EGNSS applications for public authorities' pilot

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

Innovation procurement can drive the R&D and deployment of innovative solutions from the demand side through respectively pre-commercial procurement (PCP). This can open new market opportunities for companies in Europe, can contribute to speeding up public sector modernisation and can help to tackle societal challenges with innovative/breakthrough solutions for the benefit of the citizen.

Satellite navigation technology is an increasingly common component of innovative applications in different market segments. Involvement of public institutions is key in fostering the EGNSS adoption. Nowadays the maturity of EGNSS based solutions and their increased accessibility provide significant contribution to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals of the governments.

The main challenge of this topic is to deepen user integration and thus foster exploitation of EGNSS applications to match the needs of public authorities at national, regional or local levels.

The innovative EGNSS solutions developed through this action should have been tested and have demonstrated success in smaller scale settings and have not yet been deployed on a large scale.

The objective is to launch demand-driven actions by public authorities aiming at customising EGNSS applications for their needs. Transnational cooperation has a key role to play in this context, as it can facilitate knowledge transfer and optimisation of resources for public authorities. Proposals should be building on procurement needs of the participating organizations. The proposals should support the EGNSS market take-up across Europe and demonstrate a sustainability of solutions beyond the lifespan of the proposed project. The choice of EGNSS market segment and application is left to the proposer. A non-exhaustive list of possible applications is presented below:

• EGNSS for mobility as a service, cooperative ITS, public transport and smart cities,
• Implementation of Performance Based Navigation procedures,
• Integration of EGNSS into U-Space concept for drones,
• Helicopter emergency medical services with EGNOS capabilities (operations and equipment).
• Public rescue services with Galileo SAR capable helicopters, boats and drones
• EGNSS to support port operations,
• Monitoring of infrastructure with EGNSS (rail, road, critical infrastructure)

The consortium should engage public procurers from each country represented in the consortium (at national, regional or local level) that have responsibilities and budget control in the relevant EGNSS market segment.

Proposals should be built on the exploitation of the distinguishing features of EGNOS and Galileo signals and operational advantages in downstream applications.

EGNSS should be part and parcel of the envisaged solution(s). However, where a combination of EGNSS with other technologies is required to make the application(s) work, this is not excluded from the scope.

Proposals addressing PRS (Public Regulated Service) related applications are not in the scope of this topic.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 1 and 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Activities related to this topic should contribute to:

• The establishment of buyer groups for EGNSS application;
• Creation of EGNSS-enabled national, regional or local applications in support of public authorities;
• Fostering the emergence of similar EGNSS actions in smart specialisation strategies;
• Establishment of sustainable supply chains for delivery of downstream EGNSS applications to public authorities;
• Smart use of the procurement budget to remove supplier lock-in and obtain more open, standardized and better “value for money” solutions;
• Increase in quality, and decrease in prices, of EGNSS products and services;
• Increased exploitation of IPRs and R&D results;
• Creation of growth and jobs in Europe.

Innovation Procurement