Creation of outbreak investigation generic toolkit/repository of resources

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has announced a future negotiated procurement procedure aimed at developing a generic, non-disease-specific Toolkit for Outbreak Investigation. This toolkit is designed for use by public health authorities in EU/EEA Member States to improve responses to infectious disease outbreaks. It will encompass a standard approach, generic investigation protocols, templates for data collection, R scripts for analysis and visualization, and guidance materials.

The estimated contract value is €60,000, and the maximum duration for the project is set at 8 months. The project is currently categorized under health services, with the procedure identifier designated as ECDC/2025/LVP/0015-EXA.

The call for expressions of interest will commence on June 4, 2025, and applicants must submit their expressions by July 1, 2025. The launch of the negotiated procedure is anticipated on the same day, July 1, 2025. Interested parties should submit their applications electronically and can access a Q&A section for further inquiries.

This procurement is not a direct call for tenders but a preliminary announcement regarding future opportunities. It aims to establish resources that enhance consistency across outbreak investigations and facilitate collaboration among EU/EEA nations.

This is a pre-information notice, not a call for tenders. It announces the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's (ECDC) intention to publish a future negotiated low or middle value procedure.

The procedure identifier is ECDC/2025/LVP/0015-EXA.

The objective of this procurement is to contract the development of a generic, not disease-specific, Toolkit for Outbreak Investigation. This toolkit is intended for use by ECDC and public health authorities in EU/EEA Member States to support coordinated and efficient responses to infectious disease outbreaks.

The toolkit will include:

A standard approach
Generic investigation protocols
Generic templates for data collection
R scripts for data description, analysis, and visualisation
Guidance materials or other resources

The toolkit will be in a publicly available web-based format, similar to the ECDC toolkit for Legionnaires’ disease and for Food- and Waterborne Diseases. The final product aims to facilitate rapid access and use of outbreak investigation resources, enable consistency across investigations, and strengthen cross-border collaboration and preparedness.

The estimated amount for this procurement is 60,000 EUR.

The procedure type is a planned negotiated procedure for a middle/low value contract.

The lead contracting authority is the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The main classification (CPV) code is 85100000, which refers to health services.

The nature of the contract is for services.

The maximum contract duration is 8 months.

There is no framework agreement associated with this procurement.

Key milestones include:

Start date for expression of interest: 2025-06-04 Europe/Brussels
Deadline for expression of interest: 01/07/2025 04:59 Europe/Stockholm
Indicative date of launch of the negotiated procedure: 2025-07-01 Europe/Stockholm

Submissions for expression of interest must be sent exclusively via electronic means.

The address for expressing interest is available through the "Express interest" link.

A question and answer section is available where users can log in to create questions, view public Q&As, access FAQs, and download Q&As in XLS format. One FAQ is already available: References that feature an ‘ExA’ are not calls for tenders but a publication announcing the contracting authority’s intent to launch in the future a low or middle negotiated procedure. This was published on 03/10/2024 16:32.

In summary, this is a pre-information notice from the ECDC regarding a future procurement. The ECDC plans to contract the development of a generic toolkit for outbreak investigations. The toolkit will be a web-based resource intended to help EU/EEA member states respond to infectious disease outbreaks. The toolkit will include investigation protocols, data collection templates, data analysis scripts using R, and other guidance materials. The estimated budget is 60,000 EUR, and the contract duration is a maximum of 8 months. The expression of interest phase is scheduled to begin on June 4, 2025, with a deadline of July 1, 2025. The actual call for tenders is expected to be launched around July 1, 2025. Interested parties should monitor the provided link for the official call for tenders when it is released.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but the description mentions that the toolkit will be used by ECDC and public health authorities in EU/EEA Member States. This suggests that potential applicants could include organizations with expertise in public health, infectious disease outbreak investigation, toolkit development, data analysis, and web-based resource creation. This could include research institutes, universities, consulting firms, or other entities with relevant experience.

Funding Type: The funding type is a procurement, specifically a planned negotiated procedure for a middle/low value contract. The contracting authority intends to contract the development of a toolkit.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. It is possible that either a single entity or a consortium with the necessary expertise could apply.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The toolkit is intended for use by ECDC and public health authorities in EU/EEA Member States, implying that the project should benefit these countries. While the location of the applicant is not explicitly stated, it is likely that entities from EU/EEA countries, or those with a strong connection to these regions, would be favored.

Target Sector: The target sector is health, specifically infectious disease outbreak investigation and response. The project aims to develop a generic toolkit for outbreak investigation.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the region of focus is the EU/EEA.

Project Stage: The project is in the development stage. The goal is to create a new toolkit, suggesting that it is not yet in the validation, demonstration, commercialization, or scale-up phases.

Funding Amount: The estimated amount for this procurement is 60,000 EUR. This falls into the under €50k to €200k range.

Application Type: The application type is a planned negotiated procedure. This means that after the expression of interest, the contracting authority will likely invite a select number of candidates to submit a full proposal.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for services, specifically the development of the outbreak investigation toolkit.

Application Stages: The application process appears to involve at least two stages: an expression of interest and a subsequent invitation to submit a full proposal for a negotiated procedure.

Success Rates: The success rates are not specified, but given that this is a negotiated procedure, it is likely that a limited number of candidates will be invited to submit a full proposal, which would suggest a higher success rate for those invited to the negotiation phase, but a lower overall success rate from the initial expression of interest.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not specify whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This is a pre-announcement for a planned negotiated procurement procedure by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The ECDC intends to contract an entity to develop a generic, not disease-specific, Toolkit for Outbreak Investigation. This toolkit will be designed for use by ECDC and public health authorities in EU/EEA Member States to support coordinated and efficient responses to infectious disease outbreaks. The toolkit should include a standard approach, generic investigation protocols, generic templates for data collection, R scripts for data description, analysis, and visualization, and guidance materials. It will be a publicly available web-based resource. The estimated contract amount is 60,000 EUR, and the maximum contract duration is 8 months. The start date for expression of interest is 2025-06-04, with a deadline of 2025-07-01. The indicative date for the launch of the negotiated procedure is 2025-07-01. Interested parties should submit an electronic expression of interest. This is not a call for tenders, but a preliminary announcement of a future opportunity. The procedure identifier is ECDC/2025/LVP/0015-EXA. The main classification according to CPV is 85100000 Health services.