Designing a monitoring and evaluation framework for UKSA space science programmes

The Sun looks like a warm yellow sphere with a surface covered with glowing messy hair. The yellow glow extends to the edges of the image, with some regions brighter than others. Many bright yellow arcs stick out from a wide band around the Sun’s equator. A darker region stands out across a roughly horizontal line near the Sun’s south pole. The bright arcs and some darker material can also be seen around the Sun’s edges.

"Solar Orbiter’s widest high-resolution view of the Sun" by ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team, E. Kraaikamp (ROB) / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence

What is the issue?

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) delivers its commitments to international space science missions through two key programmes, the National Space Science Programme (NSSP) and the Space Science and Exploration Bilateral Programme (SEBP), using different mechanisms:

The NSSP manages the UK’s contributions to international space science missions within the European Space Agency’s Scientific Programme. Investment into this programme is fixed and mandatory as a European Space Agency (ESA) member state and includes the UK’s contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Solar Orbiter.
The SEBP is an ambitious new programme that seeks to expand the portfolio of space science missions that the UK invests in to a more diverse range of bilateral science missions, with international partners such as NASA (USA), the Canadian Space Agency, JAXA (Japan) and ISRO (India).

In a political environment marked by changes in government, an imminent spending review and a possible refocusing of the UK’s ambitions in space, creating robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks will be key to allowing UKSA to understand the broader scientific, technical, reputational and collaborative impacts of their investments in space science. This is particularly important at a time when the UK’s investments in ESA and the associated industrial return are being scrutinised.

How did we help?

RAND Europe, in collaboration with Ipsos, was commissioned by the UK Space Agency to design a monitoring and evaluation framework for the NSSP and the SEBP and to conduct mission reviews of the UK contributions to JWST and Solar Orbiter.

This framework aims to provide a consistent pathway for the UKSA to assess the impact, delivery and value for money of missions delivered under the NSSP and SEBP umbrellas. This framework will form a key part of a toolbox that the UKSA can use to optimise delivery and make the case for further investment.

This project consists of two work packages, conducted in parallel:

The design of a monitoring and evaluation framework for the NSSP and the SEBP, providing a pathway through which the impact, delivery and value for money of these programmes can be assessed and compared.
The testing of this framework through two ‘evaluation-style’ mission reviews of the UK’s contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope and Solar Orbiter.

This project will deliver a framework upon which future monitoring and evaluation exercises can be delivered, facilitating transparent provision of information on the overall impacts and value of the UK’s investments in space science missions and instruments that can be used in spending reviews, strategic decisionmaking, business case development and parliamentary committees.

What did we find?

Overall, our mission reviews found that the UK’s investments into JWST and Solar Orbiter have and continue to deliver significant value to the UK scientific community and industrial participants, showcasing the UK’s cutting-edge instrument development capabilities on the world stage. The UK’s contributions to JWST have benefited the UK, with beneficiaries including UK institutions involved in the development of the instruments, the scientific community using data produced by these instruments, and the wider UK space sector and general public.

Through the NSSP, the UK contributed £25m and £33m to the development of JWST and Solar Orbiter, respectively. The NSSP facilitates UK leadership in international space science missions with a relatively small level of funding, as demonstrated by the UK’s key roles in:

The development of JWST’s key Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and involvement in mission-level governance structures despite its relatively small contribution to the overall mission cost of almost US$10bn at launch.
The development of four out of ten of the instruments that make up Solar Orbiter’s instrumentation suite and an early operational role despite its relatively small contribution to the overall mission cost of approximately €1.35bn at launch.

Key benefits to the UK across both of these missions include the demonstration of successful instrument delivery, enhanced instrument development heritage, significant scientific and technical advancements, creation and retention of high-skilled jobs, success in downstream exploitation of data and internationally competitive telescope time allocation processes, increased public awareness of and interest in space science topics, and key operational and governance roles in these missions.

What can be done?

Despite these positive impacts, the UKSA could take a more pro-active approach to identifying areas of existing expertise and strategic priority, using the NSSP as a lever through which to influence international space spending.

Given the expected operational longevity of JWST and Solar Orbiter, and their relatively recent launch dates, the scientific benefits to the UK will likely continue to develop over the course of the missions’ lifetimes. Further M&E efforts should be undertaken to assess the impacts of the UK’s investment into these instruments as their operational lives progress.