Earth Observation (EO) science is crucial for understanding Earth's climate. EO services support £100bn of the UK's GDP. The UKSA established the CEOI in 2007 to maintain, grow and innovate the UK's EO capability. This interim evaluation presents findings relating to the CEOI programme design, delivery and outcomes, as well as comparing the UK EO sector to that of other nations. A final deliverable will be submitted in March 2025.

Evaluation of the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI)

Interim Report

Theodora Ogden, Billy Bryan, Michelle Qu, Dominic Yiangou, Katie O'Brien, Greg Sadlier, Alyssa Frayling, Luca Niccolai, Luca Budello, Aravind Ravichandran, et al.

ResearchPublished Oct 29, 2024

Earth Observation (EO) science in fundamental to humanity's understanding of our planet, its climate and its natural processes. EO services support an estimated £100bn (4.7%) of the UK's Gross Domestic Products (GDP). The UK Space Agency (UKSA) launched the Centre for EO Instrumentation (CEOI) programme in 2007 to deliver an EO Instrumentation Programme (EOIP) to maintain and grow UK capability in low Technology-Readiness-Level (TRL) EO instrumentation. The EOIP was later expanded into the EO Technology Programme (EOTP), with an additional £15m up to March 2025 to develop innovative EO satellite instrumentation to maintain the UK's position at the forefront of EO capability and expertise.

This report represents an interim deliverable within the CEOI Programme evaluation. It includes interim findings in our assessment of CEOI's impact, delivery and value for money alongside a series of comparator international case studies. It presents interim findings relating to the CEOI programme design and delivery, and the outcomes achieved. International case studies have been used to compare the UK's EO sector to other notable space-faring nations such as France, Germany, Canada, Japan and others. The evaluation's next phase will collect further data against the evaluation questions and indicators to provide a final assessment of the CEOI programme’s delivery and effectiveness. This deliverable will be submitted in March 2025.

Key Findings

CEOI funding represents the 'best deal on offer' for funding recipients

  • Funding calls 7-15 total £21.65m in CEOI grant funding, with a further £15m in funding available in the recent 16th call through upscaling via EOTP. The extent of funding available, when coupled with CEOI's match-funding programme that ensures industry buy-in and partnership, provides recipients with flexibility and represents the 'best deal on offer' when compared to other available funding options, domestically and internationally. The CEOI offers a range of project categories (Flagship, Pathfinder and Fast Track) that appeal to multivarious stakeholder types and organisation sizes.

CEOI funding results in an increase in TRL and often enables new collaborations

  • CEOI-supported projects span a wide range of technologies, targeting low-TRL projects to give new entrants access to the EO sector and to enable established organisations to grow. Across the projects reviewed, there was an increase in TRL, with survey responses indicating an average TRL increase of 2.8 from the project’s starting point to the present. As the CEOI programme targets low-TRL projects, it gives new entrants access to the EO sector and facilitates growth within the sector.
  • Many project participants highlighted the CEOI programme's strength in fostering collaboration and novel partnerships, through the programme's structure and through frequent events, a key contributor to expanding participants' knowledge and developing new and existing skills.

Programme applicants consider the CEOI's processes favourably

  • Survey results show that programme applicants find the application process for CEOI funding to be clear, rigorous and efficient, with short turnaround times. Most project participants value the CEOI's project management approach and reporting structures, highlighting the CEOI team's knowledge, expertise and credibility, as well as the frequency of engagement with the CEOI. Participants emphasised the value this brings to the projects through consistent engagement, technical advice and guidance on bidding for further funding, such as via the European Space Agency. In addition, where there was disruption to project delivery, for example during the COVID-19 pandemic, CEOI was able to overcome these challenges.

Recommendations

  • CEOI should continue to broaden the added-value programme represented by EOTP. An important and instructive lesson for UKSA, this should continue past March 2025 with longer lead times to allow CEOI to plan and deliver activities more strategically.
  • Consistency and reliability of regular funding for CEOI calls remains an issue for CEOI, prospective applicants and UKSA. The lack of long-term ring-fenced funds limits the ability of CEOI to invest in technologies or projects with longer development times and signal to industry early support of some low-TRL technologies.
  • Possible CEOI delivery models should continue to be assessed and possible changes to the delivery model should be considered, with an eye to how these changes might further improve CEOI's results and align to UKSA's priorities.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: UK Space Agency
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2024
  • Pages: 164
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA2831-2
  • Document Number: RR-A2831-2

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Ogden, Theodora, Billy Bryan, Michelle Qu, Dominic Yiangou, Katie O'Brien, Greg Sadlier, Alyssa Frayling, Luca Niccolai, Luca Budello, Aravind Ravichandran, Deepika Ravishankar, and Scott Mackie, Evaluation of the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI): Interim Report, RAND Corporation, RR-A2831-2, 2024. As of May 1, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2831-2.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Ogden, Theodora, Billy Bryan, Michelle Qu, Dominic Yiangou, Katie O'Brien, Greg Sadlier, Alyssa Frayling, Luca Niccolai, Luca Budello, Aravind Ravichandran, Deepika Ravishankar, and Scott Mackie, Evaluation of the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI): Interim Report. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2831-2.html.
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