Outline Proposal toolkit put to good use

24 May 2012

Outline or study proposals give industry the possibility for earlier engagement with ESA such that the opportunity can be assessed for viability and eligibility. It also allows ESA to promptly begin any required committee approval process for eligible developments.

More than 700 unique visits have been registered to the main page of the Outline Proposal toolkit since February. Other numbers show that documents and templates provided by the tool are being downloaded by users.

Danielle Coosemans, former delegate and current Innovation Liaison Officer for Newtec, QinetiQ Space and Vito, fully endorses the Outline Proposal toolkit. According to Ms. Coosemans:

“By submitting an outline proposal according to ESA’s guidelines to ESA and to their national delegation, companies can obtain an early principle endorsement from both authorities at the same time, which is a precious leverage for smoothening and quickening the procurement procedure in its first fundamental stages. The feedback ESA offers to industry on the basis of the outline proposal, has proven to be of great help in drafting a full proposal with enhanced chances for obtaining an ARTES contract. I have also seen the benefits of industry using the drafting of an outline proposal as an internal exercise to check the maturity and coherence of the different aspects of their intended development project.”

The Outline Proposal toolkit provides nine modules in total, each addressing a specific section of the outline proposal criteria. Inside each module are tutorials, tools, worksheets, tips and techniques to help create the outline proposal document.

“Since we have launched the tool I have seen submissions from industry that have obviously used the suggested templates,” says Michele Le Saux,  Head of the Ground Segment Technology Section of TIA's Telecom department. “The proposals are easy to understand and therefore faster to process.”

ESA hopes this tool will introduce a vocabulary and techniques that companies may use to discuss their product and technology ideas with their colleagues, with their delegate and with ESA. Eventually these techniques may also be used to present the value of the product to potential clients.

Registered users to telecom.esa.int can access the outline proposal toolkit. For more information on how to register and use this resource, click here or see the link in the column to the right.