International Bilateral Fund - Call 3

Funding

£1,000,000 – £1,500,000

Location

England

Applications

Open until 4 November 2026

Overview

The UK Space Agency is offering grants to strengthen international partnerships in the UK space sector. Each project can receive between £1 million and £1.5 million. Projects must last no longer than 18 months and start on 1 April 2027. You must include an international partner in your project. Match funding is required, following UK subsidy control rules. Each lead organisation can only submit one application. This includes businesses, universities, and public sector research bodies.

Eligibility

Who can apply:

limited companyacademicpublic sectorsole traderpartnership

Key requirements:

  • Must include an international partner
  • Match funding required in line with UK subsidy control guidelines
  • One application per lead organisation
  • Projects must start on 1 April 2027
  • Projects must be no longer than 18 months
Who is this for?

This grant is for businesses, universities, and public sector research bodies in England working in the space sector. You must be able to bring in an international partner and provide match funding. It is not suitable if your organisation has already submitted a separate application as a lead for this funding call.

Regions

Full details from Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

The UK Space Agency, invites proposals for projects through the International Bilateral Fund (IBF) that will help strengthen the UK space sector’s international partnerships. Projects can be up to 18 months and must begin on 1 April 2027. Up to £1.5m is available in UK Space Agency grant funding for each project. Owing to high levels of anticipated demand for this funding call, the UK Space Agency has taken the decision to restrict the number of applications to one per lead organisation (for the avoidance of doubt, this measure applies to all types of organisations, including industrial, academic and public sector research bodies). The inclusion of an international partner and matched contributions (as per UK subsidy control guidelines) are mandatory.

How to apply

Submit your proposal through the UK Space Agency by 4 November 2026. You can only submit one application as a lead organisation. Make sure your project includes an international partner and matched funding before applying.

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Last updated: 2 September 2026