EEA/CCE/TC/26/007 -Topic Centre on monitoring the circular economy

Tender EEA/CCE/TC/26/007 issued by the European Environment Agency seeks a consortium to establish a Topic Centre to monitor the circular economy and support implementation of EU waste legislation, focusing on modelling, data collection, verification and dissemination. The framework service contract is estimated at €3,000,000 for a 54-month period (initial 24 months with up to three renewals). Participation is restricted to Topic Centre Organisations (TCOs) designated by the EEA Management Board and tenders must be submitted by a consortium initiated by at least five different designated TCOs. Electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal is required by 03 August 2026 at 14:00:59 CET and applicants must use the published technical specifications, financial template and draft contract.

Tendering authority

European Environment Agency (EEA)

What it funds:provision of services to support monitoring of the circular economy and implementation of waste legislation, with emphasis on modelling, data collection, quality assurance and data dissemination.

Who can apply:Legal entities or consortia able to conclude an EU framework service contract for environmental data and modelling services (see procurement documents for selection and qualification requirements).

1. 1Estimated total contract value: €3,000,000 (estimated overall amount).
2. 2Planned duration: 54 months; initial framework 24 months, renewable up to three times.
3. 3Main focus areas: modelling, data gathering, data management and dissemination for circular economy monitoring.

Submission method:electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Open tender event listed 2026-08-04. Additional information request period ends 2026-07-24.

Apply and consult full tender documents and templates on the official notice page Tender details ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender dossier (technical specifications, draft contract, financial offer template and annexes) available at the notice page linked above.

Opportunity type and purpose

This is a public procurement tender issued by the European Environment Agency (EEA) to establish a Topic Centre on monitoring the circular economy. The contract foresees support to monitoring the circular economy and to the implementation of waste legislation, with a focus on modelling, data gathering and data dissemination. The procurement is for services and will be executed under a framework service contract.

Key administrative facts and deadlines

Scope of work and technical focus

The contractor will provide services to support the EEA in monitoring the circular economy and in supporting implementation of EU waste legislation. Core activities emphasized in the procurement notice and technical specifications include: modelling of circular economy indicators and processes; collection, quality checking and management of data relevant to circular economy monitoring; and dissemination of data and analytics to policy audiences and the public. The role includes methodological development, operational data processing and reporting, and interoperability with EEA information systems. Applicants must consult the Technical Specifications (Annex I) and draft Framework Service Contract (Annex 2) for full details of deliverables, milestones, quality requirements and EEA data/IT policies.

Documents publicly available:Procurement documents published on the Funding & Tenders Portal include: Invitation to tender, Annex I Technical Specifications, Annex 1 Financial offer template, Annex 2 Draft Framework Service Contract, Annex 3 Reimbursement, Annex 4 Overview of expertise template, Annex 5 Corporate standards, Annex 6 EEA IT and data management policies, Annex 7 Checklist for eSubmission. Applicants must use the published templates and follow the checklist when preparing submissions ¹.

Eligibility and who should apply

Eligible applicants are legal entities capable of contracting with the EEA and able to deliver the specified services. Typical eligible applicant types include: SMEs, large enterprises, consultancy firms, non-profit organisations with technical capacity, research institutes, universities, and public sector organisations. The procurement documents specify tenderer qualification requirements and selection criteria; applicants should consult those documents for mandatory administrative, financial and technical capacity thresholds. The procurement is not labelled SME-suitable.

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, consultancies, non-profit organisations, public bodies (legal entities able to sign the contract).
2. 2Consortium arrangements: The procurement documents refer to tenderer qualification requirements and do not preclude joint bids or consortia; therefore single tenderers or consortia / economic operators acting together may participate. Applicants must follow the selection and evidence rules in the tender specifications for consortia or subcontracting.
3. 3Beneficiary Geographic Scope: The contracting authority is the European Environment Agency; the procurement is published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The opportunity is addressed to entities able to contract with the EEA, normally entities established in the EU / EEA and cooperating countries in the EEA network; applicants should verify specific nationality/establishment requirements in the procurement documents.

Funding and contract model

This opportunity is a public procurement (tender) leading to the award of a framework service contract. The primary financial mechanism is a service contract (procurement) rather than a grant, loan or equity instrument. The estimated overall contract amount published by the authority is €3,000,000 for the duration of the planned framework (see procurement notice).

Funding amount and financial modalities:Estimated overall contract amount: €3,000,000. Reimbursement rules, eligible costs, and financial offer structure are specified in Annex 1 Financial offer template and Annex 3 Reimbursement of the tender documents ¹.

Application process and stages

Submission is by electronic eSubmission through the Funding & Tenders Portal. The tender has defined time windows: a period for requesting additional information (ends 24 July 2026) and a submission deadline (03 August 2026). An open tender event is scheduled (04 August 2026). Applicants must follow the eSubmission checklist and use the provided templates (Annex 4 Overview of expertise, Annex 1 Financial offer template, etc.).

1. 1Application Type: Open public tender (call for tenders) via eSubmission on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
2. 2Application Stages: Preparation and electronic submission (Stage 1); administrative and eligibility check and selection (Stage 2); technical and financial evaluation and award decision (Stage 3).
3. 3Evaluation Criteria: Award criteria include quality (weight 70) and price (weight 30). Detailed subcriteria and scoring rules are in the procurement documents.

Contract and operational arrangements

The procedure foresees the award of a framework service contract with an initial duration of 24 months, renewable up to three times as indicated in the draft contract. The contract will include operational requirements such as electronic order use, electronic payment, and adherence to EEA IT and data management policies (Annex 6). Reimbursement conditions and travel or other cost rules are set out in Annex 3 Reimbursement. The contract will define deliverables, reporting, quality assurance, and governance arrangements.

Selection, success rates, and co-funding

Success rates are not published in the procurement notice and cannot be reliably estimated from the published documents. This is a competitive procurement; award is based on best value for money applying the stated quality and price weighting. The procurement is a paid service contract: successful bidders will be remunerated by the contracting authority according to the contract terms and rates. There is no requirement for co-funding by bidders beyond the normal obligations to finance their participation and possible participation guarantees, unless specifically requested in the selection criteria or financial offer template.

Project maturity and target sectors

Project maturity expected:operational delivery and applied technical work. The tender requires organisations able to perform monitoring, modelling, data collection, quality assurance, and dissemination activities. Target sectors and themes: circular economy, waste management and waste legislation implementation, environmental monitoring, data management and dissemination, and modelling and indicators for policy support. The opportunity requires technical competence at development, validation and operational implementation stages rather than purely early-stage RDI.

Templates and application materials (structure and contents)

The procurement package includes several mandatory documents and templates the bidder must complete and upload. Key templates and their purpose are listed below; bidders must use these exact templates and adhere to the submission checklist (Annex 7).

1. 1Invitation to tender (main invitation document) — contains instructions to bidders, procurement procedure, legal clauses and key dates.
2. 2Annex I Technical Specifications — defines the scope of work, required services, deliverables, timelines, quality criteria and technical/functional requirements.
3. 3Annex 1 to TS Financial offer template (docx) — mandatory financial offer form to be completed; contains pricing structure and cost items.
4. 4Annex 2 to TS Draft Framework Service Contract (pdf) — proposed contract text including general terms and conditions, durations, renewals and termination clauses.
5. 5Annex 3 to TS Reimbursement — rules on eligible costs, travel and subsistence, invoicing and payment terms.
6. 6Annex 4 to TS Overview of expertise (xlsx) — template for presenting team roles, CVs and evidence of expertise and organisational capacity.
7. 7Annex 5 to TS Corporate standards — information on branding, communications and compliance standards for contractors.
8. 8Annex 6 to TS EEA IT and Data management policies — mandatory IT, cybersecurity and data handling rules for contractors.
9. 9Annex 7 to TS Checklist for eSubmission — step-by-step checklist to verify completeness of the electronic submission.

Mentioned countries and geographic scope

The tender is issued by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The documents and portal refer to the EEA and Eionet network and to cooperating countries (including Ukraine as a cooperating country in the EEA network). The procurement notice itself does not list a closed set of eligible countries; applicants should assume entities established in the EU / EEA and EEA cooperating countries are in scope, and must verify nationality/establishment criteria in the procurement documents.

Risk, compliance and special requirements

Bidders must comply with EEA IT and data management policies, corporate standards and the draft contract. The procurement documents contain detailed selection criteria, evidence requirements, and compliance declarations that are mandatory. The tender is not marked SME-suitable, so the contracting authority expects bidders with larger-scale capacity. Specific insurance, confidentiality, data protection, and security clauses are included in the draft contract and must be accepted by the contractor.

Practical next steps for prospective bidders

1. 1Download and carefully read all procurement documents from the Funding & Tenders Portal, in particular Annex I Technical Specifications, Annex 1 Financial offer template and Annex 2 Draft Framework Service Contract ¹.
2. 2Verify eligibility and selection criteria; gather required administrative, financial and technical evidence including CVs, references and certificates using Annex 4 Overview of expertise template.
3. 3Prepare the technical offer addressing the quality award criteria in the Technical Specifications and prepare the financial offer using the provided template.
4. 4Follow the Annex 7 Checklist for eSubmission to ensure documents and formats comply with eSubmission rules; submit electronically before 03 August 2026, 14:00:59 (Europe/Copenhagen).
5. 5If required, request clarifications within the additional information request period (ends 24 July 2026).

This opportunity requires bidders with proven expertise in circular economy monitoring, environmental data systems, modelling and policy-facing dissemination. The award will favour high-quality technical proposals and competitive pricing, following the stated weighting (quality 70, price 30).

Structured answers to classification questions

Eligible Applicant Types:The procurement is open to legal entities able to contract with the EEA: SMEs, large enterprises, consultancies, public bodies, universities, research institutes, non-profit organisations. Joint bids or consortia are typically allowed, subject to the selection rules in the procurement documents.

Funding Type:Public procurement (service contract) via a framework service contract. This is not a grant or loan; it is a paid contract for services.

Consortium Requirement:The procurement does not strictly require a consortium; it allows either a single tenderer or consortia/economic operators acting together, subject to the tender qualification and evidence requirements detailed in the tender documents.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The contracting authority is the EEA. The anticipated geographic coverage includes entities established in the EU and EEA; EEA cooperating countries are referenced in EEA context (e.g., Ukraine is a cooperating country). Bidders must consult eligibility and nationality rules in the procurement documents for precise requirements.

Target Sector:Environment, circular economy, waste management and waste legislation implementation, data management and modelling, public policy support and dissemination, environmental information systems.

Mentioned Countries:No explicit closed list of countries is stated in the procurement summary. The contracting authority is the European Environment Agency and materials reference EEA member and cooperating countries including Ukraine in EEA communications. Applicants should refer to procurement documents for any nationality or establishment restrictions.

Project Stage:The work requires applied monitoring, modelling, data collection and dissemination expertise: development, validation and operational implementation stages rather than early-stage idea research.

Funding Amount:Estimated overall contract amount: €3,000,000 (published estimate). Individual lot value and payment schedule are in the financial and contract annexes.

Application Type:Open public tender via eSubmission on the Funding & Tenders Portal (electronic submission required).

Nature of Support:Monetary remuneration under a service contract. The contractor will be paid according to the contractual terms and reimbursement rules. Non-monetary services (data access, EEA networks) may be provided operationally, but primary support is financial contract remuneration.

Application Stages:Multi-stage evaluation process typical for public procurement: submission; eligibility/selection; technical & financial evaluation; award decision. Practically this is a 3-stage process (administrative check, technical evaluation, financial evaluation/award).

Success Rates:Not provided in the procurement notice. As a competitive public tender, the success rate will depend on the number and quality of tenders submitted.

Co-funding Requirement:Not required. This is a procurement contract that pays for services; bidders are expected to finance preparation costs themselves and propose prices for contract performance. Any specific guarantees, performance securities or co-financing requirements will be in the draft contract or selection criteria.

Templates: list and short guidance:Mandatory templates include the Financial offer template (Annex 1), Overview of expertise (Annex 4), and the eSubmission checklist (Annex 7). The Draft Framework Service Contract (Annex 2) and Technical Specifications (Annex I) contain contractual and technical obligations that bidders must accept or explicitly note. Complete and sign all administrative forms required in the Invitation to tender and attach supporting evidence (company registration, financial statements, CVs, past performance references) as requested in the selection criteria.

Summary and recommended action

What this opportunity is about and how to approach it:This is a public tender from the European Environment Agency to award a framework service contract for a Topic Centre that will support monitoring the circular economy and assist in implementing EU waste legislation through modelling, data gathering and dissemination. The contract is estimated at €3,000,000 over the planned framework duration. The award will be based on quality (70) and price (30). Prospective bidders should carefully read the full procurement dossier (Technical Specifications, Financial offer template, Draft Contract and EEA IT/data policies), assemble the required administrative, technical and financial evidence using the supplied templates, and submit a complete electronic tender via the Funding & Tenders Portal before the deadline 03 August 2026, 14:00:59 (Copenhagen time). Strong proposals will demonstrate proven capacity in circular economy monitoring, robust data management and IT compliance, high-quality modelling and policy-relevant dissemination, and deliver competitive pricing. See procurement documents for full legal, financial and technical obligations ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents including the Invitation to tender, Technical Specifications (Annex I), Financial offer template (Annex 1), Draft Framework Service Contract (Annex 2) and supporting annexes are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal and must be consulted for full requirements: ec.europa.eu

Funding Opportunity Overview

This tender seeks a consortium of designated Topic Centre Organisations (TCOs) to support the European Environment Agency (EEA) in monitoring the circular economy and implementing EU waste legislation, with a focus on modelling, data gathering, and data dissemination ¹.

The estimated overall contract amount is €3,000,000 for a framework period of 54 months, consisting of an initial 24-month term renewable up to three times ².

Who Should Apply

Participation is strictly restricted to Topic Centre Organisations (TCOs) designated by the EEA Management Board under the 4 December 2025 Implementing Rules (Regulation (EC) No 401/2009/Eionet) ³.

Tenders must be submitted as a consortium of designated TCOs initiated by at least five different designated TCOs from different countries ³.

Eligibility Requirement:Organisations must first be formally designated as a TCO by the EEA Management Board before they can submit an offer for this call ³.

Key Contract Details

Scope of Work

1. 1Support monitoring of the circular economy and implementation of waste legislation
2. 2Develop modelling frameworks for circular economy metrics
3. 3Gather and verify data from EEA member and cooperating countries
4. 4Disseminate data and findings to policy makers and the public
5. 5Provide evidence-based knowledge to support EU sustainability policies

How to Become a Designated TCO

Organisations not yet designated must first contact the Eionet representative in their country to indicate interest and become a prospective TCO ⁴.

Prospective TCOs must then submit an application via the EEA selection tool before the submission deadline to be validated and designated by the EEA Management Board ⁴.

Call for TCOs Deadline:The deadline for the Call for Expressions of Interest to become a new TCO is 07 August 2026, 16:00 CET ⁴.

Submission and Documentation

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the eSubmission system ⁵.

Key documents include the Technical Specifications (Annex I), Financial Offer Template (Annex 1), Draft Framework Service Contract (Annex 2), and Corporate Standards (Annex 5) ⁵.

DevelopmentAid Tender Summary: EEA/CCE/TC/26/007 - Topic Centre on monitoring the circular economy. Available at: developmentaid.org

OpenProcurements.com Tender Details: EEA/CCE/TC/26/007. Available at: dk.openprocurements.com

DevelopmentAid Tender Summary: Participation is restricted to Topic Centre Organisations (TCOs) designated by the EEA Management Board. Available at: developmentaid.org

EEA Official Page: Become a Topic Centre Organisation and engage with the EEA. Deadline for call for expression of interest 7 August 2026 16:00 CET. Available at: eea.europa.eu

EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Tender details for EEA/CCE/TC/26/007. Available at: ec.europa.eu