兰德-国家空间创新计划过程评估（英）

Process Evaluation for the National Space Innovation ProgrammeInterim reportKatarina Pisani, Chris Carter-Gordon, Ioli Howard, Ishita Puri, Lara Marie Otto, Oliver Swainston, Billy BryanFor more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RRA3412-1About RAND Europe RAND Europe is a not-for-profit research organisation that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. To learn more about RAND Europe, visit www.randeurope.org.Research Integrity Our mission to help improve policy and decision making through research and analysis is enabled through our core values of quality and objectivity and our unwavering commitment to the highest level of integrity and ethical behaviour. To help ensure our research and analysis are rigorous, objective, and nonpartisan, we subject our research publications to a robust and exacting quality-assurance process; avoid both the appearance and reality of financial and other conflicts of interest through staff training, project screening, and a policy of mandatory disclosure; and pursue transparency in our research engagements through our commitment to the open publication of our research findings and recommendations, disclosure of the source of funding of published research, and policies to ensure intellectual independence. For more information, visit www.rand.org/about/research-integrity.© 2025 know.spaceAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from know.space.RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif., and Cambridge, UKR® is a registered trademark.Cover: Adobe Stock i Summary The UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) provides co-funding to support the development of innovations with a high potential to catalyse investment into the UK space sector. This interim report presents findings from the process evaluation of NSIP, commissioned by the UK Space Agency and conducted by RAND Europe’s Space Hub (RESH) team. The wider evaluation is led by know.space, covering impact and economic elements. This report provides insights into the programme’s design and delivery, focusing on how these elements contribute to achieving expected outcomes. The report is based on document reviews, interviews with NSIP support staff and assessment panellists, and surveys of NSIP applicants and project leads. Our headline finding is that NSIP is a well-run and continuously improving programme, viewed positively by those who have received support via its multiple funding mechanisms. NSIP has expanded its scope and impact since its Pilot phase, supporting a diverse range of project themes and achieving a balanced distribution across National Space Strategy (NSS) technology topics. Recent calls have enhan