International Partnership Programme Closing Statement
The International Partnership Programme (IPP) – run by the UK Space Agency and funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund – was established as a five-year programme in 2016 to utilise UK expertise in satellite technology and data services to help tackle development challenges. IPP completed its latest phase of work at the end of March 2022.
The UK Space Agency is focused on making the UK one of the world’s most attractive and innovative space economies, backed by a budget that will grow to over £600 million by 2024-25. A series of new priorities have been set out in our Corporate Plan that will catalyse investment, deliver missions and capabilities, and champion space.
These priorities make the UK Space Agency’s focus much clearer to the space sector, space investors and delivery partners. They will help us make the biggest impact against the goals set out in the National Space Strategy.
To support the creation of new programmes, it has been decided not to continue the IPP. New opportunities for UK space organisations to grow their businesses, innovate and work with global partners will be set out in due course.
We would like to thank all our IPP partners and stakeholders for their collaboration, dedication, and innovation. Together they have successfully demonstrated the case for investment in space through 43 projects in 47 countries designed to help tackle specific development challenges. They have trained over 7,000 people on the use of innovative space-enabled solutions, saved lives, unlocked new trade opportunities, and prevented more than 100 million tonnes of CO2 from being released. This is a tremendous achievement. We are confident that the strong and trusted partnerships forged through IPP will continue long into the future, and look forward to seeing their ongoing, positive impact on people across the world.
