Creating Friends Internationally - Chris Lee Part 2

Feb 24, 2020

"In this Better Satellite World episode of the SSPI podcast, Director of Development and Innovation Lou Zacharilla speaks further with Chris Lee, Chief Scientist at the UK Space Agency, about the UK Space Agency's International Partnership Programme, which won a Better Satellite World Award in 2019.
Chris Lee oversees the UK Space Agency's International Partnership Programme (IPP). He holds a degree in space science, with his primary concentration on missions supporting astronomy, planetary sciences and earth observation. In 2014, Dr. Lee was invited to join the newly formed UK Space Agency as its very first Head of International Space Policy in order to enact a first-time strategy focused on satellite data services as a showcase for the capabilities of the United Kingdom's science and technology. 

The UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP) is a five-year, £30M/year ‘space for development’ programme established in 2016, and currently the largest undertaking of its kind in the world. It focuses on utilising the UK space sector’s research and innovation capabilities to deliver sustainable economic and societal benefits to emerging and developing economies around the world. IPP has so far grant-funded 33 projects in 44 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific and South America, which are run by a large variety of UK and international organisations across industry, academia and non-profit entities. These projects address a variety of critical issues, including reducing deforestation, climate/disaster resilience, remote learning, land-use monitoring, reducing maritime problems, health and renewable energy. The projects generally take between two and five years to be delivered, and range from £500k to £15M in grant value plus match funding. IPP’s portfolio of partners now include 122 space sector organisations and 132 international organisations."