CEOI 11th Call for EO Technology and Instrument Development Proposals, Q1 2018

The Centre for EO Instrumentation (CEOI) announced the release of the 11th Call for EO Technology and Instrumentation Development Proposals in November 2017.  We were looking to fund projects which will develop world-leading UK EO technologies for future operational or commercial missions, with a particular interest in technologies which will create export opportunities.  The total budget available for the Call was £3.4M with additional PV funds required from industrial bidders. Proposals were due for submission by 17th January 2018.

The Call is now closed, new projects have been funded and are underway.

Project Summaries of EO Technology and Instrument Development projects funded in the CEOI 11th Call are available here.

Successful proposals will identify the timeliness of the development and expect to generate a substantial return on investment. They will identify implementation opportunities through an in-orbit demonstration or other space mission, where targeted investment will significantly improve the likelihood of adoption of the technology by the mission(s). Proposals that raise TRL through deployment on CubeSats, HAPS or airborne demonstration are acceptable under this Call.

Bidders should propose activities which advance the development of EO instrument technologies to between TRL 5 and TRL 9, including further development of previous CEOI funded technologies. Proposals will need to be aligned to the UK Space Agency ‘EO Technology Strategy’.

The CEOI Call is open to industry, HEIs and other research organisations based in the UK. Collaborative proposals involving industrial and other partners of all types are strongly encouraged.

Organisations which wish to be considered as Potential Partners in a bid led by another entity should briefly describe the skills and/or capabilities that they could offer, in the pro-forma available through the link below.  Please email the completed partner pro-forma to Mrs Lisa Finch, CEOI Technology Call Administrator at lf107@leicester.ac.uk by 17:00 hrs on 24th November 2017.  Information is shared on this webpage, for prospective lead organisations and project partners to access.

Bidders may request a 30 minute confidential telephone conference for clarification of any parts of the Call with Professor Mick Johnson, CEOI Director and/or Dr Chris Brownsword, CEOI Technical Director.  Please contact Mrs Lisa Finch, CEOI Technology Call Administrator at lf107@leicester.ac.uk to organise a time.

Bidders should provide CEOI with notification of their intention to bid by noon on 12th December 2017.  This will assist in preparing for the efficient evaluation of bids and ensure bidders can receive any related information during the bid period.

All information will be held in strict confidence.

Full details of the Open Call are contained in the ‘Announcement of Opportunity’ document, which is available here, together with the other bid documents:

To summarise timelines:

By appointment Telephone Consultations
24 November 2017 17.00 Partner pro-forma due
12 December 2017 Noon Intention to bid Form due
17 January 2018 Noon Full Proposal due
From March 2018 Project commences
September 2019 Project completes

The Call is issued on behalf of the UK Space Agency by the CEOI Partners, who will also manage the selected projects on behalf of the Agency.

For further information on any aspect of the 11th CEOI Call, please contact Chris Brownsword, CEOI Technical Director.