International Bilateral Fund

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and provides technical advice on the government's space strategy, supporting the UK space sector to deliver the government's vision.

The Integrated Review and Pillar 2 of the National Space Strategy (NSS) highlight the UK's ambition to " increase our bilateral and multilateral partnerships with other spacefaring nations, forging the best relationships to achieve our goals in space.". To support our international ambitions, there are a range of funding opportunities, including the International Bilateral Fund (IBF), which will (subject to business case approvals) open in April 2023 and carry across until March 2025.The IBF is designed to fund UK space projects which focus on both the UK's strategic priority countries, as referenced in the National Space Strategy, and emerging space nations.

The objectives of the IBF are to:

The fund will leverage £20m worth of investment across UKSA's eight priority areas to deliver on our value proposition to catalyse investment, build and develop UK missions and capabilities, and to champion space on the international stage.

The IBF could include projects which, for example, tackle global challenges like climate change or support projects which focus on sustainability or low-earth orbit capabilities.

This IBF-RFI will help guide UKSA's next steps and aid our understanding of potential projects that the sector is currently exploring or would like to explore, with international partners. We are seeking responses from organisations willing to conduct the work in the UK to meet the objectives of the National Space Strategy.

How to apply

If you believe this opportunity will be of interest to you or your organisation, please complete the questionnaire in the attachment.