NHS Future Hospital Initiative

This Open Call for Proposals is open from 01 April 2021 until 30 June 2023.

In the upcoming Announcement of Opportunity, economic operators are invited to propose a Demonstration Project addressing the theme of:

NHS - Future Hospital Initiative

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Following a well-established collaboration among the UK National Health Service (NHS), the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA), we are promoting innovative solutions exploiting space technologies for the benefit of the NHS ecosystem. This Open Call for Proposals is aimed at fostering activities bringing space technology that contributes towards shaping the NHS Future Hospital project initiative, recently kicked off by the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE ACTIVITIES

For many years, ESA has been at the forefront of promoting the utilisation of space technologies and know-how to support the improvement and development of solutions for downstream applications in the health sector. Many of the activities supported by ESA, carried out by industry and service providers have been validated with different user communities and deployed in concrete operational environments. They have proved to deliver substantial benefits, for instance in terms of better access to services, faster response and optimisation of resources. 

This call is dedicated to activities that contribute towards providing solutions in terms of products and associated services for the NHS Future Hospital. 

USE CASES

Such activities may include products and services addressing:

• Logistical aspects (e.g. track and trace of goods, smart transportation)
• Improved patients reach (e.g. tele-rehabilitation, tele-homecare)
• Space-derived diagnostic tools (e.g. imaging and monitoring solutions)
• Diagnostic collaboration networks (e.g. Artificial Intelligence assisted diagnostic service, transportable point of care solutions)
• Services for improving environmental impacts (e.g. renewable energy, water treatment, air quality).

VALUE OF SPACE

Satellite Communications (SatCom) can:

• Provide connectivity where terrestrial communications are insufficient
• Enable remote monitoring through transmission of sensor data 

Satellite Earth Observation (SatEO) can:

• Provide contextual situational awareness 
• Provide collection of data for production of images and maps of the environment

Satellite Navigation (SatNav) can:

• Provide location data for epidemiological analysis 
• Support cross-certification of patient data 
• Track  and route emergency vehicles/ambulances
• Enable applications in the VR/AR environment 

Technology and solution spin-offs from Human Spaceflight can:

• Provide support to sanification/decontamination 
• Support monitoring of patients 

It is mandatory to develop solutions based on at least one space asset. 

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer funding and support to companies, both for business case assessment and for the development of new, space-based services related to intelligent transport. Our offer includes:

• Technical & commercial guidance;
• Access to our network and partners;
• Use of the ESA brand for your service.
• Zero-equity funding as summarised in the table presented below:

** ESA will bear up to 50% of the project cost, and the remainder has to be financed by the tenderer and/or other partners through private and/or public sector direct or indirect co-financing. 

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises activities can be funded up to 80% by the Agency, depending on the funding level authorised by the related National Delegation(s).

For activities related to new technology/product development different funding levels may apply.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

We are looking for teams that have identified an attractive sustainable opportunity with real potential for engaging customers. Motivation, business experience and domain expertise are all important features. We want to hear about your sustainable ideas that involve either space technology or space data. 

For this call, companies residing in the following Member States will be eligible to apply:  Austria, Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.  See also the information below on obtaining letters of support from National Delegations.The service provider shall be part of the bidding team to ensure the commercial operational roll-out of the proposed service following completion of the project. 

The applicable funding level of the individual prime- or subcontractors is subject to authorization by the involved National Delegation(s). Therefore, bidding teams are requested to obtain a Letter of Authorisation from all their national delegations before submitting a Full Proposal. An early discussion with your delegation(s) is therefore highly encouraged.

HOW TO APPLY?

Background information and practical aspects for applications can be found on the NHS - Future Hospital Initiative information page.