GovWire

The UK Space Agency and ESA are running a new call for proposals for the ESA Earth Observation (EO) programme, InCubed2.Interested UK entities are invited to submit proposals that look to develop innovative and commercially viable products and services that generate or exploit the value of Earth observation imagery and datasets. This round of funding will be dedicated to the innovation in the Public Sector use of EO Data including but not limited to (e.g.):

• climate indicators modelling and monitoring (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions)
• nowcasting - incorporating EO data in modelling
• watercourse management
• precipitation monitoring and modelling
• infrastructure monitoring (e.g. transport networks)
• local government use
• biodiversity monitoring
• sustainable agriculture and aquaculture
• solar and wind energy

The InCubed2 call will make up to 3 million of funding available for proposals from both industry and academia.No upper or lower funding limit has been set for individual projects. Projects will need to show that the output is commercially or operationally ready by the end of the proposed activity timeline.

All projects must include a compelling element of matched funding to be eligible under the programme. Further details on matched funding and other eligibility requirements are contained in the guidance documents.

Who can apply

UK Industry (research institutions and academia with no commercial interest in the product can apply as part of an industrially led consortium).

Total funding amount

3 million total.

Deadline for InCubed2 call for stage 1 proposals

10:59pm BST on 12 September 2024.

This call is being run in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). Applications should be made directly to ESA through the Pitch for Ideas webpage before the application deadline.

Applications sent from UK entities after the deadline will not be considered.

UK support for InCubed2 proposals

The InCubed2 programme requires that national delegations explicitly provide financial authorisation to ESA for proposals that they wish to support.

UK support will be given through the first stage of the application process,UK applicants will need to submit an Ideas Pitch to ESA by the closing date. ESA will then check if you qualify for InCubed co-funding and if the proposal meets the requirements, you may be offered the possibility of pitching your idea in a 15-minute session, followed by 45 minutes of questions from ESA and the UK delegation.

At the end of this stage the UK delegation will indicate which proposals they are willing to support to the following application step. This is to allow consideration of proposals in a fair and transparent process by the UK Space Agency and ESA and reduce the time to award for successful applicants.

Schedule for UK InCubed2 call for proposals

Please note: This does not include the ESA application process. Please see UK Space Agency guidance for further details on this.

Any questions about this funding opportunity should be submitted via email to UKSAEOT@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.

Questions submitted to any other UK Space Agency email address may not be considered.

Industry events

In addition to this call, we have organised an online webinar on 1 August at 11am to 12pm BST.

The webinar will include a walkthrough of the joint UK Space Agency/ESA application process. There will also be a Q&A session after the agency presentations, where participants will have the opportunity to ask any questions relating to the call.

If you are interested in joining this webinar, please complete the online form.