4 Maximising the scientific and human
benefits from space activity
23. The Government's third objective for the space
programme is "to develop innovative space systems to deliver
a sustainable improvement in the quality of life". The Department
acknowledged that while individual partners have processes to
enable them to measure the outputs and achievements of their parts
of the space programme, the BNSC Partnership cannot measure the
overall achievements of the space programme against its objectives.[31]
The Report from the Comptroller and Auditor General contained
some proposals from consultants which identified critical performance
areas (Figure 3) for the BNSC Partnership and a framework
of 39 potential measures which could be used to track performance
within those areas of performance, and that the Partnership was
currently piloting some measures.[32]Figure
3: Critical Performance Areas for the BNSC Partnership
| Delivery of world class research
|
| Promotion of space as a source of innovative services in the United Kingdom
|
| Development of technologies to deliver advanced systems and services
|
| Design and development of advanced space systems and services that drive innovation
|
| Effectiveness of BNSC Headquarters in developing relationships across Government
|
| Effectiveness of BNSC Headquarters in acting on behalf of the Partnership on regulatory issues
|
| Delivery of trained people
|
| How effectively the Partnership promotes and supports UK space organisations
|
| Growing the delivery of new services provided by way of space technology
|
| Effectiveness of the BNSC Headquarters in acting on behalf of the Partnership in international forums
|
| Financial management
|
Source ESYS (C&AG's Report, Figure 12)
24. BNSC pointed to some important individual scientific
advances which have resulted from the United Kingdom's involvement
in space and which could impact on people's lives. Examples include
the monitoring of the thinning of the ice sheet in Western Antarctica
and the monitoring of displacements across the fault lines under
the Earth's surface that cannot be obtained from seismology.[33]
Such developments help make the benefits of exploring and using
space more understandable to the general public and this is further
enhanced by projects such as Beagle 2 where it was a condition
of grant that Beagle 2 would be used to promote the benefits of
space science to the wider population.[34]
However, it does not take long for the public awareness of such
issues as space to fade and if the United Kingdom is to continue
to flourish in the space sector it needs to promote awareness
to attract skilled people into the sector.
25. The accurate assessment of the wider benefits
from space activities, which may take many years to emerge, depends
on comprehensive programme evaluation arrangements. If the lessons
identified are to be applied, evaluation results need to be widely
disseminated. BNSC referred to a high level evaluation of recent
space technology support programmes which came to the conclusion
that programmes had been largely successful in meeting their objectives,
and helping to win contracts and sell services.[35]
But the level and quality of evaluations of programmes and of
individual projects has to date been erratic.[36]
The report of ESA's review of the high profile Beagle 2 project
was not initially released even to Professor Pillinger and his
team, though it has now been published.[37]
31 Qq 100-101 Back
32
Q 127 Back
33
C&AG's Report, Appendix 3, paras 12-13 Back
34
Q 89 Back
35
Q 27 Back
36
C&AG's Report, paras 4.11-4.12 Back
37
Q 126 Back
| 
