ESA Discovery activities - Understanding the impact of ESA early R&D on Europe’s innovation and research [Nov/2024]
Technology is at the heart of any space activity, and the foundation of ESA programmes. A primary objective throughout the agency is to develop mission enabling technologies, while also investing in potentially game-changing ones. Across directorates, ESA technology development programmes complement each other.
The optional programme of ESA’s Technology directorate (TEC), General Support Technology Programme (GSTP), works with European industry to progress new technologies to the stage where they are ready for space and the commercial market.
As part of Basic Activities, TEC also implements ESA’s Discovery, Preparation and Technology Development elements (TDE), which support early-stage technology development, including first contact with promising new ideas.
Considering the full range of technology development activities implemented through TEC, they primarily impact:
- Europe’s innovation and research, in particular through the generation of new ideas, their adaptation and application from the knowledge base to industry, stimulating multi-disciplinary scientific research, affecting innovation investment incentives, and supporting the establishment of and access to R&D infrastructures;
- Europe’s strategic autonomy, technological sovereignty and security of supply, notably through the assessment and monitoring of dependencies on critical technologies.
Since CM22, understanding and conceptualising the impact of technology development activities has been a priority within the portfolio of ESA impact studies.
A pilot study on the impacts of ESA early R&D activities has been set up within TEC. The study, implemented by British economic consultancy know.space, has two components:
- An in-depth assessment of a sample of technology development activities, from Discovery and TDE of the Basic Activities as well as from GSTP;
- The development of a conceptual framework to measure the impact of space technology development activities and applicable to ESA technology development activities within any of its programmes. The framework elaborates the indicators to evaluate achievement of primary objectives, their definition and data needs.
Case study reports for four selected Discovery projects have been finalised and are available on ESA Space Economy website library (ESA Space Economy Portal Library - please log-in to access the documents).
The reports highlight:
- The importance of the ESA funding as a ‘stamp of approval’, providing visibility, strong reputational effects, developing IP and leveraging critical follow-on funding – hence directly contributing to Strategy 2040’s goal towards enabling a strategically autonomous and competitive European space sector.
- The uniqueness of the ESA funding at such early stage of development: industrial and academic entities benefiting from the funding report they would not have implemented their activities in absence of the ESA opportunity. In particular, several entities were not active in the space sector before joining the ESA projects, leading to highly successful ‘spin-ins’, and contributing to Strategy 2040’s goal in building a cohesive and vibrant European space ecosystem.
- The essential role of Discovery activities in building skills and talent through the young professionals, students, PhDs who are directly involved in the activities.
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