The European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG-TREN) has issued an invitation to tender (ITT) for an advisor on the European GNSS program.
With a one-year term renewable up to three times, the contract will be designed to provide a pool of experts and organizations for review and counsel on administrative, financial, strategic and technical matters. The services are outlined in two “workpackages,” one for a fixed set of activities and the other for variable services performed according to specific work orders.
The European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG-TREN) has issued an invitation to tender (ITT) for an advisor on the European GNSS program.
With a one-year term renewable up to three times, the contract will be designed to provide a pool of experts and organizations for review and counsel on administrative, financial, strategic and technical matters. The services are outlined in two “workpackages,” one for a fixed set of activities and the other for variable services performed according to specific work orders.
Fotis Karamitsos, head of DG-TREN’s Directorate G for logistics, innovation, co-modality, and maritime transport, issued the 67-page ITT on June 25. A copy of the ITT document can be downloaded from the DG-TREN website. The deadline for submitting proposals is August 4.
The European Union (EU) Transport Council called for the independent advisor role in its November 29, 2007, conclusions on Europe’s GNSS program. DG-TREN is seeking a contractor having extensive experience with the management of large projects, specifically public sector procurements. The successful contractor must be able to provide a pool of high-level expertise in project management and “all key and specialized domains relevant to the European GNSS programs,” according to the ITT.
Prospective contractors need to be able to propose experts from diverse national backgrounds and experience with demonstrated competence in the following areas: strategic decision-making, finance, satellite navigation technology, risk management, legal matters, security, and space programs, as well as market development. The experts and expert organizations also must be independent from the various industrial actors and have no conflicts of interest with the GNSS programs or the developments of radionavigation applications.
Workpackage 1 require the contractor to perform the following:
• Assess the overall GNSS programs from a strategic standpoint, including assessment of the management structures and methodologies, and recommendation for improvement
• Perform an early review of the development phase (In Orbit Validation) results based on inputs from the European Space Agency and on inputs from industry at the operational director level
• Contribute to preparation of the EC’s annual report on the GNSS programs, including Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNO), andother activities addressing navigation in Europe, such as the European Radio-Navigation Plan, the Action Plan on satellite navigation application development, standardization, certification, research activities, and so on
• Provide critical analyses of the GNSS programs implementation plan and monitor progress of the “implementation calendars”
• Contribute regularly to geo-political analysis for procurement of the infrastructure and for international cooperation matters
• Contribute to definition of a risk management scheme and proposals for the implementation of the risk management procedures
• Regularly analyze the costs of the GNSS programs and their evolution
• Contribute to industrial/intellectual property or technology control policy as well as review the efficiency of the chosen IPR policy and its implementation
• Validate the European GNSS programs strategic position in the global satellite navigation market
• Monitor and advise on innovative technologies in the navigation, positioning, and timing markets.
