States with an interest in working with ESA may progress from initial contacts to European Cooperating State, and progressively to Associate Members and ESA Member State. 

Along this accession route, and at each stage, ESA offers different schemes which aim at developing and reinforcing sustainable industrial and academic capabilities in the space domain in these countries, through technology development contracts targeting both upstream and downstream products and services. 

The activities to be funded are selected through specific open Calls for Proposals, on topics related to ESA’s overall future programmes activities. 

Preceding each Call, a briefing to industry takes place in the respective country. These events are intended to give an overview of the Call, its programmatic objectives and constraints and the general process from proposal submission to outcome. It also includes some guidance and tips on proposal writing and basic information on ESA procurement. Interested participants can also request a one-on-one meeting with ESA for questions that can not be addressed in the public Q&A.

In 2025, the Capability and Country Support Division based in ESTEC, is implementing the following schemes:

• PECS - Plan for European Cooperating States (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Malta)
• AM RPA - Associate Members Requesting Party Activities (Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia)
• NMS IIS – New Member States Industry Incentive Scheme (Slovenia)
• MS RPA – Member States Requesting Party Activities (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia)

This calendar shows an overview of the planned Industry Briefings for each scheme and a point of contact in case you want more information or are interested to attend an event.

status: 17 February 2025