Digital Communications Services

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published an open tender (ref. EASA/2026/OP/0006) for a framework service contract to operate, maintain and continuously improve its digital communications and website ecosystem, with an estimated total value of €8,000,000 and a planned maximum duration of 48 months (initial 12 months plus up to three renewals). Submission is electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with a tender deadline of 12 October 2026 and a questions deadline of 28 September 2026. Award criteria are weighted 60% quality and 40% price, the contract uses a fixed price model and includes strict service level and cybersecurity requirements such as 99.95% availability and RPO/RTO targets. The opportunity is not listed as SME suitable and requires bidders to deliver the full scope (joint bids permitted) and to comply with the tender specifications and draft framework contract available on the portal.

What it funds

Scope summary

Framework contract for provision, maintenance and ongoing development of the Agency website and related digital communications services to ensure a robust, evolving publishing platform and support to the in-house web publication team.

Who can apply:Established suppliers of web development, CMS operations, digital communications and support services (service contracts — public procurement); participation via eSubmission to the Funding and Tenders Portal Tender notice ¹.

1. 1Contracting authority: European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
2. 2Procurement type: Framework service contract (services; CPV 72400000).
3. 3Planned duration: 48 months (initial 12 months, renewable up to 3 times).

Interested bidders should consult the tender specifications, draft framework contract and model financial offer available in the procurement documents and follow the eSubmission instructions on the portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender details and all procurement documents are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity summary

What this procurement is for

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) publishes a competitive open tender for a framework service contract to provide Digital Communications Services centred on the Agency website(s). The contract must deliver a robust, stable content publication platform enabling quick and smooth publications, continuous evolution and improvements of the platform, and development work driven and executed in close collaboration with EASA's in-house web publication team. Services cover maintenance, feature development, digital experience improvements, and support for outreach to both aviation professionals and the general public.

Key dates:Invitation published and documents available 2026-09-03. Deadlines listed include 2026-01-01T08:00:59.000Z (appears in metadata) and the formal tender submission closing date 12 October 2026, 10:00:59 (CET/CEST indicated as Europe/Berlin timezone). Open tender event / clarification and/or opening occurs on 12 October 2026 (time shown in procurement data).

1. 1Procurement reference: EASA/2026/OP/0006
2. 2Main CPV code: 72400000 (Information services)
3. 3Estimated overall contract amount: €8,000,000
4. 4Planned contract duration: total planned period 48 months; the framework contract is concluded initially for 12 months and renewable three times (consistent with a 48-month total)
5. 5Contracting authority: European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) EASA website

Eligibility, format and evaluation

Eligible Applicant Types

This is a public procurement tender for services. Eligible applicants are economic operators able to enter into public contracts under EU procurement rules. This typically includes: private companies (digital agencies, web development firms, system integrators), consortia or joint ventures of companies, EU-based large enterprises, SMEs, subcontracting arrangements with specialised suppliers, and public sector bodies or research institutions only where they are permitted to tender as economic operators under national law. Individual natural persons are unlikely to be suitable to perform the scope in full. The tender documentation sets out specific exclusion and selection criteria to be completed by tenderers (see Annex 2 Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria).

Funding Type and Procurement Nature

Primary financial mechanism:procurement (service contract) awarded under a framework agreement. The contracting system type includes a framework agreement (fa-wo-rc) with possible use of direct awards or call-offs from the framework. This is not a grant, loan, equity or subsidy; it is a public services contract where the winning contractor(s) will be paid for services performed under the contract.

Consortium Requirement

A consortium is permitted and commonly used for complex digital delivery like this; the procurement documents reference tenderer qualification and selection criteria. The procurement does not mandate a single economic operator only. Tenderers may present joint bids or sub-contracting arrangements where allowed and consistent with the tender specifications and selection criteria. Tenderers must follow the requirements set out in the tender specifications and the Declaration on Honour (Annex 2).

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

The contracting authority is an EU agency (EASA). The call is published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and is governed by EU public procurement rules. Eligible tenderers are economic operators that can lawfully bid under the rules applicable to EU procurement. The opportunity is primarily targeted at entities established and authorised to operate in the European Union (EU) and/or EEA where applicable; the tender documents describe any nationals or establishments from third countries that may participate. Tenderers should consult the full procurement documents for precise nationality and establishment requirements.

Target Sector and Scope of Services

Target sector:ICT and digital communications, specifically web content management, digital publishing, web platform development, user experience improvements, operations and technical maintenance for public sector websites. Activities implied by the specification include content publication workflows, technical stability and hosting or platform operations, ongoing feature development, front-end and back-end programming, accessibility and multilingual support, security, performance optimisation, integration with other services, analytics and potentially public-facing campaign or outreach support.

Project Stage Expected

The tender expects suppliers capable of operating at production, maintenance and continuous development stages: mature, operational platforms with ongoing development capability (validation, demonstration, and continuous production operation). The contractor must deliver in an operational environment, evolve the platform and implement new features — not pure research or early-stage prototyping.

Funding Amount

Estimated overall contract amount:€8,000,000 (currency EUR). This is the estimated total value for the framework over its planned duration as published in the procurement metadata.

Application Type and Submission Method

Application method:open call for tenders published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Electronic submission is required via the Portal (ESUBMISSION). Tenderers must submit the required documents electronically by the stated closing date and time. The procurement includes an open tender event and uses standard Funding & Tenders Portal e-forms and attachments.

Nature of Support Provided to the Winner(s)

Winners will receive monetary compensation under a service contract for delivering the specified digital communications services. The framework contract will enable payment for call-offs. Non-monetary support (co-working with EASA teams, access to internal publications processes, technical integration details) will be provided operationally but the primary support is financial remuneration for services.

Application Stages and Evaluation

Procurement process:single-stage open tender (submission of full tender). The procurement metadata indicates a single formal submission deadline, an open tender event on 12/10/2026 and a clarifications period ending 28/09/2026. Award evaluation follows standard steps: eligibility/exclusion checks, selection (economic and technical capacity), and award evaluation based on criteria. Awarding criteria weights: quality 60% and price 40% (sub-criteria and further detail referenced in procurement documents).

Success Rates

The portal metadata does not provide explicit historical success rates. Typical public procurements of this type result in a single or small number of winners for the lot(s) depending on whether one or several framework suppliers are appointed. Tenderers should consider procurement market competition as potentially strong and prepare proposals to score highly on the 60% quality dimension and the 40% price dimension.

Co-funding Requirement

No co-funding from tenderers is required in the sense of contributing cash to the contract. This is a paid service contract; selected contractors will be remunerated under the contract. There is no requirement for the contractor to provide matching funds, but tenderers must meet financial and capacity selection criteria and propose a priced offer according to the Model Financial Offer (Annex 6).

Application materials, templates and documents provided

The procurement package contains multiple mandatory and supporting documents that tenderers must consult and complete. These include invitation to tender, tender specifications, draft framework service contract and appendices, annexes containing templates, the model financial offer, and the Declaration on Honour for exclusion and selection criteria. All documents are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal and associated attachments are referenced in the procurement metadata. Tenderers must follow the instructions precisely, complete required templates and upload them as part of the e-submission.

1. 1Invitation to tender Digital Communications Services (Attachment: Invitation to tender_Digital Communications Services_V1.pdf)
2. 2Tender Specifications Digital Communications Services (Attachment: Tender Specifications_Digital Communications Services_V1.pdf)
3. 3Draft Framework Service Contract Digital Communications Services (Attachment: Draft Framework Service Contract_Digital Communications Services_V1.pdf)
4. 4Appendix 2 to the Draft Framework Service Contract (Attachment: Appendix 2 to the Draft Framework Service Contract_V1.pdf)
5. 5Appendix 3 to the Draft Framework Service Contract (Attachment: Appendix 3 to the Draft Framework Service Contract_V1.pdf)
6. 6Annex 2 - Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (Attachment: Annex 2 - Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria_Digital Communications Services_V1.docx)
7. 7Annexes 3-8 (Attachment: Annexes 3-8_V1.docx) containing additional templates and information
8. 8ANNEX 6 - MODEL FINANCIAL OFFER (Attachment: ANNEX 6 - MODEL FINANCIAL OFFER_V1.xlsx)
9. 9Annex 9 - Simulation exercise (Attachment: Annex 9 - Simulation exercise_V1.pdf)

Evaluation and award criteria details

The award criteria are weighted between quality and price. The procurement metadata indicates the awarding criterion weight parameters as quality 60 and price 40. Tenderers must consult the tender specifications for the breakdown of technical/quality subcriteria, minimum requirements, scoring methodologies and the evaluation procedure. The procurement also sets tender validity at 9 months and includes electronic ordering and payment post-award processes.

Practical instructions and next steps for bidders

1) Download and read all procurement documents from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal link for the tender. 2) Complete the Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), the Model Financial Offer (Annex 6), and any required tender templates (Annexes 3-8). 3) Prepare technical proposal focused on quality subcriteria, demonstrating capability to deliver stable production operations, continuous development, accessibility, security, and close collaboration with EASA publishing teams. 4) Submit your full tender electronically via the Portal before 12 October 2026 10:00:59 (Portal/Europe/Berlin timezone). 5) Use the clarification period to ask questions before 28 September 2026 if necessary. Non-electronic submissions are not accepted for this eSubmission tender.

All detailed instructions, mandatory forms and templates and contractual terms are available on the tender page of the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Tenderers should also consult the Draft Framework Service Contract and its appendices to understand contractual obligations, renewal terms and any required performance guarantees. For the official tender page consult the portal listing Digital Communications Services tender on the Funding & Tenders Portal ¹.

Mentioned countries and geographic references

Explicit country references:None. Geographic scope and participation governed by EU procurement rules; contracting authority is the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) headquartered in the EU. The metadata timezone reference is Europe/Berlin. The portal publication and contracting authority indicate EU-level procurement; therefore primary geographic applicability is EU/EEA and parties permitted under the procurement rules.

Concluding summary

This opportunity is an open EU public procurement for a framework service contract to supply Digital Communications Services for EASA, primarily focused on the Agency website platform. The contract is estimated at €8,000,000 over the planned lifecycle and is structured as an initial 12-month framework renewable three times, up to 48 months total. The award will be based on quality (60) and price (40). Bidders must submit electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by the published closing date, provide the completed model financial offer and required declarations, and comply with the draft contract and annexes. The tender is aimed at established ICT/digital communications providers able to operate and evolve production web platforms in close collaboration with EASA's in-house publication team. For full legal, technical and contractual requirements, consult the procurement documents on the Funding & Tenders Portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary source and full procurement documentation available at the EU Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page: ec.europa.eu (documents published 2026-09-03).

This is an open EASA procurement for a framework service contract to operate, maintain and continuously improve the agency’s digital communications and website ecosystem, with an estimated overall value of €8 million and a planned maximum duration of 48 months. The official opportunity record is EASA/2026/OP/0006 and the call is published on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal and on the EASA procurement page.¹

Key facts for applicants

What the contract is about

EASA says its website is the main interface with the outside world and the foundation of its communication strategy for aviation professionals and the general public. The contractor is expected to provide a robust and stable platform for fast publication, while also driving continuous development, innovation and close collaboration with the in-house web publication team.

Scope and likely service areas

• Operation, administration, hosting and security support for Drupal based digital platforms
• Content migration and content management services
• Web analytics based on Matomo
• Marketing automation based on Mautic
• Continuous improvement services for the digital platform
• Content delivery network services
• Email delivery and push notification services
• Accessibility services in line with the EU Web Accessibility Directive
• Search engine optimisation services
• Support for native mobile applications on Google Play and the Apple App Store
• Data ingestion, API based distribution and multilingual integration services
• User experience design, research, graphics and infographics
• Digital communication strategy, digital marketing and training

Who can apply and what they need to know

• Any economic operator able to deliver the full scope can apply, because the contract is not divided into lots
• Joint tenders are possible, and each member of a joint tender must have a Participant Identification Code
• Tenderers may submit in any official EU language, although English is preferred
• Submission must be made through the electronic submission system only, and paper or email submissions are rejected
• Tenderers should be prepared to provide all required services, including technical operation, content support, UX and digital strategy capabilities
• The invitation notes that all procurement documents are available without registration, but registration is required if questions are submitted

Commercial and contractual conditions

This is a procurement contract, not a grant, so there is no funding rate or co financing percentage. The draft contract indicates a fixed price model with no revision of the quoted price, and the framework contract starts with an initial 12 month period that may be renewed three times. The tender specifications also refer to baseline cybersecurity requirements and service level expectations, including availability of 99.95 percent or higher, RPO between 4 hours and 15 minutes or less, and RTO between 24 hours and 1 hour or less.

The procurement documents indicate that the successful contractor is expected to support existing systems as soon as practicable and no later than the end of 2027 for certain implementation related items, and to work under a framework arrangement that allows EASA to call off services as needed.

Footnotes

1. 1Official source pages and documents: EASA call for tender page and EU Funding and Tenders Portal tender record. The published procurement documents include the invitation to tender, tender specifications, draft framework service contract and annexes.