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    Oct 3, 2024

    UK InCubed Call

    InCubed – UK Call - Innovation in Public Sectors' Uptake of Earth Observation data

    Director of Earth Observation Programmes - Simonetta Cheli

      Michele Castorina

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        InCubed is a co-funded programme run by the ESA Φ-lab Invest Office, focusing on initiatives that exploit the value of Earth observation (EO) imaging and data. With the support of its participating Member States, InCubed funds a wide scope of activities, ranging from satellites to ground and downstream applications. Successful applications will have personalised guidance from world-class experts to develop technical, commercial, and financially viable products.

        In collaboration with the UK Space Agency (UKSA), the latest funding cycle will be open to UK industry. Following the success of last year’s call, this round will be dedicated to activities with the underlying theme of “Innovation in Public Sectors’ Uptake of EO Data”. Possible themes include:

        • Climate indicators modelling and monitoring (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions)
        • 'Nowcasting' - incorporating EO data in modelling
        • Watercourse management
        • Precipitation monitoring and modelling
        • Infrastructure monitoring (e.g., transport networks)
        • Local government use
        • Biodiversity monitoring
        • Sustainable agriculture and aquaculture
        • Solar and wind energy

        Projects must demonstrate that the product or service to be developed is commercially ready by the end of the lnCubed activity.

        The envelope for this call is £3,000,000. There is no upper or lower limit on individual projects. 

        The following schedule outlines the key dates and activities for the upcoming UK Call process:

        22nd July

        • Formal Opening of the Call

        25th July

        • ESA Presentation at Farnborough:
          • Detailed information regarding the process and criteria will be presented by ESA in the ‘Unlocking Space for Business’ session.

        1st August

        • Q&A Webinar

        12th September

        • Call Closes:
          • The OSIP will cease accepting new pitch applications after this date.

        24th September

        • Pitch Day:
          • Assessment of applications and invitations to the pitch day will occur between the 12th and 24th of September.
          • Selected applicants will present their pitches on this day.

        3rd October

        • Pitch Feedback:
          • Successful applicants will receive feedback and an invitation to submit an outline proposal.
          • Subsequent steps will follow the standard InCubed process and time-to-contract procedures at ESA.

         

        All Ideas will be strictly confidential and not shared within ESA, only the InCubed team and UKSA will have access to them. 

        Please also refer to the Frequently Asked Questions -page https://incubed.esa.int/faq-list/ on the InCubed website. Not all answers may apply to this specific UK Call. 

         

        First step: Pitch your Idea 

        • Fill in the Idea Pitch form; ESA will check if you qualify for the UK Call. If this is the case, 
        • You will be offered the possibility to pitch your idea in a 15 minutes session on the 24th of September.
        • Successful idea pitch will be invited to fill in and submit Proposal Part 1 [Outline].

        Second Step: Submit Proposal Part 1 [Outline] 

        • Fill in the InCubed Proposal Part 1 [Outline]  (ESA will provide details on it after you have been selected) 
        • ESA will provide comments directly onto your proposal following InCubed assessment criteria (a reduced numbers and scope of the InCubed assessment criteria will be used being Part 1 covering only parts of the proposal, the details of these criteria can be found at the bottom of this page).
        • If the assessment is positive, with agreement from the UK Space Agency , then you will be  will be invited to submit Proposal Part 2 [Full]; the submission shall not exceed 4 or 6 weeks after such communications from ESA (depending on the activity economic value).   Once the UK has provided an ‘Authorisation of Funding’ letter approving your proposal, UKSA support is confirmed  

        Third Step: Submit Proposal Part 2 [Full] 

        • Fill in the InCubed Proposal Part 2 [Full] and submit it through ESA-Star.
        • ESA will evaluate your proposal following InCubed assessment criteria.
        • Successful proposals will be invited to a negotiation meeting and possibly to the contract kick-off.

         

         

        What is InCubed? 

        InCubed stands for “Investing in Industrial Innovation" and its focus is on developing innovative and commercially viable products and services using space borne earth observation. The programme has a very wide scope and can co-fund anything from building satellites to on ground data platforms and everything in between. 

        If you have an existing activity in mind e.g. a constellation, a satellite, an instrument, a technology, software, a service or an application related to the earth observation sector and you want to develop it with ESA's help and then roll it out commercially then InCubed could be the programme for you.

        A product is defined as any hardware, software, techniques, technology, system (or subsystem) or service that will be ready for commercialisation

         

        What are InCubed domains? 

         Activities within InCubed fall in the following categories:

        1. Space Segment: activities related to any earth observation related product to be used in the spacecraft (platform, payload) 
        2. Ground Segment: activities related to the ground segment of an earth observation satellite system (ground stations and mission management, ground networks and data distributions)
        3. Data Segment: activities related to the processing and the use of the earth observation data (Data Processing/ Visualization, Data Analytics/ Insights /Applications) 

        Or any combination of the above to deliver an end-to-end system.  

         

        What are InCubed cycles?

        lnCubed is driven by submitted industrial proposals which must demonstrate that the product or service to be developed is commercially viable by the end of the lnCubed activity (or at least include a very robust roadmap to commercialisation).

        There are two development cycles available within InCubed and entry depends on the maturity of the of the development being proposed:

        1. De-risking Cycle: This cycle results in a credible technical concept with identified commercial customers who show tangible interest and a robust product development roadmap. Developments are typically less mature and require support to reach a credible commercial product/service. 
        2. Product Development Cycle: This cycle results in a credible product or service which can be shown to be commercially viable without any further public funding. Developments are typically more mature

        It is possible to move from one cycle to another as the development matures or if the development is mature enough it can enter the product development cycle directly.

         

        You may apply for either one or both cycles. Each cycle may have different levels of co-funding, depending on the supporting member state or target  readiness level (e.g. TRL/ASRL, refer to this table for their definition). You can  apply for both cycles potentially and activities can overlap as long as they are clearly shown. National delegations may, however, only decide to support one cycle at a time.

        The required objectives per development cycles and segments shall be respected.

         

        The aim is to reach a minimal viable product by the end of the Product development cycle.

        InCubed can also support further roll out if it is foreseen. Additional funding/financing outside of the InCubed programme may also be sought to scale the concept internationally or roll out additional elements e.g. constellations, networks, architectures (as far as it does not include further public funding)  

         

        What are the co-funding options and conditions?

        ESA usually co-fund a fraction of the total allowable costs (up to 50% for the Product development cycle, up to 75% for the De-risking cycle); SMEs may be entitled to higher funding (up to 80%) depending on national delegation(s) decision.

        For complete information relate to the Standard Call For Proposals (CFP) published on esa-star publication under Tender Action Number: 4-40010 . To access registration on esa-star is required. The documents on esa-star take precedence in case of any discrepancies. The consultation of the official documentation on esa-star related to the Call For Proposals (CFP) is only possible for duly registered users.

         

         

        InCubed is an Earth Observation programme. Although this may include projects that support other activities, they should be in the context of Earth Observation. Activities that are primarily for another purpose, such as telecommunications, will not be supported.

        To be considered for InCubed support, this must be the only programme that proposals are submitted to. Proposals that are currently being assessed as part of a different UK Space Agency/ESA programme will not be eligible for InCubed funding.

        To be considered for InCubed funding, proposals for Space Segment activities should, where possible, have provided details of their project to the Earth Observation Mission Capability Review.

        To be considered for UK National Delegate support, organisations must be UK-based and, for commercial companies, must have a UK registration at Companies House. If you are considering moving to the UK, or you do not have a UK registration, you can seek further guidance from the team at UKSAEOT@ukspacegaency.gov.uk. You may partner with non-UK companies, but these must be funded by other ESA Member States or be self-funded. You can find a list of participating member states here.

        Products and services from non-UK suppliers that are considered essential to deliver successful projects may be included in proposals. However, all proposals must demonstrate their value to the UK and non-UK spend requests are unlikely to score highly against other, UK-based activities. Any non-UK spend requests should be clearly stated in your initial application. Late requests will not be considered if they have not been declared and approved at the applications stage.

        The UK Space Agency will not fund licensing or regulatory compliance activities, either in the UK or overseas.

        UKSA expects to see a viable approach to spectrum use in projects and we will not fund activities that are not supported by current UK Government policy. Where activities involve the novel use of spectrum, UKSA will expect to see evidence of engagement with relevant regulators which demonstrates programmes are viable and are not dependent on a single high-risk or novel use of spectrum.

         

         

        InCubed Assessment criteria within Step 1 (Ideas Pitch)

        The pitch proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

        1. Business case credibility
        2. Technical feasibility
        3. Earth Observation Link
        4. Team Capability

         

        UK Call Specific Assessment Criteria (Ideas Pitch)

        In addition to the above, the pitch proposal shall also demonstrate:

        1. Benefit to the Public Sector
          • The project needs to address a public sector need and be scoped and developed in partnership with the identified public sector partner. The application can be environmental, social or economic.
        2. Approach and methodology 
          • there should be a well-considered approach to the project, with clear goals, risk management and mitigations.
        3. Commercial/operational Readiness
          •  Projects must demonstrate that the product or service to be developed is commercially and/or operationally ready by the end of the lnCubed activity.
        4. Financial Return
          • there should be a strongly demonstrated financial return to the UK space sector or a boosted efficiency in the public sector, including both to the lead applicant and their partners and supply chains and in this case to the end users.
        5. Innovation
          • we will consider whether the goal of the programme is challenging enough to warrant support, as well as whether it is a suitable innovation target. 

        Assessment criteria within Step 2 (Proposal Part 1 Outline)

        1. Understanding of the Programme Objectives:

        • improvement of global competitiveness of Europe in EO commercial markets;
        • substantial degree of innovation (new or improved competencies for Economic Operator(s));
        • tangible results within the timespan of InCubed,
        • credibility of the business opportunity in the market context including sustainability in the commercial market without further institutional support.

        2. Quality and completeness of the technical proposal:

        • key requirements and proposed architectures and concepts versus activity objectives;
        • evaluation of technical risks and credibility of the risk mitigation actions.
        3. Adequacy of the management approach, planning and co-funding
        • adequacy of the work packages
        • meeting plan, deliverables and schedule.
        • completeness of the costing, value for money, assessment of financial risk versus company resources,
        • credibility of proposed co-funding scheme.
        4. Experience
        • company/ies technical and commercial experience in all areas of the proposed activities,
        • completeness of the team with respect to the value chain,
        • relevant experience

         

        Do you need help?

        Campaign Manager - Pejman Nejadi, Space Segment Product Engineer

        Background Information

        Innovation Area

        Earth Observation

        The ability to fly satellites into space has changed all our lives in many ways, but the single greatest innovation has been the availability of new ways of seeing the world that satellites leave behind.

        Learn More