Space Cluster Network Programme – North West Space Cluster

All UKSA 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:  

• Projects should kick-off on 1st February 2027 and conclude on 31st March 2030. 

• The project team will be required to be part of the following (but not limited to) as part of project management:    

1. The grant recipient will attend a kick off meeting to initiate each project.    

2. The grant recipient will provide written progress reports to the coordinator along with regular review meetings (expected to be on a monthly basis).   

3. The grant recipient will attend a quarterly review meeting where their progress will be reviewed against the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA).     

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

5. The grant recipient will provide evidence of meeting the milestones and providing deliverables agreed in their GFA.  

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

7. The grant recipient will also schedule a final review meeting with the coordinator at the appropriate time.    

8. 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.    

Information about what can and cannot be claimed using grant funding is available on our grants page here. UKSA will carefully review your submitted budget to ensure all costs included represent eligible costs. If your scheme allows for the use of calculated overheads, please set out here how applicants should apply for this (usually through the submission of the Calculated Overheads spreadsheet).   

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: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/754555/2018-11-06_Code_of_Conduct_for_Grant_Recipients.pdf  

 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 (prime 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.

This funding call will support an organisation provide dedicated resource to manage the North West of England’s Space Cluster, and in doing so progress the following objectives: 

1. Deliver local economic growth: create a favourable environment for local space sector growth that immediately and directly catalyses investment into the cluster’s region or nation, from a range of public and private sources, including new contract revenue, foreign direct investment, and exports.    

2. Connect and enhance access to the UK’s space ecosystem: further strengthen ties between space clusters to streamline capability development and provide routes for individual, national and international organisations to access the commercial opportunities, supply chain capability, or academic expertise they need to grow.

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.  

Call Opens 

11th November 2026 

Call Closes (Full Proposal Deadline) 

16:00 on 18th December 2026 

Successful Applicants Notified  

w/c 21st  December 2026 

Project Kick-off 

1st February 2027 

Projects Conclude 

31st March 2030

Applications for the Grant Call will be managed through the Flexigrant portal, which will support the submissions, assessment and administration of applications. Applicants must register for the portal before submitting an application. Applicants can access the portal and register an account here: Flexigrant.  

Applications must be submitted via Flexigrant no later than 16:00 GMT on Friday 18 December 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.  

Your application must include:

• 1. Your application form  

  2. Your budget breakdown spreadsheet   

• Any additional supporting documentation requested within the application process.

For any questions, please refer to the Announcement of Opportunity (AoO),, or contact UKSA.localgrowth@dsit.gov.uk