OU researchers land European Space Agency grant

Manish Patel (STEM) and Leslie Budd (FBL) have been awarded a grant of €350,000 by the European Space Agency (ESA) - in the face of fierce competition from a number of international management consultants - for the project 'Benefits of the European Space Agency Exploration Roadmap in Socioeconomics' (BEERS). 

The project investigates and evaluates the socio-economic benefits of ESA space missions with respect to economic competitiveness and growth; new means to address global challenges/sustainable development goals and inspiration. 

The project came about through collaboration between the Space Science and Exploration and Citizenship and Governance Strategic Research Areas. 

The research team is also cross-Faculty.  In addition to Manish and Leslie, the team includes Vic Pearson (STEM), Andrew Trigg (FASS), and Davide Villiani (STEM/FBL) and Sian Joel-Edgar (STEM). Steve Walker (STEM) will join the team in February.