OGC Announces ESA Invitation to Tender for Testbed-15 Activities

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has announced the release of an Open Invitation to Tender (ITT) for participation in European Space Agency (ESA)–sponsored activities within the Testbed-15 initiative. The tender provides eligible organizations the opportunity to contribute to advanced geospatial interoperability research and the development of next-generation Earth observation exploitation platforms.

Two-Part Solicitation Structure

The Testbed-15 procurement process is divided into two independent components to meet ESA procurement requirements:

• Part 1: The Call for Participation (CFP) issued directly by OGC, outlining the overall Testbed-15 activities and technical objectives.
• Part 2: The ESA Invitation to Tender (ITT), covering ESA-funded work items related to Earth Observation process discovery and application services.

Organizations may submit proposals to the ESA ITT independently of the OGC CFP, as both components operate as separate solicitations.

Focus on Earth Observation Innovation

The ESA-sponsored work supports tasks associated with the “Earth Observation Process and Application Discovery” theme described in the Testbed-15 technical architecture. These activities aim to improve interoperability, workflow automation, and discoverability of geospatial processes across distributed exploitation platforms.

Participation enables organizations to collaborate on the development of standards-based solutions that enhance the accessibility and usability of satellite-derived data for research, commercial applications, and operational decision-making.

Eligibility and Participation Details

Only organizations located in countries listed within the ESA procurement provisions are eligible to bid for the ITT. Tender documentation is available through the ESA EMITS procurement portal, where applicants can review requirements, submission procedures, and evaluation criteria.

To assist prospective bidders, OGC has also scheduled an informational webinar where participants can ask technical and procedural questions regarding the Testbed-15 initiative.

Advancing Standards-Based Geospatial Solutions

OGC Testbeds serve as collaborative innovation programs designed to prototype emerging geospatial technologies and accelerate the development of open standards. By engaging industry, government agencies, and research institutions, initiatives such as Testbed-15 foster interoperable solutions that enable seamless integration of geospatial data and services across global platforms.

Organizations participating in the ESA-sponsored threads will play a key role in shaping future standards and capabilities for Earth observation processing, geospatial analytics, and distributed exploitation environments.