Copernicus
Programme
Evaluation
A project for the
.about
The European space programme, Copernicus, is a world-leading satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) system. Copernicus provides world-leading satellite data that underpins science, innovation, public services, and responses to global challenges such as climate change. The UK re-joined Copernicus in January 2024. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has now commissioned an independent evaluation to assess the impact and value of the UK’s participation.
The core aims of the Copernicus Evaluation are to:
Assess Value for Money: Understand whether the UK’s financial contribution delivers sufficient returns in terms of contracts, innovation, and societal benefits.
Measure impact: evaluate the opportunities and growth generated for the UK’s Earth Observation and wider space sector.
Evaluate Public Service benefits: examine how Copernicus data strengthens UK capabilities in climate science, resilience, and delivery of essential public services.
Analyse influence and collaboration: explore the extent of the UK’s influence within Copernicus, and how collaboration with international partners drives innovation
.partnership
know.space are leading a consortium to deliver an evalaution of the UK’s participation in Copernicus, together with our partners at Frontier Economics and TerraWatch Space. Our consortium also contains several expert advisers, bringing leading UK and European perspectives from government, academia and industry.
.methodology
Our methodology is based on a mixed-methods approach, combining primary and secondary research. The primary research uses a combination of interviews, surveys, and focus groups to gather evidence, while the secondary research uses desk-based research of key documentation and secondary data, including business and investment intelligence platforms and datasets. The evaluation methodology itself harnesses theory-based evaluation and quasi-experimental methods to provide credible and actionable analysis to decision-makers.
.get involved
We have now started stakeholder engagement for the study. Our current stage of engagement involves collecting survey data from Copernicus data users. We are looking to gather information to identify the value that data users place on Copernicus products and services. This will help inform our quantification and analysis of the additional benefits between UK participation and non-participation.
If you are a user of Copernicus data, we want to hear your insights and invite you to complete our survey.
Fill out this form with your contact details to receive the full survey. It should take around 15 minutes to complete, and closes in early December 2025. Please respond as soon as possible!
Feel free to reach out at copernicus@know.space with any questions – your input is vital to shaping the future of the UK’s space data policy.