being awarded under. Failure to provide the level of match funding will make any proposal ineligible under this call. 

12.27 Does the maximum grant award offered include the match funding (PV) contribution? 

The maximum grant offered (£400,000) is the award value the UK Space Agency will give to a successful proposal.  Organisations should contribute match funding to the total cost of the project calculated using Subsidy Control Rules. 

12.28 Do the match funding funds have to be immediately available when applying for funding? 

Yes, the match funding must have been agreed and secured at the time of applying for the grant so that the project can commence as soon as the grant agreement has been completed. 

12.29 Can a non-UK based organisation receive funding? 

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

In such instances the subcontractor cannot be a partner to the project.  However, if a non-UK entity wants to be a partner in the project that is acceptable. This can be facilitated by the non-UK entity organisation providing PV or capability as contribution-in-kind. 

12.30 Are in-kind contributions to match-fund from UK-based project partners eligible? 

No. We can’t accept in-kind contributions for match funding. Project partners may give in-kind contributions to the lead organisation, but the UK Space Agency cannot classify this as match funding for subsidy control purposes. 

12.31 How much of the match funding do the lead applicant and partners need to provide? 

Match funding will be apportioned according to the individual contributions of each consortium member. There is no requirement that the lead applicant provides all or a specific proportion of the match funding. We have not specified requirements around the particular funding split between project partners, and it is up to the project consortium to determine how the grant funding will be allocated among the project partners. however, all members of the consortium are responsible for determining their Subsidy Control status in line with the eligibility requirements set out in the call guidance. 

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

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

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

12.33 Should we explicitly state the overhead rate attached to salary costs, or would you prefer it to be amalgamated into a combined salary/overhead cost for each staff position? 

The finance template includes notes on what information is required.   

12.34 Do labour costs relate only to staff on a PAYE payroll or would staff employed on short/long-term fixed contracts be eligible? 

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

12.35 Will you pay invoices after 31 March 2026? 

Yes. We will process invoices after projects have finished, for work completed prior to the end of projects on 31 March 2026. Applicants will be required to complete an Accrual Form for any work completed in March 2026 which will be invoiced for in April 2026. 

12.36 Can we claim for VAT? 

No. Grant funding is outside the scope of VAT so grant recipients cannot charge output VAT on top of submitted costs. Input VAT may need to be reclaimed from HMRC under a grant recipient’s existing arrangement. If a grant recipient incurs non-recoverable VAT, this may be considered as eligible expenditure; the grant recipient would need to demonstrate that it is non-recoverable. Grant recipients should seek their own advice on VAT. 

12.37 Is the lead applicant expected to administer the grant and lead on the reporting? 

Please see the answer to question “As the lead applicant, is the end-user business responsible for making the application, including compiling of the information, and submitting the funding request?”

12.38 What is the North Star Metric? 

The North Star Metric is a quantitative metric which measure the level of revenue and investment in the UK space sector which can be attributed to UK Space Agency support. Data is gathered as an agreed requirement of UK Space Agency grants and contracts from the recipients of those grants and contracts. 

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

The UK Space Agency will conduct interviews with grant recipients periodically across the grant project and will provide multiple opportunities to provide feedback both during and after the grant project has been delivered. This activity is part of the Unlocking Space programme’s benefits realisation, and we ask that all projects engage with the process. This will be complemented by quarterly North Star Metric data collection conducted by UK Space Agency grant managers. 

We may also reach out to unsuccessful applicants to request feedback and information to better understand the impact of Unlocking Space for Business funding. We appreciate your input as we develop the programme. 

12.40 Is an independent audit required of the total cost of the project? 

Confirmation is required that the Grant Recipient has expended the sums in respect of the period in which milestone payments have been claimed. For this purpose, a report must be completed and sent to the Grant Funder within 3 months of the end of the grant or annually, whichever is shorter. As per the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement, it is not possible to claim the cost of this report.