Assessment of the Performance and Effectiveness of Farmer Cooperatives and Farmer Groups in the Cocoa Sectors of Ghana and Ivory Coast

Procurement tender by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) to commission a large scale, nationally representative study of cocoa farmer cooperatives and farmer groups in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire focusing on governance, operational management, member engagement, benefits and ARS1000 certification readiness. The contract is for services with a maximum total value of €200,000, maximum duration 12 months, awarded by best price quality ratio with quality weighted 60 percent and price 40 percent. The procedure is open and submissions must be made electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal, with the deadline for receipt of tenders on 6 October 2026 at 11:30 Europe Madrid time. Deliverables include methodological documentation, raw and cleaned datasets, enumerator manuals and a final report following CAPI fieldwork and pilot testing.

What the contract buys

Scope and objectives (summary)

A single, large-scale, nationally representative study of cocoa farmer cooperatives and farmer groups in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Two linked survey levels: (1) organisational governance and operations of cooperatives/groups; (2) individual cooperative members and their spouses/household decision-makers. The study will assess governance, member engagement, services and benefits, household investment and savings behaviour, and readiness of cooperatives for ARS1000 certification. Data collection is CAPI-based with pre-tests and a pilot; outputs include cleaned datasets and a final report ¹.

Who can apply

Eligible tenderers

Open procedure to any economic operator meeting exclusion and selection rules. Joint tenders and subcontracting allowed. Entities established in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire may participate as tenderers or subcontractors. Tenderers must satisfy financial and technical selection criteria (including recent survey implementation experience and key expert profiles).

Funding range:Maximum contract value €200,000 (VAT excluded); maximum contract duration 12 months ¹.

1. 1Contracting authority: European Commission, DG JRC (Joint Research Centre)
2. 2Procedure: Open eSubmission tender (EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/OP/2892)
3. 3Main deliverables: methodological report, raw/pilot/final cleaned datasets, enumerator manual, final report
4. 4Required approach: sampling of min. 100 cooperatives/country, ~1,000 members/country, spouse interviews (~800), weighting strategy, CAPI fieldwork

How to apply:electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission. Tender must include administrative declaration, technical tender (methodology, sampling strategy, recruitment and training plan, number of additional cooperatives beyond the minimum), CVs for key experts, and the financial offer template. Use the published tender documents and annexes on the Portal.

Footnotes

1. 1Full tender dossier, technical specifications, annexes and draft contract are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal call page (EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/OP/2892) and contain detailed sampling, deliverables and invoice/payment arrangements.

Opportunity type and contracting authority

This is an open procurement (call for tenders) launched by the European Commission, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC), Unit JRC.D.4 Economics of Food Systems. The procedure reference is EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/OP/2892. The contracting authority will award a direct service contract following an open procedure and the award criterion is the best price-quality ratio.

Purpose and scope of the contract

The contract procures a comprehensive, large-scale interdisciplinary study to produce the first nationally representative analysis of cocoa farmer cooperatives and farmer groups across Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The study combines two levels of data collection: organizational (governance, management, services, finances, infrastructure and certification readiness including ARS1000) and household/individual (member engagement, benefits, selling behaviour, investments, intra-household resource allocation and spouse interviews). The approach uses behavioural economics, collective action theory, organisational studies and development economics. Data collection uses CAPI and a multi-stage sampling design with at least 100 cooperatives per country and at least 1,000 cooperative members per country (minimum 10 members per cooperative) plus targeted interviews of spouses (target around 800). The contractor is responsible for full field implementation including sampling universe validation, pre-tests, training, pilot, fieldwork, data cleaning (deliverable in Stata or compatible format), and a final report. The contract duration is up to 12 months.

Key procurement identifiers:Call reference EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/OP/2892. TED reference 170/2026 607275-2026. Lead contracting authority: European Commission DG JRC - Joint Research Centre (JRC.R / JRC.D.4). Main CPV: 73000000 Research and development services and related consultancy services.

Important dates and milestones

1. 1TED publication date: 03/09/2026 (portal publication of invitation, technical specifications, draft contract and annexes).
2. 2Deadline for submission of tenders (electronic via eSubmission): 06/10/2026 11:30 Europe/Madrid (11:30 CEST) — official closing date shown in the procurement details. Public opening session: 06/10/2026 13:00 Europe/Madrid.
3. 3Last date for contracting authority to reply to questions: 28/09/2026 23:59 Europe/Madrid (questions submitted after this date may not receive an answer).
4. 4Contract maximum duration: 12 months from entry into force.
5. 5Contract maximum value: €200,000 (this figure is stated as the maximum total value of the procedure).

Portal, submission and contact:Tenders must be submitted electronically using the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system (EU Login account required). All tender documentation (Invitation to tender, Administrative specifications, Technical specifications, Draft contract, Example questionnaires, Financial offer template, Annex on AI tools, Declaration on honour and other annexes) are published on the Portal and attached to the call Funding & Tenders Portal - tender documents. For technical eSubmission questions use the eSubmission Helpdesk as described in the Portal guidance eSubmission Quick Guide ¹.

Estimated budget and contract modality

Estimated total maximum procedure value:€200,000 (this is stated in the procurement notice and administrative specifications as the maximum total amount to be procured under this call). Nature of contract: services, direct contract. Award method: best price-quality ratio. Framework/option: the administrative specifications indicate that within three years the contracting authority may use a negotiated procedure to procure follow-on services from the contractor up to 50% of the initial contract value under certain conditions.

Eligibility and eligible applicant types

Participation is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons covered by the EU Treaties and to international organisations, as well as to entities from third countries where applicable trade or procurement agreements allow access. Entities established in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire may participate as tenderers and/or subcontractors. Tenderers must ensure that none of the involved entities or subcontractors are subject to EU restrictive measures prohibiting receipt of funds or services. The call explicitly allows subcontracting and joint tenders (groups of economic operators).

1. 1Eligible applicant types (examples and explicitly permitted in the documents): university, research institute, NGO, nonprofit, SME, large enterprise, consultancy/market research companies, field survey organisations, cooperatives (as tenderers or subcontractors), entities established in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Joint tenders / consortia are allowed.
2. 2Subcontracting is permitted and subcontractors with large shares (>15%) or relied-on capacities must be identified in the tender and provide commitment letters (Annex 4 and Annex 5.1).
3. 3Entities on whose capacities a tenderer relies (but who are not subcontractors) must provide commitment letters (Annex 5.2).

Funding type and nature of support

This is a procurement / tender (service contract). The contractor receives monetary remuneration under a contractual arrangement (service contract) according to the financial offer and invoicing schedule agreed in the contract. The contracting authority does not provide grants, vouchers or equity in this call — it buys services.

Consortium requirements and partner roles

A consortium (joint tender) is permitted. If a group of economic operators submits a joint tender, a group leader must be appointed, and all group members assume joint and several liability for contract performance. The group must sign an Agreement/Power of Attorney using the model in Annex 3. The eSubmission application must identify the role of each involved entity (sole tenderer, group leader, group member or subcontractor).

Geographic scope / beneficiary scope

Work will be performed in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Participation is open to entities from the EU and third countries in line with procurement rules; entities established in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are explicitly eligible to tender and to be subcontractors. The contracting authority is the European Commission (EU) and the contract is funded by the Union budget.

Target sectors and disciplines

Primary thematic sectors:agriculture (cocoa value chains), rural development and sustainability. Technical disciplines and expertise sought: survey implementation and management, statistical sampling and weighting, field data collection (CAPI), household surveys, cooperative governance analysis, behavioural economics, development economics, organisational studies, monitoring and evaluation, data cleaning and analysis (Stata or equivalent), report writing and policy-relevant synthesis. The procurement is classified under CPV codes including 73000000 (R&D and consultancy), 73210000, 73110000, 72314000.

Expected project stage and deliverables

This procurement supports research and large-scale field data collection and analysis (research, development and validation of survey tools; pilot; national survey deployment; data cleaning and delivery; final report). Key deliverables include: D1 Methodological Report (sampling, weighting, implementation plan), D2 raw pre-test dataset, D3 Enumerator manual, D4 pilot raw dataset, D5 raw and cleaned final survey dataset including cleaning scripts, and D6 Final Report. Deliverables and a detailed schedule are in the Technical specifications and Administrative specifications.

Sample design and minimum sample requirements:Minimum sample: at least 100 cooperatives/ farmer groups per country, and at least 1,000 cooperative members per country with minimum 10 members per sampled cooperative; spouse interviews targeted ~800 across the two countries. Contractor must construct sampling universe by cross-referencing official lists (e.g. Ghana Cocoa Board, Conseil Café-Cacao in Côte d’Ivoire) with other sources, implement listing at cooperative-member level and probability sampling with replacement strategy and full weighting strategy.

Funding amount, budget and pricing model

Maximum total estimated procedure value:€200,000. Tenderers must submit a full financial offer using the provided Excel financial offer form (Annex 7). All prices must be quoted in euro, VAT excluded. The financial offer must cover all tasks in the tender specifications (Task 1 to Task 8). The total price (Po) is used for price evaluation. The award criterion allocates 40% weight to price and 60% to technical quality.

Application and submission details

Submission method:compulsory electronic submission via the F&T Portal eSubmission (EU Login required). Documents to upload are listed in Annex 1 of the Administrative specifications. Mandatory attachments include Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), Agreement/Power of Attorney for group tenders (Annex 3), Annex 4 List of identified subcontractors if applicable, Annex 5 commitment letters from subcontractors or entities relied upon, financial offer form (Annex 7), technical tender and supporting CVs and evidence for selection criteria.

Evaluation process and award

Tenders are first checked for administrative compliance and exclusion criteria. Selection criteria (economic/financial and technical/professional) are applied. Award uses best price-quality ratio. Award scoring: Price criterion P (maximum 40 points) is calculated proportionally to the lowest price; Technical Quality TQ (maximum 60 points) is scored against three sub-criteria (methodological approach; recruitment approach for field staff; additional cooperatives sampled beyond the minimum), with minimum thresholds for some sub-criteria; total score TS = P + TQ. Where pre-existing rights are included, the contractor must deliver an Annex III declaration listing pre-existing rights at latest with invoice for balance.

Application stages and timeline for applicants

Primary submission stage:single-stage open call. After submission the contracting authority performs eligibility, exclusion and selection checks, then evaluates technical and financial offers and ranks tenders. The contracting authority may request supporting documents from the presumed successful tenderer before award. Q&A are handled via the Portal until the published cut-off date.

1. 1Stage 1: Prepare and submit electronic tender (technical and financial documents, forms, annexes) by the deadline via eSubmission.
2. 2Stage 2: Administrative and eligibility checks; evaluation of exclusion and selection criteria.
3. 3Stage 3: Technical and financial evaluation and ranking; contracting authority requests supporting evidence if needed; signature of contract with successful tenderer.

Number of stages:This is effectively a single submission stage followed by evaluation and award. Applicants must pass the administrative/exclusion check and the selection criteria verification and then succeed in the technical and price evaluation. Counting submission and the evaluation/award phase, applicants pass through 2 principal stages (submission and evaluation/award), although the authority may request clarifications or additional documents as part of the evaluation process.

Success rates and competition

The tender notice does not publish a success rate. Typical EU JRC open tenders for specialised research services of this size are competitive; success depends on meeting selection criteria, providing strong technical approach to sampling and field implementation, experienced personnel and cost competitiveness. No formal numerical success rate is provided in the procurement documents.

Co-funding and cost-share requirements

Co-funding is not required by the procurement documents. The contract price must be quoted VAT excluded in EUR and must fully cover the services and deliverables described in the tender specifications. Any subcontracting costs must be included within the tender price. The administrative specifications note the contracting authority may offset established debts to the Union against payments due under the contract.

Templates and application form structure

The procurement publishes standard templates and annexes that must be used or completed as part of the eSubmission tender package. Key templates and their function (all available in the call documents):

1. 1Annex 1 List of documents to be submitted with the tender: enumerates mandatory uploads (Declaration on Honour, technical tender, financial tender Annex 7, Annex 3 agreement for joint tenders, Annex 4 identified subcontractors, Annex 5 commitment letters).
2. 2Annex 2 Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (mandatory).
3. 3Annex 3 Agreement/Power of attorney model for joint tenders (mandatory if joint tender).
4. 4Annex 4 List of identified subcontractors and proportion of subcontracting (mandatory if subcontractors above thresholds).
5. 5Annex 5.1/5.2 Commitment letter templates for subcontractors and for entities on whose capacity the tenderer relies (mandatory for identified entities).
6. 6Annex 6 AI tools template: tenderers must list any AI tools they will use, provide version, supplier, intended function and for which deliverable/milestone they will be applied.
7. 7Annex 7 Financial offer form (Excel): detailed task-by-task breakdown; all green cells must be completed; total price (Po) automatically calculated and used for price evaluation.
8. 8Draft contract and Appendices: the draft contract (including security appendix) sets payment arrangements, intellectual property, confidentiality, audit and reporting requirements; tenderers must examine the draft contract and ensure compliance.

Mandatory technical evidence and staff CVs

Selection criteria evidence:consolidated proof of economic capacity (average annual turnover > €150,000 over last two financial years) and technical capacity. Tenderers must provide lists of past contracts/projects (one similar contract of at least €100,000 completed in last five years) and CVs for required expert profiles. Minimum key staff profiles requested: Project Manager (≥ 8 years project management experience, experience managing teams of ≥ 5 people and projects of similar size ≥ €70,000), Senior statistic/data analysis expert (≥ 8 years professional experience or relevant degree + ≥ 5 years in survey design/sampling/weighting/data management), language capacity with at least one C1 English and one C1 French team member. Evidence may be requested with the tender evaluation or after the provisional winner is selected.

Use of Artificial Intelligence tools

The contracting authority permits use of AI tools only if declared in the tender (Annex 6). All AI tools to be used must be listed, with supplier, version/model, intended function, data to be processed and the deliverable/milestone to which they relate. The contractor must indicate AI usage in deliverables and ensure AI tools used are not classified as high-risk under the AI Act; quality assurance, confidentiality and data protection responsibilities apply and must be documented. The contractor must not use undeclared AI tools without prior notification and contractual agreement.

Intellectual property, data and publication rights

The contract provisions assign to the Union ownership of the newly created results and intellectual property rights derived from the work under the contract, while pre-existing rights remain with the contractor but must be licensed to the Union on an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive and worldwide basis for the modes of exploitation specified in the contract. The contractor must provide, with the balance invoice, a declaration of pre-existing rights (Annex III template) and documentary evidence on request. Deliverables must include cleaning scripts and data in Stata or compatible format, and the contractor must keep originals and documentation for five years after payment. The contract requires compliance with data protection rules and the contractor must assist in checks and audits (EDES, OLAF, Court of Auditors, EPPO) and allow on-site inspections where required.

Evaluation criteria detail

Technical quality (60 points) is scored by sub-criteria:1) methodological approach to study implementation (15 points; includes sampling strategy, weighting, replacement strategy, community entry, stakeholder engagement, fieldwork schedule), 2) recruitment approach for field staff (9 points; recruitment, team composition and distribution of responsibilities) and 3) number of additional sampled cooperatives beyond the minimum (up to 36 points — specific scoring table in tender documents). Price (40 points) is awarded proportionally relative to the lowest price. Offers failing minimum scores on specified sub-criteria will be rejected. Abnormally low tenders may be investigated and possibly rejected.

How to prepare a compliant bid (practical checklist)

1. 1Register organisation and obtain PIC in the Participant Register and ensure EU Login access prior to submission.
2. 2Download and study all call documents: Invitation, Administrative specifications, Technical specifications, Annexes (1–7), Draft contract and example questionnaires.
3. 3Prepare Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) and other signed administrative forms. Ensure authorised signatory evidence is included.
4. 4If joint tender, prepare Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex 3) signed by all members and identify group leader.
5. 5Provide evidence for selection criteria: financial statements or bank evidence for turnover, past projects list, CVs of required experts (Project Manager, senior statistician) and copies of contracts if requested.
6. 6Complete technical tender addressing the award criteria including draft sampling strategy, weighting approach, replacement rules, community entry and stakeholder engagement plan, staffing and training plan, and pilot plan. Include AI tools declaration if any (Annex 6).
7. 7Complete the financial offer template (Annex 7 Excel), ensure all green cells filled, quote prices in EUR VAT excluded and ensure total price does not exceed budget if instructed.
8. 8Upload all documents via eSubmission well before the deadline and obtain submission receipt (timestamp).

The contracting authority operates a public Q&A during the submission phase via the Portal. Entities established in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire can act as subcontractors and tenderers. The administrative specifications include an Annex on AI tools to be used and an Annex III template for declaring pre-existing rights. The draft contract sets out payment arrangements (interim payment option), intellectual property rules, security requirements and audit rights.

Where to apply and obtain documents:All procurement documents, invitation to tender, technical specifications, draft contract and annexes are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal tender page for EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/OP/2892. Subscribe on the Portal to receive updates and Q&A postings EC Tender page ¹.

Final summary — what is this opportunity and who should apply

This is an EU JRC procurement to commission a large-scale, nationally representative mixed-level survey and analysis of cocoa cooperatives and farmer groups in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The work spans sampling universe construction, pre-tests, training, pilot, CAPI fieldwork, data cleaning and final reporting. The contracting authority seeks a contractor (single legal entity or consortium) with proven experience in large rural household surveys in low/lower-middle income countries, strong survey design and sampling capability, expert quantitative analysts (statistics/data management), field management capacity (recruitment and training of supervisors and enumerators for multilingual fieldwork), and demonstrated financial and logistical capacity to manage the study to deliver high-quality datasets and policy-relevant outputs. The maximum budget is €200,000 and the contract duration is up to 12 months. Submission is by eSubmission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; all templates and mandatory annexes are provided on the Portal and must be used (Declaration on Honour, Financial Offer Annex 7, Annexes 1–6, draft contract).

Footnotes

1. 1All procurement documents, templates and the eSubmission interface are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page for EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/OP/2892. Consult the eSubmission Quick Guide and System Requirements on the Portal for technical submission details. Portal link: ec.europa.eu

This is a procurement tender for a service contract to deliver a large scale study of cocoa farmer cooperatives and farmer groups in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The assignment focuses on cooperative governance, operational management, member engagement, benefits and challenges, and readiness for ARS1000 certification.[2][3]

What the opportunity is about

The contracting authority seeks a nationally representative analysis that combines organisational level data with farmer level data. The work is expected to use an interdisciplinary approach drawing on behavioural economics, collective action theory, organisational studies and development economics, with the practical aim of identifying barriers and opportunities to strengthen cooperative capacity and sustainability in the cocoa sector.[2][3]

Who can apply

This is an open procedure and submissions are electronic. The portal questions and answers indicate that entities established in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire may participate as tenderers and subcontractors, subject to the procurement documents and any applicable restrictive measures. The opportunity is not marked as SME suitable.

Key tender terms

Timeline and submission conditions

The portal shows the deadline for receipt of tenders as 6 October 2026 at 11:30 Europe/Madrid¹. The public opening is scheduled for the same day at 13:00 Europe/Madrid, and the contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 28 September 2026 at 23:59 Europe/Madrid.

Financial and contract implications

As a procurement contract, this opportunity does not offer a grant funding rate. The successful tenderer will be paid under the service contract terms, and the payment arrangement is set out in article I.5 of the draft contract. The portal Q and A also clarifies that the reference to a possible future negotiated procedure is not part of the current services being tendered.

Documents and practical points

• The document set includes the invitation letter, administrative specifications, declaration on honour, AI tools annex, financial offer form, technical specifications, sample questionnaires for cooperative, member and spouse levels, the draft contract, and additional annexes such as security requirements and VAT share.
• The technical materials indicate that the study will collect data at both cooperative level and individual farmer level, with example questionnaires provided for each.
• The administrative specifications confirm that the maximum total value is €200,000 and that the call is not divided into lots.
• The Q and A notes that entities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire may participate as tenderers and subcontractors, and that the mentioned future negotiated procedure is only a potential later option for the authority.

Official tender page:EU Funding and Tenders Portal.

Footnotes

1. 1The supplied metadata also contains an earlier deadline of 2026-01-01T09:30:59Z, but the live portal information and the tender notice show 6 October 2026 as the operative deadline.