Request for Information: Canadian Industry Interested in participating in the European Program for Space Life and Physical Sciences – Period 4 (ELIPS-4)

1	Title of the Request for Information 

Canadian Industry Interested in participating in the European Program for Space Life and Physical Sciences – Period 4 (ELIPS-4)

2	Purpose of this Request

The main goal of this Request for Information (RFI) is for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to gauge the interest of Canadian industry in participating in the European Space Agency’s program for life and physical sciences in space (the European Program for Life and Physical Sciences, ‘ELIPS’).  

The ELIPS program functions on the basis of ‘georeturn’; member countries such as Canada contribute funds to the ELIPS program, and most of those funds must return to Canada via contracts to Canadian industry. Consequently, CSA’s participation in ELIPS creates tangible opportunities for Canadian industry, particularly in the areas of scientific payload development and construction and life science research instrument development. The information provided to CSA through this RFI will be sent to ESA for internal planning purposes, and to help ESA better understand how Canadian industry can participate in ELIPS projects. 

Please note that, because of the ELIPS criteria, this RFI is applicable to Canadian industry only. Note also that this RFI does not target organizations or individuals that would like to propose research ideas for the ELIPS program. Scientific proposals for ELIPS and CSA initiatives are selected through other mechanisms, for example the periodic issuing of International Life Sciences Research Announcements (ILSRAs). 


3	Context 

The ELIPS program solicits space life and physical science experiments and develops the hardware and protocols required for their execution. The funding of scientists who submit proposals is not done through ELIPS, but rather through national agencies such as the CSA. Development and integration of hardware is typically done through ELIPS calls for tenders. Canada is a member of ELIPS, and as a consequence, Canadian industry is able to compete in many of the ELIPS calls for tenders. The ELIPS program targets the International Space Station (ISS) as a research platform, but also uses platforms such as parabolic flight, drop towers, and sub-orbital rockets for fundamental and applied life and physical science research. See reference documents for more information about ELIPS and the research infrastructure on the ISS.   
ELIPS research focuses on life and physical sciences but the European ISS utilisation portfolio also encompasses specific elements from some other research and technology domains such as Earth Observation and Exploration technology.
Period 3 of ELIPS is now completed. The tenders for Period 4 of ELIPS (ELIPS-4) will be published in the 2013-2015 timeframe.
As some changes have been brought to the ELIPS program structure compared to previous iterations, Canada’s participation in ELIPS-4 will now focus on these two (2) topics:
•	Integration of scientific payloads.
•	Human physiology and biology technology in support of human exploration; and
ELIPS projects values typically range from 50,000$ to 10,000,000$.  Depending on the circumstances, qualified Canadian industries can be called upon to play either a lead or sub-contractor role for such projects.

Canadian industry can benefit from ELIPS-4 by gaining increased visibility in Europe, an important market for Canadian instruments in support of biological and human physiological research, and through the development of in-house expertise and experience in the development of instruments for space research.

For follow-up after the RFI, Canadian companies can monitor ESA calls for tender. The link is provided in the References.

4	Responses to the RFI 

The CSA would like to receive the following information from companies interested in participating in ELIPS-4 (note that some enterprises may have expertise with only research instruments or only payload development or integration):
•	Name of the company
•	As Applicable:
o	Company Activities in Space Applications Development
o	Company Activities in Scientific Payload  Integration
o	Brief Description of Physiology and Biology Research Instruments Developed and/or Used for Research Experiments.
o	Brief description of the fields of research that use the research instrument.
•	Contact Person Information:
o	Name
o	Position/Title
o	Phone number
o	Email address

Note that this information will be sent as summaries and in the original submission format to the European Space Agency. Therefore, it is important that respondents not include privileged information that cannot be made public.

Information must be forwarded by e-mail to the contact identified in section 7 of this RFI in one of the official languages of Canada, no later than October 7th, 2013.

5	References
See below hyperlinks leading to further information related to topics mentioned in the present RFI:

•	Background information on the ELIPS program

o	http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/International_Space_Station/Taking_the_ISS_to_the_next_level_ISS_exploitation_and_ELIPS

o	http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/publications/BR-300/pageflip.html

o	http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/Public_documents/Publications/elips_01.pdf
(see in particular the section on Infrastructure and Facilities)

o	http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Industry/Industry_how_to_do_business/ESA_s_Invitation_to_Tender_System_EMITS

•	Background information on ISS: 
o	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V1N-456864W-1&_user=508782&_coverDate=06%2F30%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1627125434&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000025149&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=508782&md5=ab440c2b1198847081a56230cc4a04cd&searchtype=a

•	Current research capabilities on the ISS: 
o	http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/hsf_research/ao2009/FEIP-2009.pdf (this reference presents the research capabilities currently on the ISS, so it can help determining what research capabilities not to duplicate).
o	http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/579499main_HRP%20Flight%20Experiment%20Information%20Package%202012%20Final.pdf (presents the flight experiments process and the main constraints). 
o	http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/508318main_ISS_ref_guide_nov2010.pdf (see more specifically the Research section)
o	http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/facilities_category.html


6	General Information about the RFI Process
This RFI is not an acquisition process and is not in direct support of any government procurement. Exchanges with consulted organizations will cease before the commencement of formal procurement activities. The assurance of open, fair and transparent procurement processes is imperative for both government and potential contractors; the demarcation between this “information gathering” initiative and any formal procurement process is clearly defined and implemented to ensure no conflicts between the two.

This RFI shall not be construed to be a RFP and no agreement/contract will be entered into with/awarded to any vendor based on responses to this RFI, and it shall in no way be considered as authorization by Canada for vendors to undertake any work.

Nothing in this RFI shall be construed as a commitment to issue a RFP. Response to this RFI will not create any obligation. Neither Canada nor vendors answering this RFI shall be bound by any aspect of their response to this RFI.

Once they have been received, the documents will become the property of Canada.

Vendors not responding to this RFI will not be penalized in an eventual RFP. Canada shall not be liable for, nor shall it reimburse any vendors for, any costs, fees or expenses which any vendor incurs in the preparation or submission of its response to this RFI.


7	Contact

Robert Kardum
Contracting Officer
Canadian Space Agency
Procurement and Contract Administration 
6767 route de l'Aéroport
St-Hubert, Quebec J3Y 8Y9 
Canada
Telephone : 450-926-4875
Fax : 450-926-4969
E-mail : robert.kardum@asc-csa.gc.ca