Economics consulting services

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is planning to issue a call for tenders to secure economics consulting services through a framework contract valued at €142,999. This contract will last for up to 36 months and aims to support ECHA's regulatory functions across various chemical and environmental regulations, including the REACH Regulation, Batteries Regulation, and Packaging Waste Regulation.

Eligible applicants include natural and legal persons registered within EU Member States, international organizations, and entities from third countries that have special agreements with the EU for public procurement. The geographic scope excludes countries covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

The procurement is designed as a service contract and will not feature consortium requirements. Applicants can submit proposals individually, though the framework allows for some flexibility regarding partnerships or subcontracting.

The primary purpose of the consulting services includes developing and refining socio-economic analysis and impact assessment methodologies. Tasks may involve conducting econometric analyses relevant to chemical substances, providing inputs for regulatory impact assessments, and drafting guidance for industry stakeholders related to authorization or restrictions.

The application process will follow two key stages: an expression of interest due by October 17, 2025, and a subsequent negotiated procedure, expected to launch around October 16, 2025. Interested parties must submit their expressions of interest electronically, as no alternative methods of submission are allowed.

This opportunity represents a chance for consulting firms with expertise in economics, environmental regulation, and chemicals to engage in important regulatory work supporting ECHA’s risk management activities. The announcement acts as a pre-information notice and does not guarantee that a call for tenders will be launched, although it signals the agency's intent to procure these services in the near future.

This is a pre-information notice for a planned call for tenders, procedure identifier ECHA/2025/MVP/0009-EXA. It is not a call for tenders itself, but an announcement of the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) intention to publish a future negotiated low or middle value procedure.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is seeking to purchase economics consulting services. These services will support ECHA's ongoing work under several regulations, including REACH, the Batteries Regulation, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. The services will also support ECHA's collaboration with the OECD, for example, on willingness-to-pay studies. The consulting may also relate to potential future tasks concerning legislation on RoHS, Toys Safety, End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV), Medical Devices, Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The services sought through this framework contract relate to the development or improvement of socio-economic analysis and impact assessment methodology. These services may be related to a regulatory task, such as input to a specific restriction proposal, or be of a horizontal nature, such as guidance to industry or methodological support to ECHA and its Socio-economic Analysis committee (SEAC). The purpose of the contract is to ensure access to high-quality support and advice on various aspects of applied welfare/socio-economic analysis within the framework of ECHA’s risk management activities.

Tasks expected under this contract may include:

Eliciting, analyzing, and interpreting socio-economic information in regulatory contexts.
Conducting econometric analyses, such as estimating demand elasticities, of market data that are relevant to chemical substances and/or products manufactured using them.
Developing approaches to costing regulatory impacts where market prices are unavailable or incomplete due to externalities.
Contributing to ongoing OECD projects on the willingness-to-pay for avoiding health and environmental endpoints related to chemicals.
Supporting the SEAC in developing approaches to evaluate applications for authorization and restriction proposals, as well as impact assessments for new tasks that ECHA is expected to take on in the future.
Drafting guidance to industry stakeholders that apply for authorization or request derogations from a restriction.

The procedure type is a planned negotiated procedure for a middle/low value contract. The estimated total value is 142999 EUR. The lead contracting authority is the European Chemicals Agency. The main classification (CPV) code is 79311410, which refers to economic impact assessment. The nature of the contract is for services. The maximum contract duration is 36 months. It will be a framework agreement without reopening of competition.

Milestones:

Start date for expression of interest: 2025-09-19 Europe/Brussels
Deadline for expression of interest: 2025-10-17 04:59 Europe/Helsinki
Indicative date of launch of the negotiated procedure: 2025-10-16 Europe/Helsinki

Submissions must be sent exclusively via the electronic submission system. Interest to participate declared in any other way (e.g., e-mail or by letter) will be disregarded. The method of expression of interest is electronic.

Participation in ECHA’s call for tenders is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons registered and with legal personality in the Member States of the European Union as well as to international organizations. It is also open to all natural and legal persons established in a third country which has a special agreement with the European Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement. This procedure is, however, not covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). For this procedure, this means economic operators established in a country under a Stabilisation and Association Agreements or in the EEA Agreement. The rules on access to procurement do not apply to subcontractors. Subcontracting may not be used with the intent to circumvent the rules on access to procurement. Tenderers must ensure that none of the involved entities are subject to EU restrictive measures adopted under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) or Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). The prohibition applies throughout the whole performance of the contract.

Interested parties which do not fulfil the above-mentioned conditions may not be invited to participate to the following invitation to tender. Interested parties are reminded that the publication of an ex-ante publicity notice does not guarantee that ECHA will launch a call for tender on the subject it covers.

A question was asked about where to find procurement documents for calls for tenders with 'ExA' in the reference. The answer clarifies that references featuring 'ExA' are not calls for tenders but announcements of the contracting authority’s intent to launch a low or middle negotiated procedure in the future.

In summary, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) plans to launch a negotiated procurement procedure to acquire economics consulting services. These services will support ECHA's regulatory work related to chemicals and various environmental regulations. The contract will focus on socio-economic analysis and impact assessment methodology. Companies and organizations with expertise in these areas, particularly those with experience in regulatory contexts and econometric analysis, are encouraged to express their interest electronically by the specified deadline. This announcement serves as an early notice, and the actual call for tenders will be published at a later date.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are natural and legal persons registered and with legal personality in the Member States of the European Union, international organizations, and natural and legal persons established in a third country which has a special agreement with the European Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement, specifically economic operators established in a country under a Stabilisation and Association Agreements or in the EEA Agreement. Subcontractors are explicitly excluded from direct access to the procurement.

Funding Type: The funding type is a service contract, specifically for economics consulting services. This is a procurement action, not a grant.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required or if a single applicant is sufficient. However, the focus on legal persons suggests that both single entities and consortia could potentially apply, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes Member States of the European Union, countries with a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, and countries within the EEA Agreement. It excludes countries covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

Target Sector: The target sector is economics consulting services, specifically related to the chemical industry and related regulations. This includes support for the REACH Regulation, the Batteries Regulation, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, collaboration with the OECD, and potential future tasks relating to legislation on RoHS, Toys Safety, End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV), Medical Devices, Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions the European Union member states, countries with a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, and countries within the EEA Agreement.

Project Stage: The project stage involves providing economics consulting services to support ongoing and future regulatory tasks. This suggests a focus on development, validation, and implementation support rather than basic research or early-stage idea development.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the contract is 142,999 EUR, indicating a middle/low value contract.

Application Type: The application type is a planned negotiated procedure. This is preceded by an expression of interest.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive payment for services rendered, specifically economics consulting services. This is a monetary compensation for services provided.

Application Stages: The application process involves at least two stages: an expression of interest and a subsequent negotiated procedure. The exact number of stages may depend on the specifics of the negotiated procedure.

Success Rates: The success rates are not specified in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This is a pre-announcement of a planned call for tenders by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for economics consulting services. The contract, valued at an estimated 142,999 EUR, aims to secure high-quality support and advice on various aspects of applied welfare/socio-economic analysis within the framework of ECHA’s risk management activities. The services will support ECHA's work related to regulations such as REACH, the Batteries Regulation, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, and other potential future tasks.

Eligible applicants include natural and legal persons from EU Member States, international organizations, and entities from countries with specific agreements with the EU (Stabilisation and Association Agreements or EEA Agreement). The contract duration is a maximum of 36 months and will be a framework agreement without reopening of competition.

The process begins with an expression of interest, which must be submitted electronically. The start date for expression of interest is 2025-09-19, and the deadline is 2025-10-17. The indicative date for the launch of the negotiated procedure is 2025-10-16. This announcement is not a call for tenders itself, but rather a notification of ECHA's intention to launch a negotiated procedure in the future. Interested parties should monitor the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for the official call for tenders.