ESA supports new ideas with the Initiative For ESA Telecom Newcomers

ESA Telecom has issued an Open Call For Proposals under this new initiative to encourage SMEs to develop and design marketable products for the telecommunications industry.  The Outline Proposal form and tender documents can now be found at telecom.esa.int/newcomers.

"The aim of the Newcomers Initiative is to ensure that at the conclusion of the project, companies are in a position to market their proposal commercially," explains Norbert Hübner, ESA contact for the Initiative for ESA Telecom Newcomers.

The initiative is available to SME's that have not worked with ESA before and are from the following countries: Austria (A), Belgium (B), Denmark (DK), France (F) (from 2009 onwards), Germany (D), Greece (GR), Ireland(IRL), Luxembourg(LUX), The Netherlands(NL), Norway(N), Portugal (P), Spain(E), Switzerland (CH) and Sweden (S).

SMEs are defined  as companies that have fewer than 250 employees, have either an annual turnover of less than 50 million euro or an annual balance sheet total of less than 43 million euro, and are independently owned (not more than 25% owned by a larger company). This is based on European Commission criteria.

ESA Telecom will consider supporting activities that deal with product development, integration and demonstration activities based on existing technologies and tailored to pre-operational products, systems and applications/services in a pre-competitive environment.

The Initiatve for ESA Telecom Newcomers consists of two steps. The first step is the submission of the outline proposal which consists of about 4 pages. A well-structured template located on the ESA Telecom website provides clear requirements for the content of this proposal. Once an outline proposal has been accepted, the SME will then be invited to submit a complete proposal, the second step in the Initiative process. A set of tender documents detail the requirements for the complete proposal. The official set of documents is available on ESA's Electronic Tendering System EMITS as well as for information on the ESA Telecom website.

"The Initiative For ESA Telecom Newcomers uses an open call for proposals structure, allowing companies to submit proposals at any time during the year," says Hübner . "By using this process, ESA Telecom will be able to review each proposal on an individual basis, allowing us to give each proposal our full attention. We will attempt to work within a time frame of three months from outline proposal submission to contract award."

Further details on the Initiative For ESA Telecom Newcomers as well as contact information can be found by following the links located in the top right column of this page.

Published 22 June 2012
Last updated at 06 August 2014 - 10:38