Support for Institutional Projects

Focused on participating States’ priorities, the action  aims at supporting their national navigation activities along the whole value chain. Element 3 configures as an ad-hoc support element, which is envisaged per country and possibly per domain, for the development and promotion of products, applications and services based on GNSS and more widely on PNT systems.

Following participating States request, ESA may provide technical assistance in various areas. Element 3 configures as an opportunity for the participating States delegations to animate and coordinate discussions with national entities and to set up the processes to identify and federate institutional demands. This will foster cooperation as well as possible national partnerships with a wide diversity of actors, enlarging the national space community (agency, industries, universities and research centres) and strengthening its relationships with authorities, organisations, institutions, industries and research actors from non-space sectors. 

Participating States will individually provide request of support action. 

Element 3 will typically include activities of three different nature: 

• System & technical assistance for the management and implementation of national programmes and activities for the most suitable development and exploitation of GNSS and more widely PNT infrastructures and techniques; 
• Development and exploitation of tools and facilities for test/demonstration campaigns aimed at the provision of new PNT products and services for institutional users, at national or multi-national level; 
• Exploitation and use of ESA labs, test beds & technical facilities for MS that asks to use them for its own programmes, as contribution to national field test activities via complementary laboratory and field test activities based on ESA owned facilities. 

The institutional nature of this programme Element will call for a fully funded approach. Ad hoc partnership mechanism should be established on a case by case base ensuring that 100% of ESA’s costs are covered.