Framework contract for the supply of geospatial products for the Copernicus Security Service component on support to EU external and security actions

The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) is procuring a single-award service framework contract for rapid on-demand geospatial products and related services to support the Copernicus Security Service (SESA). The estimated total value is €6,090,000 and the contract duration is an initial 12 months with a possible 6-month renewal (maximum 18 months), to be awarded by best price-quality ratio (quality 70%, price 30%). Submission is electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with a deadline of 19 October 2026 at 16:00 (Europe/Madrid) and bidders must meet the selection and technical requirements in the tender documents. Key conditions include that proposed experts for the geospatial production team must be employed by the tenderer at the time of submission and that controlled technical annexes are available only under NDA.

What it funds

Scope of services

Framework contract to procure on‑demand geospatial products and related services for the Copernicus Security Service component on Support to EU External and Security Actions (SESA). Works include rapid production of maps, layers, databases and reports from satellite imagery and collateral data (FIR, BN, DGI, Mapbook, Country Map Coverage) and the management/coordination fixed services.

Estimated total value:Estimated overall contract value €6,090,000 (excl. VAT) for the whole framework period ¹.

1. 1Contract type: single-award service framework contract (no lots).
2. 2Duration: initial 12 months, renewable once for 6 months (maximum 18 months).
3. 3Award method: best price-quality ratio (technical/quality 70 points, financial 30 points).

Who can apply

Eligibility highlights

Open to economic operators established in an EU Member State whose executive management is located in the EU. Consortia are allowed (joint tenders) and subcontracting is permitted but core activities must be retained by the contractor. Tenderers must meet exclusion, financial and technical selection criteria described in the procurement documents.

Minimum technical team required:Project manager, deputy manager, production coordinators, quality assurance manager, EO specialist, GIS analyst, QC supervisor and imagery analysts with specified minimum qualifications and experience (see Tender Specifications).

1. 1Applicants must demonstrate EO, GIS and cartography experience and provide CVs in Europass format.
2. 2Experts proposed must be employees of the tenderer, a consortium member or same economic group at time of submission.

Key practical information

Submission is electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission. Procurement documents (Invitation to Tender, Annexes A–K, draft contract and templates) are published on the Portal and Appendix B (detailed technical specs) is available on request under NDA.

Procedure:open electronic procedure managed by the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen). Award based on quality (70) and price (30). Tenderers must register in the Participant Register and hold an EU Login account. Apply and download documents from the portal: Funding & Tenders Portal. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Tender documents and detailed specifications including pricing templates (Appendix C) and the methodology for calculating order price and production time (Appendix D) are available on the Portal link above.

Core procurement facts

What this procurement is about

Procurement type:open procedure to award a single-operator service framework contract (framework agreement, without reopening of competition). Contracting authority: European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen). Purpose: production and supply of on-demand geospatial products to support the Copernicus Security Service component on Support to EU External and Security Actions (Copernicus SESA). Scope: rapid and on-demand geospatial analysis and delivery of products derived from satellite imagery and collateral data (layers, maps, geodatabases and related analytical reports). Estimated overall maximum procedure value: €6,090,000 (exclusive of VAT) for the entire framework duration (initial 12 months plus possible 6-month renewal; maximum 18 months).

Official procurement references:Call identifier SATCEN/2026/OP/0005, TED Reference 173/2026 618506-2026. All procurement documents are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the SatCen procurement pages Procurement details SatCen procurement page. ¹

Categorisation and eligibility answers (detailed)

Eligible Applicant Types

Eligible applicants:legal persons (economic operators) established in an EU Member State and having their executive management structures established in that Member State. The participation conditions apply to tenderers, consortium members and subcontractors. Permitted applicant types: SMEs, large enterprises, research organisations and universities acting as economic operators, public entities and consortia (joint tenders). Start-ups, new entrants and SMEs are explicitly encouraged to participate alone, as consortium members or as subcontractors. Subcontractors may be used but core tasks of the fixed part and core production tasks of the variable part must not be subcontracted without SatCen approval; at tender submission experts for the geospatial production team must be employees of the Tenderer, a consortium member or a company within the same economic group, not of a subcontractor (see Section 4.6.1.4 of the Tender Specifications).

Funding Type

Financial mechanism:procurement — service framework contract (public procurement). SatCen is the contracting authority and the contract is funded by the EU (Copernicus programme funds administered under the Entrusted Entity arrangement). This is a purchase of services (not a grant, loan or equity).

Consortium Requirement

Consortium:allowed but not required. The procedure is for a single economic operator to be awarded the FWC; tenderers may submit as single entities or as consortia. If a consortium (joint tender) is used: all consortium members become parties to the FWC and bear joint and several liability. The consortium must nominate a Consortium Leader and include the power of attorney template (Appendix G).

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Geographic eligibility:applicants must be legal entities established in an EU Member State and conduct the relevant activities in one or more Member States; executive management structures must be established in an EU Member State. The contract is an EU procurement (Copernicus SESA) and access is restricted to entities meeting Article 24(2) of the EU Space Programme Regulation (entities not subject to control by third countries).

Target Sectors / Thematic Areas

Primary sectors:geospatial mapping, Earth observation processing and analysis, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), remote sensing, GIS, cartography and security support. Thematic/Cross-cutting sectors: security & defence support, crisis response, maritime/border surveillance, environmental compliance monitoring, transport and infrastructure monitoring, humanitarian aid and international development, OSINT integration, and Copernicus services.

Mentioned Countries and Regions (explicit in documents)

Explicitly mentioned country:Spain (SatCen seat: Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid). Region: European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA) eligibility and Copernicus services. The procurement documentation references Copernicus contributors and European Space Agency mechanisms; no other specific countries are required as applicant locations. The procurement explicitly restricts participation to entities established and managed in EU Member States.

Project Stage expected from applicants

Expected maturity:operational production capability. The Contract requires proven operational capacity to deliver EO imagery processing, geospatial production, QA/QC, rapid response activation and ongoing service management. Required experience: minimum 3 years of relevant projects; specific staff experience (senior/project manager, production coordinators, EO specialist, GIS analyst, QC, imagery analysts) and technical infrastructure.

Funding Amount (scale)

Estimated maximum procedure value (all services during the FWC period including renewal):€6,090,000 (exclusive of VAT). This is the estimated ceiling for the full framework duration (12 months initial + one renewal of 6 months possible).

Application Type and Submission Method

Submission method:electronic — eSubmission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Call type: open call for tenders (public procurement, open procedure). Tender language: any official EU language (preferably English). EU Login account and PIC required.

Nature of Support to Beneficiaries

Nature of support:paid procurement (monetary payment for services). The contract is a paid service contract; successful contractor(s) will receive payments for service requests and orders as set out in the economic offer and framework contract. The contracting authority funds the services — beneficiaries receive monetary payments for delivered services and products.

Application Stages (evaluation pipeline)

Number of administrative/evaluation stages:six main stages documented by SatCen: (1) Eligibility check (access to procurement), (2) Exclusion check, (3) Compliance with environmental/social/labour laws, (4) Selection (legal, economic & financial capacity, technical & professional capacity), (5) Minimum requirements (team and equipment), (6) Award evaluation (technical quality QS and financial FS).

Success Rates

Success rates:not published in the procurement documents. As a competitive EU procurement with an open procedure and a single award for a high-value framework contract, typical success probability depends on number/quality of bids; no official success-rate figure is available in the call documents.

Co-funding Requirement

Co-funding:not required in the call documents. This is a purchased service contract: the contracting authority pays the contractor per the contract price schedule (fixed monthly price for the fixed part and unit prices for variable products). No direct applicant co-funding or matching funds are requested.

Application templates, documents and what to prepare

The procurement pack comprises an Invitation to Tender, Draft Framework Contract (Annex II), Tender Specifications (Annex I) and multiple Appendices (A to K). Tenderers must submit administrative forms, declarations, technical proposal and a financial proposal according to the templates. Key appendices and documents are: Appendix A Technical Specifications I (public), Appendix B Technical Specifications II (controlled access — Non-Disclosure Undertaking required), Appendix C Economic Offer Template (financial tables), Appendix D Calculation of Price & Production Time (detailed formulae), Appendix E Scenarios (evaluation exercises), Appendix F Tender Submission Form, Appendix G Consortium Power of Attorney template, Appendix H Declaration on Ownership and Control, Appendix I Declaration on Honour (exclusion/selection), Appendix J Statement of Average Annual Turnover, Appendix K Non-Disclosure Undertaking and Draft Framework Contract.

What the technical submission must cover:Technical proposal must cover: understanding of the Copernicus SESA mission; production workflows for the fixed and variable parts; staffing and organisation (CVs in Europass format for required roles); detailed responses to the 4 scenarios in Appendix E (deliver GIS package on USB as instructed); quality management plan, KPIs, risk management plan, infrastructure and software availability, production capacity and examples of past projects (3 described projects).

What the financial submission must cover:Complete Appendix C Economic Offer Template: monthly fixed price (Fixed Part) and unit prices for Variable Part product types (FIR, BN, DGI, MB, CMC) plus prices for Temporal Complexity and Advanced Analysis categories. Prices must be expressed in EUR, exclude VAT and must not exceed stated maximum reference prices in Appendix C.

1. 1Administrative forms and declarations: Appendix F (Tender Submission Form), Appendix H (Declaration of ownership and control), Appendix I (Declaration on Honour) and Appendix J (Statement of Average Annual Turnover).
2. 2Technical evidence: CVs (Europass), Table 5 experience table, three project descriptions (1 page each), response to Appendix E Scenarios, Table 6 team declaration, Tables 7–9 equipment and infrastructure.
3. 3Financial offer: Appendix C completed and signed (fixed monthly price and product unit prices).
4. 4Consortium documentation (if applicable): Appendix G power of attorney signed by all members; declaration of joint and several liability.
5. 5Controlled access documentation: sign and submit Appendix K Non-Disclosure Undertaking to obtain Appendix B (technical extraction & product rules).

Where to submit:electronic submission via eSubmission (EU Funding & Tenders Portal). EU Login and PIC required. See the F&T Portal procurement page for document downloads and the eSubmission portal for uploads. Contact: procurement.satcen@satcen.europa.eu (questions must be submitted via the Portal Q&A mechanism; SatCen may stop replying to questions received later than the deadline indicated).

Evaluation and scoring — practical notes for applicants

Evaluation is two-part:quality (70 points) and price (30 points). Quality minimum thresholds apply (overall minimum 40/70 plus minimums per scenario and per sub-criteria). Quality focuses on scenario results, production workflow and project management. Price evaluation uses the Appendix C prices and the formulas in Appendix D to score Fixed and Variable parts. Tenders failing to respect maximum allowed prices in Appendix C will be rejected as non-compliant.

1. 1Follow the structure of the award criteria Q1 (scenarios), Q2 (technical approach) and Q3 (project management).
2. 2Ensure Appendix E scenario deliverables are included and a copy of the GIS files is shipped on USB to SatCen address before the deadline (address and instructions in Appendix E).
3. 3Provide full evidence for exclusion and selection criteria (Declaration on Honour plus supporting certificates) — check e-Certis to map national documents.
4. 4Include all required signatures and powers of attorney for consortia and clearly identify subcontracted work.

Evaluation transparency:SatCen may request clarifications or additional evidence during evaluation. Non-conformities to mandatory technical rules may cause rejection. The FWC will be awarded to the tender with highest combined technical + financial score; tie-breaking rules are specified in the Tender Specifications.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents (invitation to tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Framework Contract and all Appendices) are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and SatCen procurement pages. See the official portal entry for SATCEN/2026/OP/0005 F&T procurement page.

This is an EU procurement tender, not a grant call. The European Union Satellite Centre seeks to award a service framework contract to a single economic operator for the production and supply of rapid, on demand geospatial products for the Copernicus Security Service component supporting EU external and security actions.

What the opportunity is about

The contract covers geospatial products generated from satellite imagery and collateral data to detect, monitor and analyze events or activities that may affect EU and global security. The stated outputs include layers, maps and databases in different formats, which indicates a specialist imagery analysis and digital mapping assignment rather than a general consulting service.

Who can apply

The procurement is open procedure and the portal shows electronic submission only. Applicants should be economic operators able to provide digital mapping and geospatial production services and to meet the selection criteria and technical requirements in the tender documents.

The document set includes a consortium leader power of attorney form and an ownership and control declaration, so the submission pack appears to anticipate group participation and ownership transparency checks, although the award itself is for a single economic operator.

A published clarification states that the experts proposed for the geospatial production team must be employed by the tenderer at the time of submission, as referenced in Section 4.6.1.4 of the tender specifications. This is a critical staffing condition for bidders relying on named personnel.

Commercial and procedural summary

What applicants should know before bidding

• The contract is for rapid and on demand production, so bidders should demonstrate operational capacity and turnaround discipline.
• The technical package includes a tender specifications document, technical specifications, economic offer template, scenarios, submission form and draft framework contract.
• The award basis is best price quality ratio, so a strong technical response will be essential.
• The procurement is security relevant and concerns Copernicus support to EU external and security actions, so applicants should expect strict confidentiality and documentation controls.
• The portal indicates that EU Login is required for electronic submission and portal access.
• The visible portal deadline is 19 October 2026, while the additional metadata date of 1 January 2026 is inconsistent with the portal record and should not be relied on as the operative deadline.

Applicant focused interpretation

This opportunity is best suited to established geospatial and remote sensing contractors with experience in satellite imagery analysis, map production, secure handling of sensitive information and delivery under framework arrangements. Bidders should review the staffing rules carefully, confirm that key experts are directly employed where required, and align pricing with the published 70 30 quality to price weighting.

The official listing is available on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.