NAVISP Element 2: Competitiveness

The agency is calling on industry to submit their ideas to support, innovate and accelerate the use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Data (PNT) across all sectors.

Director of Navigation - Francisco-Javier Benedicto-Ruiz

Notification:

Starting from 15 May 2026, the NAVISP team will abandon the utilisation of this channel progressively, targeting its closure end Q3 2026. If you intend to submit an outline proposal, please, use the new channel, available at this address:

Open Space Innovation Platform - OSIP - Channel: ‪PNT Competitiveness - NAVISP Element 2

In case you are filling already an Outline Proposal in this channel, please contact the NAVISP team to assess if you can continue using this channel or if you should use the new one.

Entities having had submitted already an outline proposal through this channel do not need to do anything, and their proposals will be assessed normally.

Kind regards,

The NAVISP team

Goal of this Channel: Boost Industrial Competitiveness

Focused on increasing industrial competitiveness, Element 2 of ESA's Navigation Innovation & Support Programme (NAVISP) aims to maintain and improve the capabilities and competitiveness of the participating States' industry in the global market for PNT technologies and services.

As this Element is designed to support pre-commercial, close-to-market industry initiatives, the activities will be co-funded and implemented through this open channel, which invites submissions of ideas for innovative, competitive products in the field of Satellite Navigation and the wider Position, Navigation and Timing domain.

Ideas submitted in this channel can be completely new breakthrough products, but also the further development or improvement of an existing product. In addition, the ideas can be the continuation of an activity funded in another framework within another European institutional programme, a national programme or an industrial/academic research programme.

Ideas/Proposals are welcome from space and non-space companies, from large and small enterprises and start-ups.

Products can address satellite space segment, ground infrastructure and user segment including applications and services. The programme also explores the utilization of local augmentation techniques, merging receivers with additional sensors, and combining signals from various satellite navigation constellations in different orbits. Morover, NAVISP supports the integration of satellite navigation with terrestrial technologies, as well as complementary PNT methods.

Industry and research institutions of interested participating States are therefore invited to submit ideas, using the submission form, for the development of pre-operational products matching their strategies and plans.

The Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP)

ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme is a key enabler for innovation and competitiveness and a strategic tool of ESA to support and develop the overall European POSITIONING, NAVIGATION and TIMING landscape. The main NAVISP objective is to facilitate and support the generation of innovative propositions that go beyond the exclusive use of satellite navigation signals and data and include the development of competitive industrial capabilities and the development of new, innovative technologies to complement, upgrade or replace current PNT technologies The NAVISP programme is structured according to three Elements:

Element 1: Innovation
- Objectives: Perform feasibility studies, viability analysis, proof-of concept
- Activities under Element 1 are defined and implemented according to an annual Workplan. The Workplan is prepared by the Agency through consultation with participating States and coordination with EC and EUSPA
- Invitation to Tender published in ESA Star

Element 2: Competitiveness
- Aims to maintain and improve the capabilities and competitiveness of the industry in the global PNT market
- Objectives: maintain and improve the competitiveness of the industry, facilitate the emergence of new actors in the PNT sector
- Funding: Activities are co-funded (50% for large companies, up to 80% for SMEs, 100%, up to 100% for research institutions)

Element 3: Member States
- Aims to support national PNT strategies by providing support per country and possibly per domain for the development and promotion of products and services based on PNT systems to foster national and international cooperation
- Objectives: Identify and federate institutional demands, foster cooperation
- Funding: Activities under Element 3 are fully funded by ESA

For more information on the NAVISP programme and the ongoing and completed activities please visit our website.

Process and Outcome:

The tendering process follows a two step- approach:

Submission of Idea by using the submission form here in OSIP
- Ideas are submitted with limited visibility for only the Campaign Manager, Evaluators and selected Experts. This is referred to as "confidential" idea on OSIP. The term "confidential" in the frame of the OSIP is only to be understood in the context as described by its terms and conditions. It is explicitly not carrying the same signification as the term "confidential" in the frame of ESA classified information.
- Process OSIP Campaign:
  - Enter your Outline Proposal (also called "idea" here in OSIP) via the idea submission form (you can also edit the Outline Proposal after you have clicked on "Submit idea").
  - Once your Outline Proposal has reached a stage where you feel it is ready for evaluation, please contact the NAVISP Coach in the comments section below your idea submission.
  - Your NAVISP coach can then contact you to see if the quality of the Outline Proposal is sufficient.
  - If both parties agree, the Outline Proposal will be forwarded for evaluation (at this point, you will not be able to change your submitted Outline Proposal).
  - After the successful ESA internal evaluation, ESA will consult the Outline Proposal with the national delegation of the respective participant.
- Following the submission of the Outline Proposal via OSIP, ESA shares a summary of the Proposal with the European Commission and/or the European Union Agency for the Space Programme. Tenderers shall prepare a short summary (~1 page) of the Outline Proposal to be shared (as indicated in submission form).
- After a positive assessment (from ESA and Delegation), ESA will invite the Tenderer to submit a Full Proposal.

Submission of Full Proposal in ESA Star:
- Following the communication from ESA of a positive assessment of the Outline Proposal, the Tenderer will be invited to submit a Full Proposal in 30 working days and in accordance with the Special Conditions of Tender
- The default tool for submitting proposals to the Agency is its “esa-star” system.
- Prerequisite for the start of the Full Proposal evaluation is the reception by ESA of the Letter of Support signed by the National Delegations of the State the Prime and Sub Contractors belong to.
- After Submission of the full Proposal ESA will consult might consult with EC/EUSPA as well as the National Delegation.
- After a positive evaluation of the Full Proposal ESA will award the contract to the Tenderer (after successful negation with the Tenderer).

Special Conditions

The Channel is open for submissions for participants registered in one of ESA NAVISP participating Member States

Eligibility criteria for Element 2 ideas please click here

For general conditions of participation to this campaign, please refer to the document below.

Please note, that restrictions exist for certain implementation paths, e.g. ESA procurement actions are restricted to entities eligible for doing business with ESA (see also here).

In addition to the provisions in the General Conditions of Use of the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) (e.g. article VI) and the General Conditions of Participation to Campaigns and Channels organised by ESA in OSIP (e.g. article 4.3) ideas will be excluded, which:

do not clearly describe an activity to be pursued by ESA
do not show a minimum quality in the submission and do not fit the scope of NAVISP EL 2
cannot be implemented via one of the proposed implementation schemes; research co-sponsorship, study or early technology development (however the option of being redirected to another scheme remains potentially open)
have already been submitted to ESA, including via other OSIP Channels or Campaigns
are not written in English

Moreover, your idea should include the following information (as indicated in the submission form):

Executive Summary including:
- Summary of rationale and description of the product
- Summary of the development activities with the list of deliverables, the total duration of the project, the total cost of the project, the co-funding request to ESA, and when applicable, the distribution among the partners of the costs and the ESA co-funding request
- Summary of product viability, including the Tenderer profile.
An introduction explaining the rationale and the background of the proposed project
A description of the product characteristics
A description of the product development activities
A description of the product viability
A Tenderer profile (company description)

ESA reserves the right to exclude any ideas based on the above criteria. By submitting an idea to this Channel, participants understand and accept this.

Evaluation Criteria

Your Element 2 idea will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

- Completeness of the above-mentioned information
- Business Potential
  - Competitors analysis
  - Approach toward customer engagement
- Technical Concept
  - Feasibility
  - Degree of innovation with respect to the current state of the art
- Background and Experience of the Companies and the staff (general and related to the particular field)
- Adequacy of Management
  - Costing and planning for the execution of the work

	Name	Added on
	OSIP-General_Conditions_of_Participation_v3.pdf	Oct 26, 2022
	RD2 NAVISP Overview.pdf	Oct 26, 2022

Channel Manager - Gonzalo Martin de Mercado, NAVISP Element 2 Manager

Thank you for your interest in NAVISP! If you have any queries about the channel, don't hesitate to contact us. We're excited to hear your ideas as we spearhead advancements in the broader realm of Positioning Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and strive to foster the PNT champions of tomorrow.

Positioning, Navigation & Timing

Since the beginning of time, human beings have looked to the sky to determine their whereabouts. Traditionally, the Sun and the pattern of fixed stars have been their guides. But in the second millennium, constellations of man-made satellites have taken over as beacons to guide the way.

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What's your idea?

The European Space Agency invites you to submit a ideas under the Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP), Element 2: “Competitiveness” Framework.