EU space policy and the involvement of civil society : final study report

The aim of the study is to provide a set of policy recommendations for the involvement of civil society in EU space policy. To do so, the first part of the study (Section 2) will provide a comprehensive overview of European space governance and the main actors involved in it, such as the European Commission, the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The second part of the study (Section 3) will assess the socio-economic benefits that space, including the EU Space Programme, provide to civil society at large. This will be done through a literature review of studies of the socio-economic impact of the space sector on the European economy and by mapping EU policies in three different areas (green/digital/security). The third part of the study (Section 4) will analyse the ways in which and the extent to which civil society can be involved in the EU Space Programme and EU space policy. This will be done by performing a gap analysis of the tools the EU has developed for engaging with users from civil society. It will address how civil society can benefit from EU user engagement initiatives, the barriers that potentially prevent civil society actors from taking up space solutions and, building on that, the shortcomings of EU engagement tools. This section will be based on desktop research as well as interviews with selected stakeholders involved in user uptake. The last part of the study (Sections 5, 6 and 7) will put forward recommendations to the European institutions in general, including the EESC, on how to engage with civil society stakeholders in order to unlock the potential of civil society participation in European space programmes.