Consultancy services supporting women’s initiatives and gender equality in Western Balkan border police

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has published an ExA notice (FRONTEX/2026/LVP/0028-EXA) for a planned negotiated procedure to procure consultancy services supporting women’s initiatives and gender equality in Western Balkan border police authorities. The contract, for up to six months, covers regional mapping and analysis, design and delivery of a five-day tailored training for the Network of Women, evaluation and reporting, and strategic recommendations including a sustainability roadmap. This is a planned low or middle value negotiated services contract with expressions of interest submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using EU Login. Key dates are: expression of interest start 31/03/2026, deadline 14/04/2026 23:59 (Europe/Warsaw), and indicative launch of the negotiated procedure 15/04/2026.

Opportunity snapshot

What is funded

A consultancy contract to provide analytical, capacity-building and strategic advisory services for women’s initiatives and gender equality within Western Balkan border police authorities. Core activities: regional mapping and stakeholder consultations, design and delivery of a tailored five-day training for the Network of Women from Western Balkan border police agencies, ex-post evaluation and reporting, and a strategic roadmap with recommendations.

Who can apply:Suppliers (consultancies or expert teams) able to deliver research, training and strategic advisory services to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) under a negotiated low or middle value procedure. Electronic submission requires an EU Login account FRONTEX tender page. ¹

1. 1Regional mapping and identification of best practices and institutional gaps
2. 2Design and delivery of a 5-day tailored training (leadership, policy drafting, gender mainstreaming)
3. 3Evaluation report assessing knowledge transfer and participant feedback
4. 4Strategic recommendations and a roadmap for sustainability of national and regional women’s initiatives

Key administrative dates:expression of interest opens 31/03/2026, deadline for expression of interest 14/04/2026 23:59 (Europe/Warsaw), indicative launch of the negotiated procedure 15/04/2026. Submissions must be sent electronically via EU Login.

Footnotes

1. 1Full notice and submission details are on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Tender details.

Opportunity summary

Contracting authority:European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX). Procedure: planned negotiated procedure for a low or middle value contract published as an ExA notice announcing the intention to launch a future negotiated procedure. Main CPV: 73200000 Research and development consultancy services. Nature: services contract. Maximum duration: 6 months. The procurement covers analytical, capacity building and strategic advisory activities to support women’s initiatives and gender equality within Western Balkan border police authorities and the Network of Women from Western Balkan border police agencies.

Scope of required services and tasks

The requested services are structured around four core elements covering regional analysis, training design and delivery, evaluation and reporting, and strategic recommendations and roadmap development.

Detailed tasks and deliverables:1. Regional mapping and analysis: Desk research and targeted stakeholder consultations to map the current state of play of women’s initiatives within Western Balkan border police authorities, identify best practices and institutional gaps, and deliver an analytical report. 2. Training design and delivery: Design and deliver a tailored five day training course for members of the Network of Women from Western Balkan border police agencies. The training should focus on personal development, leadership-related soft skills, and technical skills related to policy drafting, gender mainstreaming and gender equality mechanisms in law enforcement contexts. 3. Evaluation and reporting: Produce an ex post course report assessing knowledge transfer, participant feedback, lessons learned and recommendations to improve future training. 4. Strategic forward-looking recommendations: Provide a roadmap with suggestions and proposed future activities to support the sustainability and further development of women’s initiatives and the Network at national and regional levels.

1. 1Conduct comprehensive desk research covering existing women’s initiatives, gender equality mechanisms and policy frameworks in Western Balkan border police authorities.
2. 2Plan and implement targeted stakeholder consultations with relevant national and regional actors, including representatives of border police agencies, Network of Women members and other stakeholders.
3. 3Identify and document best practices and institutional gaps with respect to gender equality, mainstreaming and women’s participation in border police structures.
4. 4Design a five day modular training curriculum tailored to network members combining personal development, leadership soft skills, and technical policy drafting and gender mainstreaming components.
5. 5Deliver the five day training for the Network of Women participants in an agreed location or format.
6. 6Collect participant-level data and feedback, perform evaluation of knowledge transfer and training effectiveness.
7. 7Produce an ex post report summarising evaluation findings, participant feedback and lessons learned.
8. 8Develop a strategic roadmap with concrete recommendations to improve sustainability and development of women’s initiatives at national and regional levels, including proposed follow-up activities and timelines.

Eligibility and applicant information

This is a public procurement (tender) opportunity issued by FRONTEX. The ExA notice indicates the intention to launch a negotiated procedure. The announcement requests expressions of interest submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using EU Login. The notice does not list restrictive eligibility limitations in the published summary, but standard public procurement rules and the future tender documentation will determine formal eligibility, selection and award criteria.

Eligible Applicant Types:Likely eligible applicant types based on the nature of the procurement: consultancy companies, research and policy consultancies, international or regional NGOs with consultancy capacity, universities and research institutes, independent expert consortia, SME consultancies, and other service providers experienced in gender equality, law enforcement or capacity building. The final tender dossier will specify any exclusion or selection grounds and capacity requirements.

Funding Type:Public procurement contract (service contract). This is not a grant or subsidy. The contract awarded will be a services contract with remuneration defined in the tender.

Consortium Requirement:The ExA notice does not mandate a consortium. Tender documentation may allow single economic operators or consortia/subcontracting. Bidders should be prepared to propose a lead entity and named experts or to form a consortium if required by the tender’s selection criteria.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):This procurement is issued by an EU agency (FRONTEX). The activities focus on Western Balkan countries and Network of Women from Western Balkan border police agencies. Formal geographic eligibility for bidders will be defined in the tender documents; typically EU public procurement by EU agencies allows economic operators established in EU Member States and possibly in countries associated to EU procurement rules. Expressions of interest are submitted through the EU portal.

Target Sector:Primary sectors: gender equality, law enforcement, border management, capacity building, policy development and training. Secondary: research and consultancy services on institutional development and gender mainstreaming.

Mentioned Countries:The text explicitly references Western Balkan countries (region) and Network of Women from Western Balkan border police agencies. The contracting authority is an EU agency (FRONTEX). No individual Western Balkan countries are named in the published summary.

Project Stage:Maturity: implementation stage covering analysis, capacity building/training delivery, evaluation and strategy development. Activities span applied research, training execution and short-term policy/organisational recommendations.

Funding Amount:The ExA notice does not publish an estimated total value. The procedure type is a negotiated middle/low value contract; the tender documentation when launched will provide the contract value or budget ceiling.

Application Type and Submission Method:Expression of interest stage: electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using an EU Login account. The notice indicates a planned negotiated procedure to follow; the formal tender will specify submission format and procurement portal. Submissions for the expression of interest must be sent exclusively via the electronic address indicated on the portal.

Nature of Support:Monetary: winners will receive a paid service contract. Non-monetary: the contract requires delivery of advisory, analytical and training services as outputs and deliverables.

Application Stages:At minimum two stages are implied: Stage 1 expression of interest (electronic submission by 14/04/2026), Stage 2 launch of the negotiated procedure and formal tender submission and award. The negotiated procedure may include further evaluation, interviews or negotiation rounds as per procurement rules.

Success Rates:Not provided. Typical public procurement success rates depend on number of bidders; for a single contract with a negotiated procedure, success rate equals 1 divided by number of responsive and compliant bidders. No historical bid competition data is provided in the notice.

Co-funding Requirement:Not applicable. This is a service procurement where the contracting authority pays the contracted amount. No co-funding by bidders is expected unless the tender dossier specifies cost-sharing or in-kind contribution requirements.

Selection and tendering notes

Potential bidders should monitor the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for release of the full tender dossier and award criteria. The ExA notice emphasises that this announcement is not the call for tenders but an advance notice of intent to use a negotiated low or middle value procedure. Interested economic operators must register / sign in with EU Login to submit an expression of interest and to access the forthcoming tender documents EU Funding & Tenders Portal. ¹

1. 1Register for an EU Login account if not already registered to be able to express interest and access documents.
2. 2Submit an electronic expression of interest by 14/04/2026 23:59 Europe/Warsaw via the portal.
3. 3Prepare organisational capacity evidence (profiles, past projects, CVs of proposed experts), methodology for mapping and training, and draft training outline in anticipation of the negotiated tender.
4. 4Monitor the portal from 15/04/2026 for the formal launch of the negotiated procedure and follow the tender dossier instructions for submission, selection and award criteria.

Application templates and likely required documentation

The ExA notice summary does not publish application templates. Typical requirements for FRONTEX procurements and similar EU agency service tenders include administrative documents (legal entity form, registration documents), exclusion and selection declarations, references to demonstrate relevant experience, financial capability statements where specified, a technical proposal including methodology, workplan, outputs/deliverables and a list of key experts with CVs, and a financial offer or price schedule. Bidders should be prepared to provide detailed CVs for proposed experts, examples of past projects on gender equality and law enforcement or capacity building, and a structured training curriculum for the five day course.

1. 1Administrative forms and legal entity documentation as required by the tender dossier.
2. 2Selection and exclusion declarations (self-declarations on grounds for exclusion).
3. 3Technical proposal: methodology for mapping and stakeholder consultations, training design and delivery approach, evaluation methodology and roadmap development.
4. 4Workplan and timeline aligned with a maximum contract duration of 6 months.
5. 5List of key experts and detailed CVs demonstrating experience in gender mainstreaming, law enforcement context, training delivery, and policy drafting.
6. 6Financial offer or price breakdown as required in the tender documents.

Important dates and actions

1. 1Start date for expression of interest: 31/03/2026 Europe/Brussels.
2. 2Deadline for expression of interest: 14/04/2026 23:59 Europe/Warsaw.
3. 3Indicative date for launch of negotiated procedure: 15/04/2026 Europe/Warsaw.
4. 4Monitor the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and FRONTEX website for the formal tender dossier and any Q&A.

Contact and Q&A:Questions and requests for clarifications will be possible through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Q&A facility when the tender is published; the ExA page indicates a Q&A section but at the time of the notice no public Q&A items were posted.

Concluding summary

This procurement notice published by FRONTEX announces the agency’s intention to procure consultancy services to support women’s initiatives and gender equality within Western Balkan border police authorities and the regional Network of Women. The contract will combine analytical research, stakeholder consultations, tailored training delivery (five day course), evaluation and reporting, and strategic recommendations including a roadmap for sustainability. It will be awarded through a negotiated low or middle value procedure following an expression of interest phase. Interested organisations with demonstrated experience in gender equality, capacity building and work with law enforcement or border management bodies should register an EU Login account, submit an expression of interest electronically by the stated deadline and prepare comprehensive technical and financial proposals pending release of the formal tender dossier. This is a services procurement, not a grant, with a contract duration of up to six months and with specific deliverables focused on mapping, training, evaluation and strategic planning for women’s initiatives in the Western Balkans.

Footnotes

1. 1EU Login is required to express interest and access procurement documents on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. See the portal for register/login instructions EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Opportunity Overview

This is a planned negotiated procedure for a middle or low value contract (FRONTEX/2026/LVP/0028-EXA) issued by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The services involve analytical, capacity building, and strategic advisory activities to support women’s initiatives and gender equality within Western Balkan border police authorities.

Key elements include regional mapping and analysis of women’s initiatives, design and delivery of a 5-day tailored training course for the Network of Women from Western Balkan border police agencies, evaluation and reporting, and strategic recommendations with a roadmap for sustainability.

Procurement Details

Procedure Type:Planned negotiated procedure for middle/low value contract. Note that this is not yet a call for tenders but an announcement of intent to launch a future negotiated low or middle value procedure.

Contracting Authority:European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).

CPV Code:73200000 - Research and development consultancy services.

Nature of Contract:Services.

Maximum Contract Duration:6 months.

Estimated Total Value:Not specified in the available details.

Key Milestones

1. 1Start date for expression of interest: 31/03/2026 (Europe/Brussels)
2. 2Deadline for expression of interest: 14/04/2026 23:59 (Europe/Warsaw)
3. 3Indicative date of launch of the negotiated procedure: 15/04/2026 (Europe/Warsaw)

Eligibility and Application Process

This is a negotiated procedure, typically inviting a limited number of candidates who express interest. Detailed eligibility criteria will be provided in the future negotiated procedure documents. An EU Login account is required for electronic submission of expressions of interest.

Method of Expression of Interest:Electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submissions must be sent exclusively through the designated address: Express interest (requires EU Login).

Consultants, consulting firms, or entities with expertise in gender equality, law enforcement training, regional analysis in the Western Balkans, and policy advisory are likely suitable. Specific requirements will be outlined upon launch of the negotiated procedure.

Scope of Services

• Regional mapping and analysis of women’s initiatives in Western Balkan border police, including desk research, stakeholder consultations, best practices, and institutional gaps.
• Design and delivery of a 5-day training course for the Network of Women, covering personal development, leadership soft skills, policy drafting, gender mainstreaming, and gender equality in law enforcement.
• Evaluation and reporting, including an ex-post course report on knowledge transfer, participant feedback, and lessons learned.
• Strategic recommendations and a roadmap for sustainability and development of women’s initiatives and the Network at national and regional levels.

Additional Information

Questions and Answers (Q&A) are available on the portal; login required to submit questions. References with 'ExA' indicate planned procedures, not active calls for tenders. Full details and updates are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Primary source:EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Monitor the portal for the launch of the negotiated procedure.

Frontex supports EU Member States and Schengen-associated countries in border management and cross-border crime prevention, with activities extending to partnerships in the Western Balkans.