ESA title

Proposal Guide

Preparatory Work

Before submitting a Full Proposal, the Prime and all subcontractors must register as potential bidders via esa-star – ESA’s System for Tendering And Registration. This process needs to be started as soon as possible, as it will take time to complete.

Funding of the individual Prime or subcontractors is subject to authorisation by the related National Delegation(s). The delegations are free to decide whether or not to support an entity. Therefore bidding teams are requested to obtain a Letter of Authorisation from their national delegation before submitting a Full Proposal.

Responding to Open Competitions

Responding to an open competitive Invitation to Tender (ITT) requires the submission of a Full Proposal. The consequential evaluation of proposals results in a recommendation for a winning bid. In the case that several proposals of sufficient quality targeting different and/or complementary aspects are submitted, the Agency reserves the right to place parallel contracts for each of the open competitive ITTs in coordination with the relevant national delegations and partners involved in case of external funding.

Responding to Direct Negotiations (Call for Proposals)

Responding to the “Call for Proposals” involves the submission of an Activity Pitch Questionnaire. Received Activity Pitch Questionnaires are then subject for initial screening  by ESA in order to assess the compliance of proposed activities with the selection criteria of the ESA Business Applications programme.

More information on Direct Negotiation ITTs click Direct Negotiation