Capacity Building of Youth Policy Actors for Efficient Implementation of the Youth Guarantee

This restricted EU procurement tender (procedure reference EC-ENEST/BEG/2026/EA-RP/0107, TED 172/2026) requests a service provider or consortium to deliver technical assistance and capacity building to youth policy actors in Serbia to support implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The contract is estimated at €2,000,000 with a maximum duration of 30 months and will be awarded on a best price quality ratio with quality weighted 80 percent and price 20 percent. Requests to participate must be submitted non electronically by 16 October 2026 at 12:00 Europe Belgrade and applicants must meet the selection thresholds and documentary requirements set out in the procurement documents. The contracting authority is the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Ministry of Finance, Department for Contracting and Financing.

What it funds

Scope

Technical assistance to strengthen capacities of national, provincial and local youth policy actors in the Republic of Serbia to implement, monitor and report on the Youth Guarantee and related youth employment policies; includes policy support, professionalisation of youth work, standards, partnerships and creation of youth-centred services and spaces.

Estimated value:€2,000,000 (total estimated value) for a services contract, maximum duration 30 months.

1. 1Contracting authority: Government of the Republic of Serbia, Ministry of Finance, Department for Contracting and Financing (CFCU).
2. 2Procedure: Restricted (two-stage), 4 to 8 candidates will be shortlisted; award by best price-quality ratio.
3. 3Place of performance: Serbia; financed under Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III).
4. 4Submission: Non-electronic requests to participate in English; deadline 16/10/2026 12:00:59 (Europe/Belgrade).

Who can apply

Eligible applicants:natural persons and legal entities (or consortia) established in EU Member States or eligible IPA countries, plus international and regional organisations; candidates must meet financial, professional and technical selection criteria (see procurement documents).

Requests to participate must follow the provided form and be submitted as a sealed paper envelope to the CFCU address in Belgrade; electronic submission is not allowed. For full procurement documents and submission address see the official notice Tender documents and portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Full procurement dossier (Invitation to submit a request to participate and Additional information) is available from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal tender page linked above.

This is a restricted public tender launched by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Ministry of Finance, Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes (CFCU), under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) 2021-2027. The project aims to strengthen capacities of youth policy actors at national, provincial and local levels in the Republic of Serbia to implement, monitor and report on the Youth Guarantee and related youth employment policies, and to create a sustainable youth-centred ecosystem that supports engagement, employment, professionalisation of youth work and quality youth spaces.

Key administrative and procedural facts

Eligibility and who may apply

Participation is open to natural persons (nationals) and legal persons established in a Member State of the EU or in eligible countries/territories as defined under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 2021/1529 (IPA III). Participation is also open to international and regional organisations. Candidates may apply individually or in groupings (consortia). All members of a consortium are jointly and severally liable. Ineligible natural or legal persons will cause exclusion of the candidate or entire consortium.

Eligible applicant types:Universities and research institutes; NGOs and non-profit organisations working on youth policy; national, provincial and local public authorities; private consultancies and firms specialising in technical assistance, capacity building and youth employment; international and regional organisations; consortia formed by any combination of the above. Individuals may participate where they meet nationality/establishment eligibility and contract rules. The tender documentation specifies detailed eligibility and nationality rules. ¹

Funding, contract nature and financial rules

This is a fee-based service contract financed from EU pre-accession funds (IPA III). The contracting authority estimates the overall contract amount at €2,000,000. Financial data in requests to participate and tenders must be expressed in EUR. Conversion rates (if needed) must follow InforEuro rates of September 2026. Electronic payment and electronic ordering will be used during contract implementation.

Funding type:Service contract (procurement) financed by grant-type EU pre-accession funds (Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance). This is not a grant call but a tender for services paid under the contract.

Scope, objectives and deliverables

The contract aims to:strengthen capacities of youth policy actors to implement the Youth Guarantee in Serbia; professionalise youth work; set standards and support quality youth spaces and services; facilitate partnerships between authorities, youth organisations and labour market stakeholders; and improve monitoring and reporting capacities for youth employment and related policies. Tasks will cover policy support, training, standards development, coordination mechanisms, stakeholder engagement and activities to increase youth access to labour market and social participation.

Selection, qualification and award criteria

The selection and shortlisting are part of the restricted two-stage procedure. Candidates submit a request to participate; between 4 and 8 eligible candidates will be shortlisted and invited to submit detailed tenders. If fewer than 4 meet criteria, the contracting authority may still invite those who qualify. If more than 8 qualify, additional re-examination criteria will rank applicants.

1. 1Minimum/shortlisting: between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to tender.
2. 2Selection criteria include economic and financial capacity, professional capacity and technical capacity, applied to the candidate or consortium as a whole unless otherwise specified.
3. 3Award: best price-quality ratio with award weighting by quality and price (quality 80% / price 20% as indicated in procurement metadata; contracting documents say please consult procurement documents for exact breakdown). ¹

Detailed selection requirements (extracts):

1. 1Economic and financial capacity: average annual turnover of last 3 financial years must be not less than €1,200,000. Current ratio (current assets/current liabilities) in the last closed year must be at least 1. For consortia this ratio must be met by each member.
2. 2Professional capacity: in the last 3 years the candidate or consortium members must have on average at least 5 personnel (permanent or contracted) with specialist knowledge related to the contract. Candidates must not have professional conflicts of interest.
3. 3Technical capacity: the candidate must have completed services under at least one contract in the last four years with value not less than €700,000 and in the domain of youth policy actors and/or Youth Guarantee and/or youth employment policy. Documentary evidence (reports, certificates, proof of payment) is required; in consortia the part performed by each member must be clear.

Submission, format and practical requirements

Requests to participate must be submitted using the prescribed request to participate form and accompanied by a declaration on honour on exclusion and selection criteria (templates referenced in procurement documents). Submissions must be in English and sent in a sealed envelope by post/courier (postmark or deposit slip as proof) or hand-delivered to the contracting authority during opening hours (08:00-15:00 CET). Electronic submission is not allowed for the request to participate. Candidates do not need PIC registration for this procedure and should not fill PIC in the form. Contact email for queries: cfcu.questions@mfin.gov.rs.

Submission method and address:Requests to participate must be submitted in English, in a sealed envelope, to: Ministry of Finance, Government of the Republic of Serbia, Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes (CFCU), Division for Tender Evaluation and Contracting, 53 Balkanska Street, registry office, 11000 Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. Hand-delivered submissions require signed and dated receipt as proof. Full details and exact submission address and requirements are in the Invitation to submit a request to participate document. ¹

Stages of selection and application timeline

1. 1Stage 1 — Request to participate: candidates submit the request to participate form plus required selection documentation by 16/10/2026 12:00:59 Europe/Belgrade (paper submission).
2. 2Stage 2 — Shortlisting: contracting authority shortlists between 4 and 8 candidates and notifies them (provisional invitation to tender December 2026).
3. 3Stage 3 — Invitation to tender: shortlisted candidates receive tender dossiers and submit full tenders (provisional timetable indicates invitation December 2026 and tenders thereafter).
4. 4Stage 4 — Evaluation and award: tenders are evaluated on best price-quality ratio; successful tenderer(s) will be awarded; provisional contract start September 2027.

Therefore applicants should expect a minimum of 3 to 4 formal procedural stages from request to participate through invitation, tender submission and award.

Success rates and competition

Exact historical success rates are not published in the tender documentation. However, the procurement sets a shortlist of between 4 and 8 candidates invited to tender; assuming this shortlist is reached, the probability of being shortlisted depends on the number of eligible requests received and how many meet selection criteria. After shortlisting, only one contractor (or in case of lots, per lot) will be awarded. Overall success rate from initial requests to final award therefore depends on the number of initial candidates; a realistic expectation in similar IPA III restricted tenders is that 4–8 will be shortlisted and 1 will be awarded per lot.

Co-funding and subcontracting

The contract is fully financed under IPA III; there is no explicit requirement for co-funding by the contractor. Sub-contracting is allowed. If a candidate relies on capacity-providing entities (subcontractors or partners), commitments from those entities must be provided and must meet the same eligibility rules (nationality/establishment) and selection criteria where applicable. Entities whose capacities are relied upon become jointly and severally liable for contract performance with respect to economic and financial criteria.

Project stage and target sectors

This is a capacity-building and technical assistance assignment targeting policy implementation, institutional development and service delivery. Expected project stages include analysis, design of standards and guidelines, training and professionalisation activities, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and reporting setup, piloting and quality assurance — spanning research/assessment, development and demonstration/implementation phases of services to public authorities and youth organisations.

Target sector(s):Youth policy, employment and skills, social inclusion, public administration capacity building, youth education and youth services. Cross-cutting themes include labour market integration, youth civic participation, and quality youth spaces.

Detailed selection thresholds and documentary requirements (application templates and structure)

Requests to participate must use the official request to participate form (Annex B3 / Annexes referenced in procurement documents) and include a Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (template available in Annexes). Financial data must be in EUR. The contracting documents list specific documentary evidence to prove turnover, current ratio, staff numbers, prior contracts and values, and the nature of services performed. If relying on other entities, separate commitment documents must be submitted for each capacity-providing entity.

1. 1Request to participate form (Annex B3) completed in English.
2. 2Declaration on honour on exclusion and selection criteria (template in Annexes).
3. 3Financial statements / accounts for the last 3 closed financial years to demonstrate average turnover >= €1,200,000 and current ratio >= 1.
4. 4List and CVs of key personnel and evidence of average staffing of at least 5 relevant personnel over the last 3 years.
5. 5Documentary evidence for technical capacity: certificates, final reports, approvals, proof of payment for at least one contract in the last 4 years with value >= €700,000 in the domain of youth policy or Youth Guarantee.
6. 6Commitment letters and evidence for any capacity-providing entities or subcontractors relied upon.
7. 7Any other forms or annexes explicitly requested in the Invitation to submit a request to participate document.

Templates and forms are available from the procurement annexes referenced on the Funding & Tenders Portal (Annexes repository links provided in the Invitation to submit a request to participate). Candidates must strictly follow the prescribed templates; any additional unsolicited documents will not be considered.

Risk, compliance and exclusion grounds

Candidates must sign the declaration on exclusion and selection criteria confirming they are not in any of the exclusion situations listed in Section 2.4.2.1 of the PRAG (Practical Guide). Entities subject to EU restrictive measures (ELI lists) at the moment of award cannot be awarded the contract. Professional conflicts of interest must be declared and will be assessed.

Contact, documents and where to apply

Primary procurement documents and the Invitation to submit a request to participate are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (tender details page) and linked from the TED notice. Key document: 'a5f additional information contract notice en' (Invitation to submit a request to participate). For administrative queries contact cfcu.questions@mfin.gov.rs. Candidates are advised to subscribe to the call on the Funding & Tenders Portal to receive updates and Q&A. The official tender dossier and Annexes include mandatory forms, templates and precise submission address.

Relevant links and reference document:Tender details and procurement documents: Tender page; Invitation to submit a request to participate document: Additional information contract notice (PDF) ¹

Summary: What this opportunity is about and how to approach it

This tender seeks an experienced service provider or consortium to deliver technical assistance and capacity building to youth policy actors in the Republic of Serbia to enable efficient implementation of the Youth Guarantee and related youth employment and inclusion policies. The assignment covers policy support, training and professionalisation of youth work, standards and quality assurance for youth spaces and services, stakeholder engagement and strengthening monitoring and reporting systems. The contract is funded by IPA III with an estimated value of €2,000,000 and a maximum duration of 30 months. The procurement follows a two-stage restricted procedure: candidates submit a paper request to participate by 16 October 2026; the contracting authority will shortlist 4 to 8 candidates, invite tenders, and award the contract on best price-quality ratio. Applicants must meet strict selection thresholds (financial, staffing and demonstrated technical experience on similar youth policy assignments). Carefully follow the prescribed request to participate form and templates, provide the required documentary evidence (financial statements, proof of past contracts, CVs, commitment letters for capacity providers), ensure compliance with exclusion rules and prepare for a thorough quality-driven tender evaluation. Submissions must be in English and delivered physically to the CFCU in Belgrade within the stated deadlines. Successful applicants will be expected to commence implementation around September 2027 and deliver across analysis, development, capacity building and implementation support phases to strengthen Serbia's youth employment ecosystem.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary procurement dossier and Invitation to submit a request to participate available at the Funding & Tenders Portal. See 'a5f additional information contract notice en' (Invitation to submit a request to participate) for full eligibility, forms, selection criteria, submission address and templates: ec.europa.eu and the document ec.europa.eu.

This is a restricted EU procurement tender for services in Serbia focused on capacity building for youth policy actors supporting implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The notice identifies the procedure reference as EC-ENEST/BEG/2026/EA-RP/0107, with TED reference 172/2026 612847-2026 and a request to participate deadline of 16 October 2026 at 12:00 Europe/Belgrade. [1]

What the project is about

The project is designed to strengthen the capacity of relevant youth policy actors in the Republic of Serbia to implement the Youth Guarantee and to improve youth engagement and employment through stronger policies, professionalized youth work, quality youth spaces, partnerships, and better monitoring and reporting. It is aligned with Serbia's broader Youth Guarantee rollout, which is being piloted through 2026 and is intended to support wider national implementation. [1][2][7]

Who can apply

The notice shows a restricted procedure, which means applicants must first submit a request to participate and be shortlisted before any later tender stage. The public excerpt does not list the full eligibility rules, so applicants need to check the procurement documents for the definitive requirements on legal status, exclusion grounds, technical and professional capacity, consortium arrangements, and the exact submission package.

• This is a procurement contract, not a grant, so there is no funding rate; the outcome is a service award under the contract terms.
• Submission is non electronic and the address for submission is only given in the procurement documents.
• The published material currently shows one public document, the invitation to submit a request to participate.
• The scope is strongly oriented toward technical assistance, youth employment policy, youth work professionalisation, standards setting, partnership building, and monitoring and reporting.
• The award criterion is weighted toward quality, which signals that methodology, expertise, and implementation capacity are likely to matter more than price alone.

Evaluation and contract terms

From a bidder perspective, the most relevant commercial point is that this is a fixed procurement opportunity rather than a reimbursable funding call, so applicants should price the full technical assistance assignment appropriately. The combination of a restricted procedure, non electronic submission, and a high quality weighting suggests that demonstrated experience in policy implementation support and institutional capacity building will be especially important.

Practical implications for applicants

1. 1Prepare a strong request to participate with evidence of comparable technical assistance and public sector capacity building work.
2. 2Show substantive experience in youth policy, labour market activation, youth services, or institutional reform in similar contexts.
3. 3Review the procurement documents carefully for exact submission instructions, eligibility, exclusion grounds, and any consortium or subcontracting rules.
4. 4Plan for a 30 month delivery period and make sure the proposed team can cover policy design, capacity building, monitoring, reporting, and partnership facilitation.
5. 5Treat the deadline for requests to participate as the immediate deadline, because shortlisting is the first gate in a restricted procedure.

The official portal record is the primary source for final procedural details and should be used together with the invitation to submit a request to participate when preparing the application. [1]