National Space Innovation Programme - Call 3
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Award
£150k – £2m
Total fund Up to £20m
Deadline
Closes 13 November 2026
Where
UK-wide
Summary
The National Space Innovation Programme (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. 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 space activities closer to commercialisation and exploitation.
Who can apply
All successful UK Space Agency grant proposals must follow certain mandatory requirements: The project must be led by a UK organisation who will receive a grant from the UK Space Agency. This can be any type of UK organisation including University-led academic research proposals and Industry-led commercial research proposals Grant recipients must demonstrate the ability to effectively manage a project Grant recipients must have a UK bank account and all grant payments will be made in UK sterling (as per grant funding agreement). As per the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement, the lead organisation will be required to put in place a Collaboration or Flow Down Agreement that ensures all terms and conditions within the Grant Funding Agreement are passed onto project partners. This should be in place with 30 days of signature. This should include provisions regarding how the results of the work, including any IPR and spinouts, will be exploited by project partners. All project members must have in place and provide evidence when requested of appropriate anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies. All project members must be able to provide evidence that they are GDPR compliant. All project members must provide evidence of a process for declaring and managing conflicts of interest. Projects cannot work in areas that are in active conflict and any travel to overseas areas must comply with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice. Projects must pass due diligence checks on company viability and national security (including financial standing assessment, governance assessment, conflicts of interest assessment, national security assessment and technical expertise assessment) – the UK Space Agency reserves the right to withdraw any offer in the event an applicant does not pass any of these requirements. Projects must comply with any call-specific rules stated in the call guidance page. Projects can include non-domestic partners (including those within the EU) who bring their own funding. Applicants should note that all applicants, irrespective of geographic location, must still satisfy the core eligibility requirements set out in this section above and award will be subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence checks.
Full details
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 emphasises 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. 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.