Returns and Benefits from Public Space Investments 2021
know.space reviewed the evidence on the economic and wider benefits generated by public investment in space for the UK Space Agency. The study examined rates of return across different investment types and developed a comprehensive framework covering direct benefits, spillovers and the factors determining when and for how long impacts emerge.
A report for the UK Space Agency.
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Public investment supports the development of space technologies, infrastructure, services, skills and markets. Its effects can extend well beyond the organisations receiving funding, generating new commercial applications, productivity improvements, public-service benefits and wider technological and social spillovers.
The UK Space Agency commissioned know.space to update and strengthen its evidence base for appraising these investments. The research reviewed evaluations published between 2015 and 2021, building on earlier studies of returns and spillovers from public space expenditure.
The study developed frameworks for classifying investments by their domain and substance, and for identifying the direct and spillover benefits they produce. It also assessed the evidence on rates of return and key appraisal assumptions, including the time before benefits emerge, their duration, additional investment leveraged and the extent to which impacts would have occurred without public support.
The resulting evidence was designed to improve the robustness of UK Space Agency business cases, benefits modelling and investment decisions.
Key findings
The study found that public space investments generate a wide and complex range of economic, technological and societal benefits, although the scale and composition of returns vary substantially between programmes.
Benefits extend well beyond funding recipients: Direct benefits include technology development, new intellectual property, sales, employment, skills, productivity, investment and access to new markets. Spillovers include benefits to consumers, commercial users and public services, alongside technology transfer, innovation adoption and international coordination.
The evidence base has grown and improved: The review identified 52 relevant evaluations published between 2015 and 2021—almost as many as had been produced during the preceding 45 years. Study quality had also improved, although inconsistent definitions, methods and coverage continued to limit direct comparison.
Positive returns are evident across multiple investment areas: Combining the updated evidence with the previous review produced 68 rate-of-return estimates. Returns varied by domain and investment type, reflecting differences between areas such as Earth observation, communications, navigation, science and exploration, technology development and applications.
Benefits often emerge over long periods: The evidence indicated a median lag of approximately six years before benefits begin to materialise and a median benefit duration of around 17 years. This underlines the importance of taking a long-term view when appraising research, technology and infrastructure investments.
Many evaluations remain partial: Most studies captured only a subset of the potential benefits, with less tangible spillovers - including reputation, knowledge transfer, coordination and social value - particularly difficult to quantify or monetise. Reported rates of return should therefore be interpreted as context-specific rather than universal benchmarks.
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The study combined an extensive review of published evaluations with stakeholder interviews and UK-focused case studies.
know.space undertook a structured search for economic evaluations of public investment in space and space-enabled terrestrial applications published between 2015 and 2021. This included searches of academic literature, space-agency and consultancy publications, citation tracing and bibliographic cross-checking. Ninety-three potential studies were identified and assessed for methodological quality and relevance, with 52 retained for detailed analysis.
Evidence on benefits, rates of return and appraisal assumptions was extracted into a structured database and combined with findings from the earlier 2015 review. Investments were classified by both domain—such as Earth observation, communications, navigation and science—and substance, including technology development, infrastructure, applications and market support.
The literature review was supplemented by interviews and case studies covering areas including ExoMars, air-quality remote sensing, space safety and the Space Placements in Industry programme. The analysis recognised the substantial variation in study scope, methodology and evidential quality, and filtered extreme rate-of-return estimates when developing recommended appraisal ranges.
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Read the full report for detailed evidence on the direct and spillover benefits generated by public space investment, estimated rates of return across different investment categories, and recommended parameters for future economic appraisal and benefits modelling.
