InCubed Proposal Template Part 1 [Outline]

A Proposal Part 1 [Outline] can be submitted only after ESA has endorsed the Idea Pitch of the InCubed channel on https://ideas.esa.int/

Proposal Part 1 [Outline] is a mean for the Tenderer to provide an initial iteration on the content and justification of the planned InCubed activity.

The Tenderer is required to submit a Proposal Part 1 [Outline] containing the information described in this document before submitting a Proposal Part 2 [Full]. On the basis of the information provided in the Proposal Part 1 [Outline], the eligibility of the proposed idea for InCubed support will be assessed by relevant ESA experts and early feedback will be provided. Once the Proposal Part 1 [Outline] is found acceptable by ESA, the Proposal Part 2 [Full] may be submitted on ESA-Star. To see the process on how to apply please have a look at the video at this link. Moreover please consult the InCubed FAQ if you have any doubts.

Content of the Idea Pitch shall be carried forward in the Proposal Part 1 [Outline], considering the comments provided during the Idea Pitch.

Content of the Proposal Part 1 [Outline] will be carried forward in the Proposal Part 2 [Full] (see Figure 1) and edited only if needed/requested by ESA or indicated to do so in the template.

The numbering in this template refers to the corresponding part and paragraph on the Proposal Part 2 [Full] (e.g II 2.1 = Part II paragraph 2.1)

Figure 1 Proposal Part 2 builds on Part 1

Please while writing your proposal remember that ESA is a technical research and development organization and your submission will be duly assessed by ESA engineers and scientists; so take this into account while writing the proposals and make sure to provide all the technical details necessary.

The Tenderer is reminded that the InCubed programme is an optional programme of the European Space Agency, and as such every activity has to explicitly receive the financial authorisation by the National Delegation(s) of the relevant countries of the consortium. The Tenderer / Subcontractor(s) shall therefore contact their National Delegation(s). Specific national requirements and deviations from the standard process may apply.

Concerning the use of this template, please note the following:

Parts in red font in this template are to be edited and modified as appropriate in line with your proposed activity.

Text in blue (example) is for guidance and can be removed from the completed Proposal Part 1 [Outline] document. You need to press the show/hide button ¶ in order to see it.

Text in black should remain unchanged.

The paragraphs in GREEN are those that contains information already provided in the previous step (in this case the Idea Pitch) and that shall be revised/edited if deemed necessary and/or if requested to do so in the Idea Pitch approval given; please note that the relevant paragraphs may request additional information respect to those of the Idea Pitch.

Financial Forecast Workbook, (available here for all other type of activities) shall be filled in and submitted with the Proposal Part 1 [Outline]; if the tenderer has its own financial workbook it can be used as far as the same information is provided together with clear assumptions used.

Tables in this template are placeholders for data contained in the Financial Forecast Workbook. These placeholder tables are examples and contain the following notice underneath:

(Do not edit the above table directly! The above table can be found in the spreadsheet file)

Proposal Part 1 [Outline] shall not exceed 50 pages overall (exception may be granted depending on the complexity of the activity)

Please use this page as the cover page of the Proposal Part 1 [Outline] and remove the previous two pages (Template Title page and Introduction)

Activity Name

Proposal Part 1 [Outline] for InCubed activities

Date: insert the date of the submission

Reference: add your internal COMPANY reference

ESA Template Ref. 3.1 issued 12/05/2023

Table of Contents

Input Data	1

Abstract	2

Company Proposing	2

Who are the other Entities?	2

II Business Plan	2

II 1 Introduction	2

II 1.1 Description of the problem	2

II 1.2 Description of the product or service that you intend to offer	2

II 1.3 Innovation with respect to what is available in the market	3

II 1.4 How does the proposed product/service fit within your current business activities and your mid- / long-term strategy?	3

II 1.5 Are other key stakeholders involved in the activity (e.g. users, customers, regulators)?	3

II 1.6 What are the European, local impacts of your product/service?	3

II 2. Business Canvas	4

II 2.1 Customer Segments	4

II 2.2 Value Proposition	5

II 2.3 Revenue Streams	5

II 2.4 Cost Structure	5

II 2.5 Channels	6

II 2.6 Customer Relationships	6

II 2.7 Key Activities	6

II 2.8 Key Resources	6

II 2.9 Key Partners	7

II 3 Value Chain and InCubed activity Team	7

II 4 Competitive Landscape	8

II 5 Market Analysis	8

II 6 Exploitation Plan	9

II 7 Financial indicators	10

III Technical proposal	12

III 2 Customers/Users Requirements	12

III 3.1 Key Requirements	12

III 4.1 Product/service overview and architecture	12

III 4.3 Detailed modules description and development activities	12

III 5.1 Description of the Heritage and Starting Point	13

III 5.2 Start and Target Technology Readiness Level of the proposed Product/service	14

III 6 Dependencies on other activities	15

III 7.4 Verification Approach	16

III 8 Flight Opportunity	16

III 9 Customer/User Validation Activity	16

III 10 Risk Analysis	16

Financial, Management, Administrative (FMA)	18

Key Tasks	18

Milestones	18

Main Deliverables	18

Main InCubed activity participants and experience	18

The Team	19

Main cost elements	19

ESA support	22

Proposal Part 2 [Full] submission date	22

ANNEX 1: Definition of Readiness Level (TRL/ASRL) -REFERENCE	I

Criteria Used for Part 1

(subset of Part 2 evaluation criteria which available on ESA star in the SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF TENDER).

ESA will provide comments directly onto your proposal following InCubed assessment criteria (a reduced numbers and scope of the InCubed assessment criteria will be used being Part 1 covering only parts of the proposal, they are listed below)

1. Understanding of the Programme Objectives:

improvement of global competitiveness of Europe in EO commercial markets;

substantial degree of innovation (new or improved competencies for Economic Operator(s));

tangible results within the timespan of InCubed,

credibility of the business opportunity in the market context including sustainability in the commercial market without further institutional support.

[if applicable] understanding of objectives of the applicable Thematic call.

2. Quality and completeness of the technical proposal:

key requirements and proposed architectures and concepts versus activity objectives;

evaluation of technical risks and credibility of the risk mitigation actions.

3. Adequacy of the management approach, planning and co-funding:

adequacy of the work packages.

meeting plan, deliverables and schedule.

completeness of the costing, value for money, assessment of financial risk versus company resources,

credibility of proposed co-funding scheme.

4. Experience:

company/ies technical and commercial experience in all areas of the proposed activities,

completeness of the team with respect to the value chain,

relevant experience

Input Data

Select the following OPTIONS and double click on the box at the Generate Template; a Macro will be run to create your customised Proposal Part 1 [Outline]. Please note that the file .docm may have issues to be sent via email, so after having generated your template you may want to save the file as .docx removing the macro. InCubed Domain Select the activity domains that will be part of the activity with a Yes or No. More than one selection is possible. In case you are selecting any of the two elements of the Space Segment (Platform and or Payload) specify if you ask financial contribution also for make your product fly to space (flight opportunity))	InCubed Domains	Included?	Flight Opportunity?
Space Segment (Platform)	Choose an item.	Choose an item if you have included any Space Segment.
Space Segment (Payload)	Choose an item.
Ground Segment (Ground Stations & Mission Management)	Choose an item.
Ground Segment (Ground Networks and Data Distributions)	Choose an item.
Data Segment (Data Processing/ Visualization)	Choose an item.
Data Segment (Data Analytics/ Insights /Applications)	Choose an item.
InCubed Cycle Select if your activity includes a de-risking cycle, a product development cycle or both. As agreed at the Pitch and refer to the https://incubed.esa.int/additional-application-information/	InCubed (De-risking)	Choose an item.
InCubed (Product Development)	Choose an item.
Are you applying as a consortium Choose an item.

Abstract

Summarize in less than 100 words your idea in clear terms that everyone can understand. Explain how the idea helps to meet your challenges to provide sustainable products/services to your customers.

Company Proposing

Provide details

(i.e. address, country, website, contact point name, telephone and e-mail) of the prime contractor. Usually, the prime contractor should be the one that will be in charge of the commercialisation of the product/service.

Year of Company creation

Employees:

Forecast Revenues current year

Revenues Year -1

Revenue’s year -2

Who are the other Entities?

List the Other entities involved: Name, Status (e.g. SMEs, University, Research Institute, Large), Country

II Business Plan

II 1 Introduction

II 1.1 Description of the problem

Describe the problem you want to solve for your customer (the problems they are trying to solve or the needs they are trying to satisfy).

II 1.2 Description of the product or service that you intend to offer

! Also describe in few words the starting point of the activity (idea, prototype, existing product, results from other activities, etc.) Pitch in less than 200 words to describe the product/service that will be offered to your customer/s at the end of the activity. (everything should be proposed from the prime contractor perspective, if the subcontractor/s develop a product/service themselves that has a wider/different market/scope their point of view shall also be addressed on the Proposal Part 1 [Outline] and in the financial forecast spreadsheet (one for each company/entity). Summarise the product/service description in the table below.

Table 1 Products/Services list

Product/Service Name	Description of the product/service	Seller (owner of the product/service)	Sold to (Customers Segments)
Product/Service 1 (name of the product/service)	….	…. (e.g. Company A, Company B, a Joint Venture between A and B)	….
Product/Service 2	….	….	….
….	….	….	….

II 1.3 Innovation with respect to what is available in the market

Identify the areas of Innovation / key areas of difference (related to the product, the service, any element of the architecture) with respect to what is already available in the market.

II 1.4 How does the proposed product/service fit within your current business activities and your mid- / long-term strategy?

Indicate how this activity will support the growth of your market share, what proportion of the total revenue of the company will be generated by the new proposed product/service sales. How much this activity will allow you to complement existing product/service and its market share, or expand to adjacent or new markets.
For new companies preparing to launch their first commercial product or service, indicate your mid- / long-term strategy within the context of the activity.
For companies that intend to fly their first satellite (e.g. constellations), describe how this development fits with the deployment of the overall constellation and why it is needed.

II 1.5 Are other key stakeholders involved in the activity (e.g. users, customers, regulators)?

List any stakeholders that will be involved in the activity without being part of the consortium as partner/subcontractor (or being involved as external service/product providers). This could be a user, a potential customer, a potential partner, a regulator etc. (letters of interest (in the product/service) and support (in the activity e.g. to the requirements gathering and/or to the validation stage) can be included in Part 1 and letters of support are expected in Part 2).

II 1.6 What are the European, local impacts of your product/service?

Describe the expected impact of your product/service at national and European, level that you expect from this activity (e.g. jobs to be created, national/European competitiveness increase, social impacts, environmental impacts, sustainability impacts ; if you are addressing any SDG it shall be highlighted)

II 2. Business Canvas

Add here your business canvas (as a table/image); please provide a short summary of each block in the canvas, and then explain the details of each block in the following paragraphs according to instructions.

Figure 2 Business Model Canvas

II 2.1 Customer Segments

The key customers segments targeted by our product/service are:

Table 2 Customer Segments

N.	Customer Segments
1	Satellite Operator
2	Satellite manufacturer
3	………

The following table provides a summary overview of the so far identified and approached customers and their representativeness of the related customer segment

Table 3 Customer and their Representativeness for the Customer segment

Customer	Representativeness for the Customer segment
Company A	Satellite Operator
………	………
………	………

If the product/service is targeting a few important customers, each customer should be clearly identified.

II 2.2 Value Proposition

Describe your value proposition, correlate the product/service you are designing to address your customer jobs, pain and gains

Shows all the pain relievers explaining how your products and/or services features relieves (reducing or eliminating) the identified pain of the customer before during and after getting a job done

List all the gain creators explaining how your products and/or services features address the identified customer gains

The value proposition should be clear about the value (how much pains you relieve, how much gain you offer) created to the customers/users: use quantification, use cost-to-benefit analysis or value maps

If needed (not mandatory), you can use the support tools below to:

Identify Customer Jobs/Pain and Gain

Identify Value Proposition for each need identified and selected

II 2.3 Revenue Streams

In the commercial exploitation stage, our product/service will be sold to our customers as described in the tables below.

Whenever relevant, include a description of the sales model you intend to set up (e.g. cost plus, product value, license scheme). You shall describe the set of mechanisms through which your organisation sells its value proposition(s) and delivers it to the customers in order to generate enough revenues to be viable. Make sure to describe for what exactly your customer is paying.

Table 4 Product/service Pricing

The above table can be found in the spreadsheet file or you can use your own model as far as it contains the same clear product/service(s) pricing information

II 2.4 Cost Structure

The key elements of cost for realising the value proposition during the commercial/operational stage are presented in the following tables.

Table 5 Costs

The above tables can be found in the spreadsheet file or you can use your own model as far as it contains the same information

The following assumptions have been used to derive the figures provided in the tables above: ……

It is extremely important to justify well the numbers in the table with credible assumptions.

II 2.5 Channels

In the commercial exploitation stage, our product/service will be sold to the customer segments via these channels.

Indicate whether or not the sales channels are already established. If not, explain how they will be created. If these are new customer segments (i.e. your company has not sold product/service to them in the past), please explain your approach to reaching these customers.

II 2.6 Customer Relationships

Our relationships with the key customer segments already exist/must be created/have to be improved.

Provide factual information, for instance, existing contracts with figures. If the product/service targets only one specific customer, a letter of interest from this customer has to be attached to the Proposal Part 1 [Outline] , confirming the adequacy of the value proposition. Indicate the customer representatives who will be involved in the proposed activity and which kind of formal agreement you intend to set up with them.

II 2.7 Key Activities

To make our business model work we need to perform the key activities identified in the table:

Table 6 Overview of Key Activities

Key Activity (Description)	When are going to be performed (during or after the activity)
………	………
………	………
………	………

List at high level all of the key activities that have to be performed in order to reach the commercial objectives of the Business Plan (e.g. Key Activities for the Value Proposition, for establishing the channels, to have in place the key resources, to establish the customer relations, to secure the agreements with the key partners). Please note that the developments tasks to be realised in the frame of the proposed InCubed activity are typically a subset of the above and shall not repeated here. Briefly explain the criticality of each key activity to the success of the business venture.

II 2.8 Key Resources

To make our business model work we need the following key resources

Table 7 Key Resources

Required Resource	Already in Place	Potential Issues
………	yes/no	………
………	yes/no	………
………	yes/no	………

You should describe crucial resources (physical, intellectual, human, financial, licences, suppliers) you must have to make your business model work. (e.g. Key Resources for the Value Proposition, for having channels in place, to establish the customer relations, to secure the agreements with the key partners, to make your revenue stream work). Resources could include, for example, assets, company competences, money, manpower, know-how / expertise, key suppliers, consultancy service, and manufacturing, test or other facilities. Indicate whether or not the resources are expected to be in place at the time of need. If not, explain the actions to be taken to secure their availability on time. Indicate potential issues associated with each key resource. These could include, for example, long lead items, software licensing, patent constraints, procurement policies and national/international restrictions (e.g. export restrictions).

II 2.9 Key Partners

The Key Partner are listed in the table below and their position in respect to the development and commercial exploitation of the proposed activity: ….

Please, consider that partners during the activity stage may not be the same as during exploitation (e.g. HW factory producing the designed product may not have a role during the activity, but it will be necessary during exploitation). Please explain the status of those relationships (existing, in progress, to be established). Do not forget to also add the customers that will support you during the requirements gathering and during the validation activities of your product/service.

Table 8 Key Partners

Partner Type (e.g. Satellite Manufacturer, Data Distributor, Ground Segment provide, Geo solution provider, Product / service Provider, Supplier, User, Customer)	Partner Name (company name, country, web link)	Role in the activity implementation (e.g. none, subcontractor, supplier, pilot user, alpha customer, product / service provider)	Role in commercial exploitation (e.g. none, supplier, strategic partner, service provider)	Type of Agreement (e.g. NDA, partnership agreement, contract, during the activity and/or after)	Key obstacle for partnership (e.g. IPR constraints)	Existing Agreement
………	………	………	………	………	………	Yes
………	………	………	………	………	………	No (planned)
………	………	………	………	………	………

II 3 Value Chain and InCubed activity Team

The following diagram describes the team composition within the value chain and their role in the commercial exploitation phase of the product/service.

Figure 3 Value chain and InCubed activity Team

EXAMPLE

Provide a diagram which illustrates the interactions among stakeholders (activity partner and not), customers (and users) and other key stakeholders (e.g. regulators) in the commercial exploitation phase of the product/service you intend to realise. Briefly describe the role and activities of each stakeholder in the value chain, and how money, services and products flow in-between them

Include a discussion of the changes, if any, introduced in the value chain by the proposed new product/service. Highlight any gaps in the team that will need to be filled and when it is expected to have these gaps closed.

II 4 Competitive Landscape

Our key competitors and the nature of the competition are identified in the table below.

Table 9 Summary of the Competition

Competitor	Competitor 1	Competitor 2	….	….
Country of Origin (ISO Code)	….	….	….	….
Nature of Competition	….	….	….	….
Description of competitor product/service	….	….	….	….
Market Share	….	….	….	….
Strengths	….	….	….	….
Weaknesses	….	….	….	….
Key advantages and differentiating features of the proposed product/service	….	….	….	….
References	….	….	….	….

Indicate the nature of the competition for each of the identified competitors. For example, an existing or potential supplier of the same type of product/service, an established supplier of similar product/service, a new entrant to the market, an entity known or suspected to have plans to develop the same type of product/service, a market incumbent. Quantify the nature of the competition as far as possible (e.g. provide estimates of their market share, strength, weaknesses key advantages and differentiation (e.g. competitiveness in terms of pricing), etc.).

Provide references to substantiate your assessment of the competition (e.g. web links, references to market analyses, data sheets, etc.).

Figure 5 Magic Quadrant Example Please note that statements such as “There is no such product/service on the market, ergo there is no competition” are not considered acceptable, because the number one competition stems always from the existing way the problem is solved currently by the users/customers, and no competition could mean there is no market. The number two competition typically mistakenly disregarded is from other solutions the customers might be able to take up (substitutes).

Once identified the key features of your product/service you should graphically position it with respect to your competitors (e.g. using the “Magic Quadrant”)

II 5 Market Analysis

Our product/service is addressing the sector of …… which has the following characteristics: ……

The position of our product/service in the market is summarised in the matrix below.

Table 10 Market positioning

MARKETS	New (MN)	……….	……….
Adjacent (MA)	……….	……….
Existing (ME)	……….	……….
Incremental (PI)	New (PN)
PRODUCT/SERVICE

For example, if the product/service tries to resolve a potential need not yet explicitly expressed by users, the market positioning will be New, and shall be indicated accordingly in the above table (MN). If the intended activity tries to improve (e.g. by increasing features, reducing costs) a product/service, the product/service positioning will be incremental (PI). Possible combinations of Markets / Product/service shall be marked in the table (either with a “X”, or with the name of the product/service) as appropriate.

The Total Available Market (TAM) of the targeted product/service is the following: ….

TAM (the total worldwide market available for similar type of product/service) shall be presented, including quantitative figures. If the product/service is new (not existing), market of a similar product/service may be used. Provide also the past and expected growth rate

The Serviceable Available Market (SAM) of the targeted product/service is the following: ….

The SAM (the market you can really address with your product/service and your channels, it comprises all your potential customer segments) shall be presented including quantitative figures and assumptions. In case you already have a market share of this market, you shall present it including quantitative figures and factual information (for instance, sales existing product/services in this market, or of previous generation, for the different customer segments). Provide also the past and expected growth rate. Describe the existing business models and value chains, highlighting any barriers to entry you may have for this market.

Our projection in terms of Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM or target market) we aim to capture in the short term for each of the identified customer segments has shown in the following table. The assumptions behind these sales projection are ….

Present the SOM (The percentage of the Serviceable Available Market that your company could realistically reach in the short term) and the underlying assumptions that led to the projected sales volumes over time taking into account competition, trends, demand forecast, sales channels and other elements that could have influence. This value is usually estimated considering specific customers (or group of customers) within the customer segments to which you actively try to sell the product/service/s to. A sensitivity analysis shall be done on the assumptions showing the effect on the projections (e.g. best case, most probable case, worst case). We expect to see your forecast market share.

Table 11 Product/service units sold

Table 12 Served Obtainable Market

The above tables can be found in the spreadsheet file, you can use your own table as far as it contains the customer segments targeted and the expected revenues projections for each of them. Probably the tables will not perfectly fit with your sales model, use any other excel sheet you may need.

II 6 Exploitation Plan

Time of commercial entry into the market and way forward to bring the activity results to commercial product/service: …..

Our approach to promote the commercial uptake of the product/service is: ….

Provide the time of commercial entry into the market and way forward to bring the activity results to commercial product/service. Describe the approach to promote the commercial uptake of the product/service.

N.B: In case you will need additional financing to go to the market (e.g. in case of start-ups) you should describe the plan you have for further investments (e.g. equity/debt) and when this is expected to occur.

II 7 Financial indicators

The product/service sale will have a positive profitability for the Prime Contractor; The Net Present Value expected is XX%, with ESA co-funding added to the CASH-IN. The table below shows the Profit&Loss and the Cash Flows over the next X years with ESA co-funding.

Table 13 Financial Indicators table

Figure 5 Financial indicators graphs

The above table and graphs can be found in the spreadsheet file, you can use your own graphs as far as you present the break-even point, the net present value and/or the internal rate of return of your business proposition.

III Technical proposal

III 2 Customers/Users Requirements

Table 14 lists an initial iteration of the users/customers segments requirements that will be addressed by our product/service.

The planned level of involvement of the user/customer in the process of collecting requirements is/was/will be…

Table 14 Users/Customer Requirements

Req. ID	User/customer Requirement Name	Description	Justification and/or comment	Source
UR-PERF-0100	Crop Type Identification performance	The service shall provide a response to the customer within 10 seconds.	Update timing expressed by Customer X….	User/customer group A
CR-PERF-0200	…….	…….	…….	User/customer group A
…….	…….	…….	…….	…….

Provide a description of the way Problems/Needs/Requirements will be/were collected (e.g. users/customers workshops, questionnaire, market analysis). Involvement of users/customers at the beginning of the activity to collect/confirm these Problems/Needs is required unless it has been already done; anyhow the customers/users shall provide a feedback on the consolidated Problems/Needs along the activity (e.g. Requirement Review or during the Sprints)

III 3.1 Key Requirements

The requirements detailed in the following table are the main driving factors in the design and development of the system.

The table below list the key requirements so far identified.

Key system requirements (e.g. functional, technical/performance) are those considered essential to the success of the proposed development, or those that are likely to significantly affect the course of the development (e.g. design drivers).
The Tenderer should consider which of these key requirements should be included in the risk register. Where possible map the requirements to the previously identified needs.
Define the approach you will use to define the requirements during the activity (e.g. waterfall, agile)

Table 15 Key System Requirements

Key Requirements
Requirement ID	Requirement Description	Description of criticality	UR/CR ID
SR-FUN-001	…	… why they are considered essential to the success of the proposed development.	UR-001, CR-002
…	…	…
SR-PER-016	…	…

The intended approach to identify the product/service requirements during the activity execution will be based on …. (e.g. waterfall, agile).

III 4.1 Product/service overview and architecture

The product/service consists of ………… The main components of the product/service are …….

Provide a top-level description of the product/service (what you sell to the customer) and its main sub-systems and components

The role of the product/service in the context of the overall system/service of its target users is …

Describe how it operates in its host environment (e.g. its parent sub-system, the end-to-end system) if this is not fully described by the above elements, or if some elements need further explanation or clarification.

EXAMPLE: If you want to develop with InCubed a thermal imager to be installed on the first satellite of your constellation, to sell data to you customers (e.g. the farmers), your product/service is the data that you sell, not the satellite. In here you should describe the product/service and its subsystem and (the data platform to deliver the data to the customers), and the end-to-end system (the ground station, the data processing and analytics, the platform, the payload (e.g. the imager), the mission profile, the constellation orbits etc.).

The figure/picture below shows the product/service, the overall architecture and their key modules and major interfaces.

NB: Make use of images to show the product/service, its constituents, the parent subsystem, the end-to-end system presenting the overall system architecture.

For each element of the architecture, make use of block diagrams detailing key building blocks and major interfaces to show their implementation details. Highlight the building blocks which are part of this activity (existing blocks, to be procured, to be developed, to be modified). Existing technical documentation presenting the proposed product/service can be attached in annex. Please also remember to describe potential interfaces to external systems (both inside and outside your organization). If needed you may provide a product/service tree (For example, refer to ECSS-M-ST-10C-Rev.1, section 4.3.4)

The external interfaces of the product/service are: …

Please describe the external interfaces of the product/service, categorized by interface type (electrical, mechanical, fluid, optical/RF, data.…). Depending on the type, describe additional main characteristic parameters of the interface. Full ICD-level detail is not required but use tables as necessary for clarity.

III 4.3 Detailed modules description and development activities

All modules that have been shown in the previous paragraph shall be described, even if already existing and also if they are not developed as part of this activity including functions and features (performance/attributes).

If a module (or part of it) is developed by a supplier (and not a subcontractor/partner in the activity) it should be anyhow described and this should be clearly identified in the Financial Proposal (e.g. it can happen that part of subsystem (e.g. the On Board Computer, the Graphical User Interface) may be developed by a supplier for any reason and the development shall be described here).

Provide for each module:

1) a technical description including functions and features:

2) explain the nature of the development (existing module, to be procured, to be developed, to be modified).

3) include a description of the main requirements of the module and of the critical technologies (if any) and explain the rationale behind their selection

4) For all “new” or “modified” modules explain if it will be done in the InCubed activity or somewhere else focusing on the design concept of what is being proposed with preliminary performance details and ability to meet the customer needs identified earlier, for example:

For Space Segments e.g. pointing performance, accuracy; for optical systems e.g. MTF; for SAR systems e.g. Sigma 0; for thermal infrared e.g. radiometric accuracy). Furthermore, for Space Segments provide all known technical budgets at mission, system, payload level. If individual values are not known provide ranges. Use the table in the file below to show these values adapting it to your needs.

For Data Segments e.g. latency of an alert, accuracy of a model, spatial resolution of a layer

5) Description of the proposed main development activities for this module: the development objectives, the challenges, the strategy that you will follow during the development and discussion about the problem areas.

6) Provide a concise product/service roadmap, if relevant

The main modules identified in the presented architecture are described below.

Name: Name of Module A

Functions and features: …

Main requirements: ….

Critical Technologies: .…

Nature of the development: …

In case it needs to be developed or modified will it be done in the proposed InCubed activity: (Yes/No)

If Yes, In what Development Cycle(s): …

If No, in what context will it be developed: … (e.g. ESA GSTP, company funded project, Horizon Europe)

Design Concept:…to be added only if development activities are foreseen

Development Activities … to be added only if development activities are foreseen

Name: Name of Module B

….

….

….

III 5.1 Description of the Heritage and Starting Point

The purpose of this section is to identify the heritage and current state of development of the product/service.

The current development status may be a stand-alone document, in which case the Tenderer may simply provide the reference to the document, and provide a copy unless the document is already known to the Agency. For example, the Final Report of a previous activity carried out in an ESA programmatic framework.

The product/service is an evolution of existing product/service or product/service line.

The heritage product/service has been … summary details about the heritage product/services

The new product/service will offer the following features over the current product/services.

Function/capability 1. (e.g. 20% mass saving, automatic level control or better spectral resolution).

Function/capability 2.

Key details of the heritage product/service can be found in document reference if applicable,

or

The product/service represents a new product/service line for the entity

III 5.2 Start and Target Technology Readiness Level of the proposed Product/service

The Tenderer shall set out the current development status of the product/service, including ( when applicable) the current (starting) technology/service readiness level (TRL/ASRL) of the product/service, of its major subsystems/modules and of its key enabling technologies. Readiness Levels for Space, Ground, Data (Software) domains are defined in Annex to this document. TRL is usually preferred. When the activity focusses more on the service aspects rather than in specific technical development of the modules, ASRL may be used.

The table below indicates the current technology/service readiness levels (TRL/ASRL) of the product/service, of each of its key modules/subsystems and of the technologies that are critical to the success of the development. The basis for each TRL/ASRL assessment is indicated in the table.

Table 16 Summary of the development status

Item	Reference in the Product/service overview Figure	Start TRL/ASRL	Basis of the TRL/ASRL Assessment	Target TRL/ASRL	Justification of the TRL/ASRL Assessment
Module xxx	…	…	…Explain why your start TRL is this by using the argument described in these document “Guidelines for the use of TRLs in ESA programmes”, ESSB-HB-E-002, Issue 1, Rev 0, 21 August 2013. “Technology readiness level (TRL) guidelines”, ECSS-E-HB-11A, 1 March 2017	…	… Explain why your target TRL is this by using the argument described in these document “Guidelines for the use of TRLs in ESA programmes”, ESSB-HB-E-002, Issue 1, Rev 0, 21 August 2013. “Technology readiness level (TRL) guidelines”, ECSS-E-HB-11A, 1 March 2017 Use the ANNEX to see the adapted version for InCubed
Sub- system yyy	…	…	…	…	…
Component, material or process zzz	…	…	…	…	…
…	…	…	…	…	…

III 6 Dependencies on other activities

The proposed activity is/is not a follow-up of a previous activity/previous activities.

And/or

The proposed activity has dependency on a running parallel activity/on an activity that will be shortly initiated.

Include the text and complete the table below only if the proposed activity is a follow-up of a previous activity or activities or if there are other dependencies on activity that are running or should be shortly initiated. Any other public funded (ESA/National/EU) activity linked to the proposed development shall be described.

Further details are provided in the table below.

Previous Activity	Functionalities/ Requirements Verified	Verification Method	Model	Standard(s)
…	…	…	…	…
…	…	…	…	…
…	…	…	…	…
…	…	…	…	…

Table 17 Previous Activities Followed Up by the Proposed Activity

III 7.4 Verification Approach

Describe the verification activities that are planned to be carried out in each of the proposed development cycles (De-risking, Product Development). For example, in the De-risking verification of a key performance parameter could be by computer simulation using a specific software package (the verification environment/facility), or technical trade-off/analysis; the performance of key enabling technology could be assessed by testing of representative hardware samples.

In the Product Development Cycle verification will typically involve tests performed on a development model (e.g. EQM), using specific test facilities.

The table below identifies the verification activities to be undertaken through dedicated tests or analyses during the development of the product/service, indicating the Development Cycle in which they will be carried out and on which model they will be performed.

Column 1:	Development Cycle during which the verification activity will be performed.

Column 2:	The aspect(s) of the product/service to be confirmed by the verification activity (e.g. product/service functions, technical performance, market potential, certification, etc.).

Column 3:	The verification method (test, analysis, simulation, inspection, etc.).

Column 4:	The analytical, simulation, hardware or software model that will be used as a vehicle to perform the verification.

Column 5:	The main standard(s) (e.g. ECSS, MIL, ESCC, ISO) applicable to the activity, if any.

Table 18 Summary of the verification approach

InCubed Cycle	Subject of Verification	Verification Method	Analytics, SIM, HW or SW model used	Reference Standard
…	…	…	…	…
…	…	…	…	…

III 8 Flight Opportunity

This section is mandatory only for Space Segment domains and if a flight opportunity is requested (in other case you can leave this section empty).You should provide:

A description of whether the flight item:

will be used in a commercial operational mission into a redundancy ring (no launch campaign is foreseen)

will be used on board alongside the main mission but does not form part of the operational mission (e.g.: stand-alone platform elements, or mini payload as a hosted payload on a large satellite) or where the flight hardware represents the main purpose of the mission (e.g. a demonstration payload on a dedicated small sat mission)

Details about the mission(s) in which the flight items will be embarked

Details about flight items

Details about the launch campaign and the in-orbit testing foreseen

III 9 Customer/User Validation Activity

Include this section only for the Product Development Cycle and if you plan to include validation activities with users/customers (refer to the InCubed Terminology to check validation definition). If you do not plan to include them a proper justification should be submitted (For Space segment, validation shall take place only if the satellite is in orbit)

Examples of validation support means are test beds, facilities, assets, data and pre-operational services. Validation includes an active role of the customer and/or users gathering their feedback during the utilisation of the product/service.

Validation can help to tailor the activity towards what users/customers really need, showing them the achievable performances of the product/service developed. A report of the validation activities could be used as a marketing tool.

Provide a description of validation activity; more details (e.g. the duration, the objectives and the Key Performance Indicators used to assess its success) will be requested in the Proposal Part 2 [Full]

III 10 Risk Analysis

The major technical, operational and business-related risks associated with the proposed product/service development and the associated mitigation plans are summarised in the following table:

The table below identifies the risks (technical and not) associated with the development of the product/service based on a preliminary risk analysis. They have been analysed in terms of their severity (potential impact) and probability of occurrence.

Table 19 Risks

Risk Identifier	Description	Likelihood	Severity	When Mitigated (InCubed cycle)	Mitigation Actions
………	………	low/medium/high	low/medium/high	De-risking	………
………	………	low/medium/high	low/medium/high	Product Development	………
………	………	low/medium/high	low/medium/high	………

Provide further information below as required to properly explain the risk mitigation strategy and plans

Add the following part only if you have applied a de-risking cycle

The risks to be addressed in the De-risking cycle, as identified in the table above, are considered to be of sufficiently high risk to jeopardise the success of a Product development cycle. The reasons for this assessment are as follows: ……..

Financial, Management, Administrative (FMA)

Key Tasks

The table below provides a high-level description of the tasks (e.g. first level Work Packages, to be provided in graphical format if it’s available) to be performed including the time planning information.

Table 20 Key tasks and high level information

Development Cycle	WP Identifier (e.g. WP1000, WP2000, …)	WP Title (e.g. Management, Requirements Definition, Development XXX, Verification, Pilot System Deployment, Pilot/Demonstration)	Tasks	Responsible Entity	Schedule (include here the schedule and the planned milestones/ review meetings; here a list)
………	………	………	………	Prime/Sub A….	KO-KO+xx
………	………	………	………	Prime/Sub A….	RR-RR+yy
………	………	………	………	Prime/Sub A….	CDR-CDR+zz

Milestones

Provide the proposed milestones and progress/review meeting using the milestones possibilities proposed here

Main Deliverables

List of main deliverable items coming from the proposed development (Hardware, software and documentation, for documentation please refer to proposal part 2 where a detailed list is provided).

A list of all main deliverable items from the proposed development is given in the table below.

Table 21 Main activity deliverables

InCubed Cycle	Type	Deliverable Item	Notes
………	hardware/ software/ document	………	………
………	hardware/ software/ document	………	………
………	………	………	………
………	………	………	………

Main InCubed activity participants and experience

Table 22 Main InCubed activity participants and experience

InCubed Cycle	Company Name	Main figures (e.g. year of creation, size, turnover, number of employees)	Relevant Experience in line with the involved WPs
………	………	………	………
………	………	………	………
………	………	………	………

The Team

List here the core team of the activity including the main roles (project manager, business developer/marketing/sales, technical) for the prime contractor and the subcontractor/s. There should be a key person for each of the key developments to be done in the activity. If some key resources are missing please explain the strategy and the timeline to recruit them.

Table 23 The Team

Name	Company	Role	Relevant Experience
Eric John	Prime name	Project Manager	….
Subcontractor name	EO/AI expert	….

Main cost elements

The table below provides a break-down of the main activity cost elements

Table 24 Main costs elements

InCubed Cycle	Cost Element (e.g. HW and SW procurement, EO data procurement, internal manpower)	Source of procurement (Commercial Off The Shelf, supplier, loan, rental, internal manpower).	Company(ies) responsible	Value kEUR	Role in the proposed activity
………	………	………	………	………	Prime/Sub A….
………	………	………	………	………	Prime/Sub A….
………	………	………	………	………	Prime/Sub A….

Costs above 50 k€ outside of the countries of the bidding consortium members (i.e. in other ESA Member States and/or outside of the ESA Member States) is/is not foreseen.

Include the text and complete the table below only if expenditure above 50 k€ is foreseen outside of the countries of the bidding consortium members. Please refer to the InCubed FAQ-page (here) in order to understand what kind of costs are allowed. Please keep in mind that where expenditure is planned outside of the ESA Participating State funding the activity, such costs will need to be funded fully by the company’s own contribution.

It is duty of the prime contractor to inform the National Delegation(s) of the intention to procure any item outside the country(ies) of origin.

NB: COTS (i.e. any items procured off-the-shelf which do not require any adaptation or alteration) will follow outside the above rule and may be paid by ESA if eligible.

The estimated expenditure is detailed in the table below.

Table 25 Estimated Expenditure Outside of the Bidding Consortium

Development Cycle	Destination of Expenditure	Total Expenditure (kEUR)	Country(ies)	Nature of Expenditure, potential supplier and Justification
………	Other ESA Member States	………	………	………
………	Outside of the ESA Member States	………	………	………

The table below provides the breakdown of costing and pricing per contractor of the proposed team, including the internal source of co-funding.

Table 26 Breakdown cost and price per contractor

Development Cycle	Included in proposed activity?	Company/ Organisation	Status (e.g. University, SME)	Country	Cost kEur	Requested ESA funding (Price) kEur	Requested ESA funding (Price) % of Cost	Source of Co-funding
InCubed (De-risking)	NO	Prime	Large	300.00	150.00	50%	Internal R&D
Subcontractor 1	SME	Equity
Subcontractor 2	SME
Subcontractor 3	SME
Subcontractor 4	SME
Subcontractor 5	SME
Total	300.00	150.00	50%	….
InCubed (Product)	YES	Prime	SME	600.00	300.00	50%	Bank loan
Subcontractor 1	SME	300.00	150.00	50%
Subcontractor 2	SME
Subcontractor 3	SME
Subcontractor 4	SME
Subcontractor 5	SME
Total	900.00	450.00	50%
Grand Total	1,200.00	600.00

Examples of possible sources of co-funding are: existing funds in bank account coming from sales / profit, already approved / prospective bank loan, investment from external source e.g. private investment funds, other contributions. Note that public grant funding cannot be considered as the source of co-funding.

The purpose of this information is to provide evidence on the capabilities of the involved company(ies) to pay their share of the cost of the proposed activity elements (procurements, facilities, manpower) and, as such, can serve the obligations of the activity. Note that ESA will request a proof of the availability of the funds covering your co-funding part in the form of a bank statement before the contract can be signed

ESA support

What other help/support are you expecting from ESA? e.g. access to space data, networking, coaching, branding, technical / business advice)

Proposal Part 2 [Full] submission date

Provide the month and the year (MM/YYYY) in which you aim to submit the Proposal Part 2 [Full] . Take into account that you have 6 or 8 weeks since the Proposal Part 1 [Outline] will be approved by ESA to submit it.

ANNEX 1: Definition of Readiness Level (TRL/ASRL) -REFERENCE

Level	TRL Technology Readiness Level (Space and Ground Segments)	ASRL Application Service Readiness Level (System and Application)
Capabilities	Space Segment model	Ground Segment model	Software model
1	Basic principles observed and reported	Idea or concept	Research results or preliminary algorithm	not applicable
2	Technology concept/ application formulated	Concept supported by paper	Individual algorithms for main functions	Application/service concept formulated, market opportunities not yet addressed
3	Analytical and experimental critical function or characteristic proof-of-concept	Mathematical models, supported e.g. by sample tests	Demonstrate feasibility	Prototype of the main functions	Concept analysis performed and target market identified
4	Component and/or breadboard functional verification in laboratory environment	Breadboard	Partial prototype	Alpha version covering the main functions	Application/service verification in laboratory environment, market segment(s) and customers/users identified
5	(Critical function of) component / breadboard verified in a relevant environment	Scaled EM for the critical functions	Reduced scale prototype (for large pieces)	Beta version covering all functions	Application/service verified using operational elements, customers/users not involved
6	Demonstration of element critical functions in a relevant environment	Full scale EM representative for critical functions	Full prototype to demonstrate functionality	Product	Demonstration of prototype in relevant environment, price policy identified
7	Demonstration of element performance in the operational environment	QM/EQM/PFMa	Verified Product with final BOM, layouts, released software, full GUI	Integrated product validated in a pilot case (trial)	Pilot (Trials) with customers/users to validate utilisation and business models
8	Actual system completed and accepted for flight	PFM/FM	Validated Product in operation and commercial offer ready	Integrated product validated for full operation	Application/service completed and validated, commercial offer ready
9	“Flight proven” system through successful mission operations	PFM/FM	Product operationally deployed and used by paying customer	Live product validated in a mission	Application/service operationally deployed and used by paying customers

a	A PFM may be used to achieve qualification provided that the commercial customer accepts the risk and it is demonstrated that the use of an alternative qualification model (e.g. EQM) is not viable. In this case the cost of the flight hardware is not supported by ESA

Contact information of National Delegations can be found here

Specific deviation to this rule for some nations can be found here

http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Business_with_ESA/Small_and_Medium_Sized_Enterprises/SME_definition_criteria

Key Partners to be listed here are: Subcontractors (of this proposal, suppliers (future, existing and planned), customers only if involved in the activities, regulators, any other entity playing a key role in the commercial success if your product/service.

Existing, to be procured, to be developed (New), to be modified (Modification).

The development cycles in which the proposed development will take place (De-risking or Product Development).

Description of the proposed main development activities for this item, the development objectives, the challenges, the strategy that you will follow during the development and discussion about the problem areas.

An item could be a module (as previously identified in the architecture), a sub-system, a component, a technique a process, a software.

You can add reference to the product tree if you have used it or one of the building blocks represented in section “Product/Service overview and architecture”