EEA/CCE/TC/26/010 - Topic Centre on Climate Risk and Resilience: Knowledge Development

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published an open procurement for a single framework service contract to establish the Topic Centre on Climate Risk and Resilience: Knowledge Development, focused on knowledge, networking and supporting data services. The indicative total budget is €1,900,000 for 2027–2030 and the contract runs to a maximum duration ending 31 December 2030 with an initial 24 month term and up to three renewals. Tenders are restricted to consortia of designated Topic Centre Organisations comprising at least five organisations from five different EEA member countries and must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 24 September 2026 at 14:00 Europe/Copenhagen. Award will be made on the best price-quality ratio with detailed eligibility, staffing and AI disclosure requirements set out in the procurement documents.

What it funds

High-level scope

Provision of knowledge, networking and some data services to support EU and member country work on climate risk, resilience and adaptation (indicators, sectoral resilience, economic and societal aspects, support for national climate risk assessments, European Climate Risk Assessment inputs, Climate and Health Observatory tasks, UCPM reporting).

Who can apply:Participation is restricted to Topic Centre Organisations designated by the EEA’s Management Board; eligible tenders are consortia of at least 5 designated Topic Centre Organisations established in at least 5 different EEA member countries. Subcontracting to non-designated entities is limited and capped (see procurement docs) ¹.

1. 1What it funds: knowledge development, networking, stakeholder engagement, methodological and data support tied to climate resilience and adaptation.
2. 2Who may apply: designated Topic Centre Organisations — consortia (≥5 designated TCOs in ≥5 different EEA member countries).
3. 3How contracts are awarded: single framework service contract; award by best price-quality ratio.
4. 4Indicative constraints: estimated overall budget €1,900,000; subcontracting to non-TCOs capped (refer to procurement documents).

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission (EU Login required). Financial offer uses the provided price template; prices in EUR, all-inclusive (VAT excluded). See full procurement documents for eligibility, submission rules, detailed evaluation and contractual terms Procurement documents ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1All procedural, eligibility and technical details (Annexes, templates, data and IT requirements, AI guidance, reimbursement rules, and corrigenda) are published in the call’s procurement documents on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Call overview and purpose

The European Environment Agency (EEA) published an open call for tenders to award a single framework service contract (FWC) for a Topic Centre on Climate Risk and Resilience: Knowledge Development. The Topic Centre will deliver knowledge, networking and supporting data services to strengthen European capacity on climate risk assessment, adaptation progress monitoring and resilience knowledge. The FWC is non-exclusive and intended to be implemented through multiple specific contracts issued under the framework, with an indicative aggregated budget of €1,900,000 for 2027–2030. The FWC maximum duration ends on 31 December 2030 and is structured to support EEA knowledge products, the second European Climate Risk Assessment, monitoring under the Governance Regulation and related sectoral resilience work, including health, agri-food, water and urban sectors ¹.

Key administrative facts and timelines

Eligible Applicant Types:This tender is restricted to Topic Centre Organisations designated by the EEA Management Board under the Implementing Rules for Topic Centres. Eligible applicants are therefore designated Topic Centre Organisations acting in consortium format: a consortium must include at least five designated Topic Centre Organisations established in at least five different EEA member countries. Roles must be declared (coordinator/group leader, partners). Subcontracting is allowed under strict caps (subcontracting to organisations not on the designated Topic Centre Organisation list is capped at 10 % of the total FWC ceiling) and core tasks must not be subcontracted.

Funding Type:This is a public procurement for a framework service contract. The financial mechanism is a FWC with purchases executed via specific contracts (service contract procurement). The award method is most economically advantageous tender based on best price-quality ratio (technical merit 70 %, price 30 %).

Consortium Requirement:A consortium (joint tender) is required. Consortia must include at least five designated Topic Centre Organisations from at least five different EEA member countries. One partner must be nominated as coordinator (group leader). No partner may participate in more than one consortium for this tender. The tender must include an administrative data form identifying roles and the intended distribution of tasks and value.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Restricted to Topic Centre Organisations designated by the EEA Management Board (these organisations are located across EEA member and cooperating countries). The EEA’s membership includes the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye; the Topic Centre consortium must be composed of partners established in at least five different EEA member countries. Work will support EU Member States and Energy Community Contracting Parties where relevant.

Target Sector:Climate risk and resilience (cross-cutting). Thematic focus areas include climate impacts and risk assessment, adaptation progress (Governance Regulation reporting), disaster risk management (Union Civil Protection Mechanism Article 6), sectoral resilience (health, agri-food/food security, water, urban areas, energy, built environment), solutions (nature-based solutions, governance and finance), socioeconomic distribution and fairness of adaptation, and digital/data services (indicators, dashboards, data products).

Mentioned Countries:EEA Member and cooperating countries as context: EU Member States (27), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye. The contracting authority is located in Denmark (Copenhagen). The tender is limited to designated Topic Centre Organisations as decided by the EEA Management Board (list referenced in Technical Specifications).

Project Stage:Maturity expectation: delivery-stage activities spanning research synthesis, development, validation and knowledge dissemination. The Topic Centre will produce knowledge products, policy-relevant syntheses, data processing and dashboard-ready datasets, support national/subnational assessments and contribute to the EUCRA process. Tasks cover research, development, validation, demonstration and support to implementation.

Funding Amount:Indicative total estimated overall contract value: €1,900,000 for the period 2027–2030. The Technical Specifications detail indicative distribution: €1,180,000 for climate risks and resilience knowledge development; €600,000 allocated to adaptation work under a DG SANTE Service Level Agreement (Climate and Health Observatory, 2027–2028); €60,000 for Energy Community activities (DG ENER contribution agreement, indicative to 2028); €60,000 for UCPM reporting activities (DG ECHO SLA, until mid-2028). These figures are indicative and subject to availability and EEA annual work programming.

Application Type:Open call for tenders via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and eSubmission. Interested organisations must be registered in the Participant Register and use EU Login credentials. Submission is electronic only through eSubmission. The call is restricted to designated Topic Centre Organisations; participation requires formation of an eligible consortium.

Nature of Support:Contracted services (non-grant): financial remuneration for services under the FWC. The contractor will receive monetary payment for services (daily rate structure requested in the financial template). The contracting authority will reimburse approved travel and subsistence expenses under defined rules and rates in Annex 3 to the Technical Specifications. The FWC also requires non-financial deliverables such as datasets, reports, and material published under open licenses.

Application Stages:Single-stage tender submission (one submission) followed by evaluation. Process timeline: launch and publication, question/clarification phase (questions to be submitted by the date in the contract notice), submission of tenders via eSubmission by the deadline, virtual opening session, evaluation period, notification of results and signature of FWC, then specific contracts issued under the FWC. The tender evaluation includes checks for exclusion and selection criteria before scoring the award criteria (technical merit and price).

Success Rates:Not published. This is a single-award, competitive tender. Success depends on meeting strict eligibility (designated Topic Centre Organisations), selection and award criteria and on achieving a top score under the best price-quality ratio evaluation. Historically, EEA Topic Centre tenders are competitive and only one contractor (or consortium) will be awarded the FWC.

Co-funding Requirement:No explicit co-funding requirement is stated in the published documents. Prices must be all-inclusive and expressed in EUR excluding VAT. The FWC is an EU-funded procurement; budgets and specific contract awards are subject to EEA and European Commission funding availability. Where subcontracting is used, the contractor retains full liability; subcontracting to non-designated organisations is capped at 10 % of the total contract ceiling.

Templates and application structure:The procurement documents supply mandatory templates and forms to be completed and uploaded in eSubmission. Key templates and documentary requirements include: 1) Invitation to tender and Annex I Technical Specifications (detailed scope, eligibility rules, award and selection criteria, deliverables, AI use policy, contractual rules); 2) Annex 1 Financial offer template (daily rates for contract manager, senior expert, junior expert; prices quoted in EUR, all-inclusive, exclude VAT); 3) Annex 2 Draft Framework Service Contract (FWC) including special and general conditions and model specific contract; 4) Annex 3 Reimbursement rules (daily allowance and travel rates table by country); 5) Annex 4 Overview of expertise (Excel template to list CVs, profiles, counts of staff by role and required thematic/technical competences, and 5 most relevant contracts table); 6) Annex 5 EEA corporate publishing and branding standards guidance; 7) Annex 6 EEA IT and data management policies including Common Workspace (CWS) usage and AI rules; 8) Annex 7 Checklist for eSubmission (lists documents to upload per role). All fields in the financial template are compulsory. CVs, overview of expertise spreadsheet and the administrative data form are mandatory. Failure to include mandatory documents or non-compliance with forms leads to exclusion.

1. 1Evaluation methodology: initial exclusion and selection check (declarations on honour, ID forms, simplified financial statements, evidence of capacities), then award scoring: technical merit (70 points; minimum 49) and price (30 points). Technical offer limited to 40 A4 pages; specific page limits apply per award sub-criterion. Price scoring uses lowest-price formula per service category and daily-rate structure.
2. 2Minimum technical staffing that must be declared: 1 contract manager (min 5 years experience, English C1), at least 6 senior experts (min 7 years each, English B2), at least 10 junior experts (min 3 years each, English B2). CVs must be provided and listed in Annex 4 template. Contract manager cannot be a subcontractor.
3. 3Data and IT requirements: contractor must work in EEA Common Workspace (CWS) and use EEA-approved tools, deliver reproducible code via EEA GitHub and register datasets in the EEA SDI. Requests to introduce new AI tools or agentic AI during implementation require prior written consent from the EEA, adherence to the AI Act and GDPR/EU data protection rules, and explicit transparency statements in deliverables where AI was used.

How to apply:prepare the administrative data form, declarations on honour (exclusion and selection), simplified financial statement, technical offer (<=40 A4 pages) following the required structure for award criteria, Annex 4 experts overview and CVs, financial offer using Annex 1 template, and any required supporting documents. Register organisations in the Participant Register and obtain PICs. Submit the complete tender via the eSubmission portal before the deadline. Participation requires EU Login authentication. The EEA eSubmission Quick Guide and checklist annex provide technical and upload instructions. Responses to questions are published via the Funding & Tenders Portal Q&A.

Footnotes

1. 1All details summarised above derive from the official procurement documents published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for Call identifier EEA/2026/OP/0039 and the associated Annexes (Invitation to Tender, Annex I Technical Specifications and annexes, draft Framework Service Contract, financial template, and eSubmission checklist). Use the portal link for full text and downloads: ec.europa.eu

This is an open procurement for a framework service contract to establish the Topic Centre on Climate Risk and Resilience: Knowledge Development, led by the European Environment Agency and restricted to designated Topic Centre Organisations, with the main focus on climate resilience knowledge, networking and related data services [1] ¹.

What The Contract Is About

The contract supports the EEA in delivering knowledge, data and networking services on climate risks, resilience indicators, sectoral progress, adaptation policy integration, disaster risk management and stakeholder engagement, with expected deliverables such as reports, indicators, datasets, dashboards, technical papers, meetings, webinars, case studies and briefing materials.

Who Can Apply

• Only Topic Centre Organisations designated by the EEA Management Board may submit a tender.
• Consortia must include at least 5 designated Topic Centre Organisations from at least 5 different EEA member countries.
• One partner must be identified as the coordinator and main interface with the EEA.
• No partner may participate in more than one consortium for this call.
• Subcontracting is allowed only for ancillary or assistance tasks, not core tasks, and is capped at 10 percent of the contract ceiling for entities outside the Topic Centre Organisation list.

Budget, Contract Structure And Duration

The indicative total budget for 2027 to 2030 is €1,900,000, split into €1,180,000 for climate risks and resilience knowledge development, €600,000 for Climate and Health Observatory work, €60,000 for Energy Community activities and €60,000 for UCPM reporting, while the framework contract runs for a maximum of 53 months, can be renewed three times from an initial 24 month term and is expected to generate at least four specific contracts [1].

Financial Offer:Prices must be quoted in EUR, exclude VAT and be all inclusive, covering management, administration, staff costs, insurance, equipment and travel costs for the first kick off meeting.

Selection And Award Requirements

Awards are made on the best price-quality ratio with 70 points for technical merit and 30 points for price, and the minimum financial and professional thresholds include an annual turnover of at least €400,000 for each of the last two closed years, one contract manager with at least five years of relevant experience and C1 English, at least six senior experts with seven years of relevant experience and B2 English, and at least ten junior experts with three years of relevant experience and B2 English.

• Climate risk and vulnerability assessment expertise is required.
• Experience in adaptation reporting under the Governance Regulation is expected.
• Knowledge of climate resilience governance from EU to subnational levels is relevant.
• Sectoral expertise in health, agri food, water, urban areas, energy and forestry is valuable.
• Experience with nature based solutions, fairness and justice, economic assessment and stakeholder engagement is relevant.

Submission And Procedural Points

Tenders must be submitted electronically through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal using EU Login and a Participant Identification Code, the working language is English, questions must be submitted by 16 September 2026 at 23:59 Europe/Copenhagen, the deadline is 24 September 2026 at 14:00 Europe/Copenhagen and will not be extended, and the public opening is scheduled for 25 September 2026 at 10:00 Europe/Copenhagen [1].

Tenderers should note that the tender validity period is six months, the first kick off meeting is expected in person at the EEA in Copenhagen in Q1 2027, and the EEA expects the contractor to work closely with the linked Topic Centre on Climate Risk and Resilience: Reporting, Tools and Online Knowledge Support.

Artificial Intelligence And Compliance Requirements

Tenderers must disclose whether large language models or other AI systems were used in preparing the tender, any AI use during contract implementation must comply with the AI Act and GDPR and remain under human oversight, and any later introduction of AI tools requires prior written approval by the EEA.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary portal record: EU Funding and Tenders Portal. The published Q&A response states that the 24 September 2026 deadline will not be extended.