Space for All Fund 2023

Your project must fulfil the following objectives:

• Develop an intervention that is high quality, accessible and easily updateable or modernised.
• Develop an intervention that is self-sustaining, can continue to deliver long after the grant funding ceases and is not reliant on government funding to continue.
• Encourage the uptake of STEM and/or raise science capital**.

** “Science capital refers to science-related qualifications, understanding, knowledge (about science and ‘how it works’), interest and social contacts (for example, knowing someone who works in a science-related job).” (ASPIRES, 2013)

Your project may focus on the following objectives:

• Develop an intervention that makes use of new or modern technologies or platforms, for example, gaming, social media, VR/AR, machine learning, AI, etc.
• Seek to introduce and develop STEM skills in students which are in demand (for example, coding, robotics) and/or skills useful in business such as communication, teamworking, etc.
• Use space and demonstrate topics wider than just human spaceflight.
• Focus on groups that are underserved or disadvantaged.
• Focus on diversity in STEM and the space sector.
• Support teachers in innovative ways, for example, develop classroom resources and bring to life aspects of the STEM curriculum and relate them to real life and diverse role models.
• Focus on raising awareness of the relevance of space to UK citizens, how space benefits the planet and its people, UK achievements in space, and how STEM subjects increase life opportunities.
• Develop activities or resources that contextualise space in a way which is relevant to young people of today, for example, how Earth observation satellites support our climate monitoring.

Where possible, we encourage the development of projects that can be free for the public to use and access, to improve access for underserved or disadvantaged groups. However, we recognise that this is not always possible and will consider all projects on their merits.

Projects may involve elements of research and development and may not necessarily reach young people and audiences during the grant-funding period. In such instances, we would require an evaluation of the future impact following the delivery of the intervention. Any pilot delivery as part of the project will need to be evaluated and the impact and reach provided as a detailed report.

The UK Space Agency would expect some photos and videos of successful projects for use in its promotion of funded projects across its social media platforms. (All the related permissions and consents should be sought and secured from the data subjects as necessary.)

We anticipate the following schedule:

• opening of award scheme – 1 September 2023
• deadline for proposals to be received – 5pm 27 October 2023
• outcome notification – w/c 27 November 2023
• grant-funded work on projects to start from – 4 December 2023
• grant duration to end by – 21 March 2025 (but projects expected to continue beyond the grant period)

There are a series of requirements for eligibility to receive grant funding.

• 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).
• All project members must have in place and provide evidence of appropriate anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies.
• All project members must provide evidence of a process for declaring and managing conflicts of interest.
• All project members must be able to provide evidence that they are General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant.
• Projects cannot work in areas that are in active conflict and any travel to overseas must comply with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recommendations.
• Projects must pass due diligence checks on company viability (financial standing assessment, governance, conflicts of interest, technical expertise).
• Formal teaming, or equivalent agreements between project partners must be in place within 60 days of grant signature.
• Projects must comply with the rules stated in this guidance document.

Eligible organisations include academic or research institutions (including schools, universities, research councils and UK Space Agency partners), charities, trusts and companies (including not-for-profit).

Subject to further guidelines below, grants may cover all types of expenses, including:

• contributions to salaries,
• costs of materials, and
• travel and subsistence.

Subject to further guidelines below, grants may not cover:

• fees for people already in paid employment where the proposed work could be reasonably undertaken as part of their normal duties,
• unclear costings and those which do not appear to be based on valid estimates, or
• expensive items (for example, equipment or buildings) unless they are intrinsic to the success of the project.

This competition does include the provision of funding that is not classed by the UK Space Agency as a subsidy. You should still seek independent legal advice on what this means for you, before applying.

Further information about the UK Subsidy Control requirements can be found within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation agreement and the subsequent HM Government guidance.

‘No subsidy’ status is only granted to organisations which declare that they will not use the funding:

• in any way which gives them selective economic or commercial advantage, and
• in any way which would determine the funding as a subsidy as defined by the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement.

It is the responsibility of the lead organisation to make sure all collaborators in the project remain compliant with these requirements.

It is important to note that it is the activity that an organisation is engaged in as part of the project and not its intentions, that define whether any support provided could be considered a subsidy.

Applicants can apply for funding for up to 100% of eligible project costs.

Submitting your application

The application form is included as a separate document. Up to a maximum of six additional sides of A4 may be included with your application form (for example, text, diagrams or photographs) to support your application. An additional four sides of A4 can be included for evaluation forms, publicity materials and/or resources produced for projects from which this project is a spin-off or extension (if applicable). Any other material submitted will not be included in the grant assessment. We must also receive a signature on the application form from an administrative authority in your organisation (for example, Head of Department, Head Teacher or someone else in a senior position in your organisation).

Deadline

All applications should be submitted by no later than 5pm on Friday 27 October 2023.

Submitting your Application Form

Please complete and submit the application form, with any attachments, by email to: education@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Please quote reference UKSAG23_0041 on all correspondence.

Notification and payment of awards

Payment will be by BACS transfer only. Successful applicants must be able to submit their bank account details within 10 working days of notification of the award by completing a Word format AP1 Supplier Maintenance Form (which will be sent at the time of notification). If this is not completed in 10 days, the award may be withdrawn. These details are treated in the strictest of confidence.

Payment is made in arrears, on completion of your project.

Staged (milestone) payments may be made, especially if your project requires payments against invoices for large items or against certain milestones. There is space on the application form for you to detail these milestones for us to consider. These interim payments and their associated deliverables need to be agreed with us before you start spending against the award and will be detailed in the grant agreement.

Payment is never made in advance of work being done.

Grants may extend over to the end of financial year 2024/2025, as required, from the date the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) is executed (signed).

Grant-funded work on Projects to start no earlier than 4 December 2023.

Grant duration to end by 21 March 2025 (but projects expected to continue beyond the grant period)

The commencement date of the project, that is, from when costs to be reimbursed under the grant can be incurred from, should be the date the grant is executed (signed). Please be aware that it is not best practice to backdate the project commencement date from the date of execution, so successful applicants should not delay in returning signed grant agreements, risking shortening the project window. Until a grant is signed, no commitment to funding has been made and, therefore, no work should be undertaken.

The final claim for the grant will need to be received by the UK Space Agency by Friday 21 March 2025 to enable the payment to be processed before the end of the financial year. For this purpose, final report and grant claim form templates will be issued to successful applicants.