Firm-level case studies on the use of AI technologies - 250001/7797

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) has issued an open procurement (EUROFOUND/2026/OP/0007) for firm-level comparative qualitative research on how AI technologies are adopted and affect productivity and workforce outcomes. The contractor must deliver at least 24 firm-level case studies across a minimum of six EU Member States, including pilot studies, anonymised interview evidence, a coding framework and a comparative overview covering decision-oriented AI, generative AI and physical AI/robotics. The maximum budget is €220,000, the contract duration is up to 18 months, and tenders must be submitted electronically by 11 June 2026 at 14:00 Dublin time. Applicants must demonstrate multi-country qualitative fieldwork experience, required team composition and language coverage, and ensure all personal data processing and storage remains within the EU/EEA and complies with applicable data protection and AI Act requirements.

What it funds

Scope

A direct contract to deliver a comparative qualitative study based on at least 24 firm-level case studies across selected EU Member States. Research covers adoption and deployment of AI (decision-oriented, generative, physical/robotics), and effects on productivity, work organisation, skills and employment conditions. Outputs: inception report, pilot cases, 24 individual case reports, comparative synthesis and methodological annexes.

Budget:Estimated total value: €220,000.

1. 1Who can apply: legal persons and natural persons established in the EU/EEA or third countries with procurement access; joint bids and subcontracting allowed (identified subcontractors >10% must be declared).
2. 2How to apply: electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required). Documents available on the Portal and tender submission must follow Part A–E procurement documents.
3. 3Key requirements: demonstrable experience in multi-country firm-level qualitative research, language coverage across required country groups, proposed team with specified senior experts and data-collection researchers, compliance with data protection and security requirements.
4. 4Contract duration and delivery: maximum 18 months; deliverables staged (inception, pilot, batches of case reports, final comparative report).

Award method:best price-quality ratio. Language of procurement documents: English (tenders may be submitted in any official EU language). Tender specifications include detailed selection and award criteria, mandatory data protection measures and templates (Parts A–E).

Basic procurement facts

Contracting authority:European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, D18 KP65 Dublin, Ireland. Procedure: Open tender (call for tenders / direct contract). TED reference: 307793-2026. Main CPV: 79315000 — Social research services. Nature of contract: services. Award method: best price-quality ratio. Maximum contract duration: 18 months from signature. Submission method: electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission. Full procurement documents and submission portal available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Funding & Tenders Portal - Tender documents.

Estimated contract value:€220,000 (maximum budget stated in procurement documents). ¹

Key deadlines (published schedule):Deadline for questions / clarifications: 3 June 2026 23:59 Europe/Dublin. Deadline for receipt of tenders: 11 June 2026 14:00 Europe/Dublin. Public opening of tenders: 12 June 2026 11:00 Europe/Dublin. Award notification: planned 26 June 2026. Contract signature: planned 6 July 2026.

What the contract is for (scope and objectives)

Eurofound is commissioning a comparative qualitative study based on a minimum of 24 firm-level case studies across selected EU Member States. The study will generate in-depth, firm-level evidence on how firms adopt and deploy artificial intelligence technologies in practice and how adoption affects productivity, work organisation, skills, employment conditions and job quality. The work is explicitly intended to complement other project strands on occupational exposure measures and to feed into the design of a subsequent EU-level company survey on AI and productivity.

Scope, tasks and deliverables (detailed)

Required tasks are defined in four core work packages within the contract:research design and inception; identification and recruitment of candidate firms and an engagement strategy (longlist of at least 40 candidate firms and a shortlist for pilots); pilot and full fieldwork delivering semi-structured interviews and primary documentary collection; and systematic within-case coding and cross-case comparative analysis leading to individual case reports and a final comparative overview report. The study must cover three broad AI technology types: decision-oriented AI, generative AI, and physical AI/robotics; include variation by sector and company size; and prioritise cases where technology is at sufficient operational maturity to assess productivity and workforce impacts.

1. 1Task 1: Research design and inception report (refined analytical framework, interview guides, sampling matrix).
2. 2Task 2: Identification and recruitment of candidate firms; longlist of ≥ 40 firms; reserve list; detailed engagement strategy and incentives; pilot case selection.
3. 3Task 3: Fieldwork — pilot (min. 2 firms) then full fieldwork achieving at least 24 completed case studies. Minimum interviews per case: 3 interviews for firms ≤ 50 employees; 6 interviews for firms ≥ 50 employees. Required informants include senior management, HR, worker representatives (where available) and workers who use AI systems; technology leads and line managers where applicable.
4. 4Task 4: Analysis and reporting — individual case reports delivered in batches (first 6, next 12, remaining cases), anonymised primary evidence (transcripts/summaries and documentary evidence where consented), coding framework, and final comparative cross-case report with methodological annex. The contractor must also propose indicators for the subsequent company survey.

Quality and data protection expectations:Deliverables must be in English. The contracting authority requires high transparency and replicability: interview guides, coding frameworks and analytical procedures must be documented. Strict data protection and GDPR / Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 compliance is required. The tender must include a completed Data Protection Due Diligence Checklist; data processing must be limited to EU/EEA locations and meet minimum security and governance controls specified in the tender specifications. Use of participant consent forms and the Eurofound data protection notice is mandatory.

Who can apply and consortium rules

Procurement participation is open to natural and legal persons established in the EU/EEA and other eligible countries per the procurement documents. The contracting authority permits sole tenderers and joint tenders (consortia). Subcontracting is allowed but identified subcontractors (those whose share is above 10% or whose capacity is necessary to meet selection criteria) must be declared and must provide a declaration of intent. Entities on whose capacities the tenderer relies (but who are not subcontractors) must provide commitment letters. The tenderer must include full legal and financial identification forms (Business Partner Form) and sign the Standard Reply Form.

• Eligible applicant types: universities, research institutes, nonprofit research organisations, SMEs, large enterprises, consultancies, social research agencies, multidisciplinary teams and consortia.
• Joint tenders: allowed; a group leader must be designated in an Agreement/Power of Attorney and the group leader will sign and act as single point of contact and bank recipient.
• Subcontracting: allowed; identified subcontractors (>10% of contract value or necessary for selection criteria) must provide Declaration of Intent. Total subcontracting percentage must be declared.

Selection, evaluation and award criteria

The procurement uses selection and award criteria. Selection assesses economic/financial capacity and technical/professional capacity. Award is via the most economically advantageous tender based on quality and price with a 60/40 quality/price weighting (quality 60%, price 40%). Tenders must reach a minimum quality threshold of 70/100 to be considered.

1. 1Selection minimums: consolidated average annual turnover (last two years) above €220,000; evidence of relevant projects (2 projects in last 3 years each ≥ €100,000 with at least one multi-country firm-level qualitative project); language coverage and country presence in the proposed countries; team CVs showing required expertise.
2. 2Key required team roles and experience standards: Project manager with ≥5 years and experience leading projects ≥ €200,000 and teams ≥6 people; expert on technological change and firm-level research with ≥5 years (publications on AI and labour markets required); qualitative data analysis expert (PhD level preferred) with ≥5 years experience in multi-country coding and comparative analysis; data collection team of ≥4 researchers with required language coverage and each with ≥3 years experience in qualitative interviewing; at least one team member with C1 English (language certificate or equivalent experience).
3. 3Award scoring (quality 100 points max): 1) Methodology and relevance (30 points); 2) Firm access and engagement strategy (35 points); 3) Organisation of work and project management (20 points); 4) Team composition (10 points); 5) Quality control measures (5 points). Price receives 40 % weighting in the final ranking formula. Full evaluation formula and minimum pass score (70 points) specified in tender documents.

Geographic and country coverage

Work must cover selected EU Member States. The tender requires the contractor to propose at least six countries and ensure minimum geographic coverage: either Germany or France; at least one Nordic country; at least one of Spain, Italy or Portugal; and at least one Eastern European Member State. The contractor must demonstrate organisational presence, partnerships or networks to access firms in the proposed countries and propose contingency lists.

Project maturity and expected project stage

This opportunity expects projects at development to demonstration stage for qualitative fieldwork and analysis. It requires established fieldwork capacity, comparative qualitative analysis, and reporting for dissemination and to feed the subsequent survey design. Firms selected must have AI systems at operational maturity sufficient to assess productivity and workforce impacts.

Funding, payment and co-funding

Maximum available budget:€220,000. Payments are milestone-based. Indicative payment allocation set in the tender: 30% upon approval of inception deliverables and pilot results (Deliverables 1–5), 40% upon delivery and approval of mid-batch case study reports (Deliverables 6–10), and 30% upon approval of final case study reports and final comparative report (Deliverables 11–13). Prices must be fixed in euros, VAT excluded when applicable, and must include all travel and subsistence costs. Financial proposals above €220,000 will be rejected. No co-funding from Eurofound is expected; the contractor bears costs beyond the contract price.

Application and submission

Submission is electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system. Tenderers must be registered and use PIC codes. The Standard Reply Form (Part C) and Tender Specifications (Part B) are mandatory. Required documents include the completed Standard Reply Form, legal & financial identification (Business Partner Form), Declaration on Honour, technical offer (methodology, workplan, CVs), financial offer using the provided cost tables, data protection checklist, Declaration of pre-existing rights, subcontractor declarations (if any), and participant consent templates for fieldwork. Tender validity period: 6 months.

Submission practical notes:Tenders must include all requested supporting evidence at submission where specified (project references, CVs, language evidence, DP checklist, list of subcontractors and longlist). The contracting authority may request additional documents during evaluation. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 03/06/2026 23:59 Europe/Dublin. Follow eSubmission system technical requirements and file size limits before submission.

Selection and success likelihood

This is a single-award contract with an estimated value of €220,000 and a high specificity of technical requirements (multi-country qualitative casework on AI, strict DP and language coverage requirements). The tender requires two substantial project references each ≥ €100,000 in the last 3 years and a team meeting the stated experience thresholds. No explicit success rate is published. Given the specialised requirements and single contract, competition can be expected to be moderate; success depends strongly on demonstrable multi-country field experience, country networks, and strong methodology and quality control.

Co-funding and subcontracting rules

No co-funding by the contracting authority is required. Subcontracting is permitted. Identified subcontractors (those with known share >10% or necessary to satisfy selection criteria) must be named and provide declarations of intent. Tenderers relying on other entities to meet selection criteria (not subcontractors) must provide commitment letters. The contractor remains fully liable for subcontractor performance. Changes to identified subcontractors after tender submission require contracting authority approval and are subject to verification against exclusion and selection criteria.

Templates and application form structure

Tender documentation includes mandatory templates:Part A Invitation to Tender (instructions), Part B Tender Specifications (detailed tasks, deliverables, evaluation), Part C Standard Reply Form (identification, Declaration on Honour, selection evidence, subcontractor lists, Data Protection Due Diligence Checklist), Part D Draft Service Contract (contract terms and IP provisions) and Part E Participant Consent Form (for interviews). Use the Standard Reply Form structure when preparing your submission: identification tables, subcontracting and reliance questionnaire, legal & financial forms, declaration on honour (exclusion and selection), selection evidence (project references, CVs, language evidence), technical offer (methodology, workplan, risk assessment, quality assurance), financial offer using the provided cost tables, IPR declarations and Data Protection checklist.

1. 1Part C Standard Reply Form: identity, consortium/subcontracting questionnaire, declarations and signatures.
2. 2Required evidence annexes: two project references ≥ €100,000 each (Evidence A1a), sample report in English ≥ 10 pages (Evidence A3), description of country networks (Evidence A4), CVs for all key staff and language certificates where available.
3. 3Data Protection Due Diligence Checklist (Annex I to Part C) must be completed and returned with the tender; negative answers to minimum DP requirements may lead to rejection.
4. 4Use the Financial Offer Cost Tables in Part C; quote in euros, fixed price including all costs (travel, subsistence).

Intellectual property, pre-existing rights and AI usage

Eurofound acquires ownership of all newly created results produced under the contract. Pre-existing materials incorporated in the results remain owned by their rights holders but must be licensed to the Union on a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence for the Union’s exploitation modes. The contractor must declare and provide a list of pre-existing rights and documentary evidence at or before delivery of final results. If generative AI tools are used in producing deliverables, the tenderer must declare impacted deliverables and ensure compliance with third-party IPR and the Draft Contract clauses on IPR and integrity.

Risk and quality management

Tenders must include a risk assessment covering firm access / recruitment risks, cross-country coordination, team availability, data protection issues, and contingency measures (reserve lists, alternative recruitment channels, intermediary engagement via unions / employer associations). Quality control mechanisms must be described including peer review, QA lead, pilot testing of instruments, and procedures for handling contractual comments and revisions.

Summary: What this opportunity is and what it requires

This procurement is a research services tender to deliver 24 in-depth firm-level case studies on how different AI technologies are adopted and deployed in practice across selected EU Member States and how those adoptions affect productivity, work organisation, skills and employment conditions. Eurofound requires a team with established multi-country qualitative fieldwork experience, capacity for language coverage across specified country groups, rigorous qualitative analysis and documentation, strong data protection and security measures, and demonstrated access to firms or intermediary networks. The contract is single-award, worth up to €220,000 over 18 months, paid on milestones. Tenderers must submit a full Standard Reply Form, technical offer, financial offer using the provided templates, Data Protection Due Diligence Checklist and supporting evidence (project references, CVs, language evidence and partner/subcontractor declarations where applicable). The award balances quality (60%) and price (40%), with a minimum quality score required for selection.

Footnotes

1. 1Full tender dossier including Invitation to tender (Part A), Tender Specifications (Part B), Standard Reply Form (Part C), Draft Service Contract (Part D) and Participant Consent Form (Part E) are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity Overview

This is a European Union procurement opportunity issued by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). The tender seeks a contractor to conduct firm-level case studies examining how artificial intelligence technologies are adopted and deployed in practice by firms across selected EU Member States, and how such adoption affects productivity and workforce outcomes. The research will generate qualitative evidence to complement statistical analyses and inform the design of a subsequent EU-level company survey on AI and productivity.

Key Opportunity Details

Contracting Authority:European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), Dublin, Ireland

Procedure Identifier:EUROFOUND/2026/OP/0007

TED Reference:86/2026 307793-2026

Procedure Type:Open procedure with electronic submission

Nature of Contract:Direct service contract

Financial Information

Maximum Budget:€220,000

Budget Allocation:

The budget is distributed as follows:80 percent for 24 case studies, 10 percent for measures to facilitate company participation and engagement, 5 percent for the comparative overview report, and 5 percent for overall management, coordination, and quality assurance. Each individual case study is valued at approximately 1/24 of the 80 percent allocation. Financial proposals exceeding €220,000 will be rejected. ¹

Payment Schedule:

Payment is structured in three tranches:30 percent upon approval of deliverables 1-5 (inception phase and pilot case studies), 40 percent upon approval of deliverables 6-10 (individual case study reports in batches), and 30 percent upon approval of deliverables 11-13 (final case study reports and comparative overview report).

Timeline and Deadlines

Publication Date:4 May 2026

Deadline for Questions:3 June 2026 at 23:59 Dublin time

Deadline for Tender Submission:11 June 2026 at 14:00 Dublin time

Public Opening Session:12 June 2026 at 11:00 Dublin time

Notification of Results:26 June 2026

Contract Signature:6 July 2026

Maximum Contract Duration:18 months from the date the contract enters into force

Who Can Apply

Participation is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons falling within the scope of the EU Treaties, as well as to international organisations. It is also open to natural and legal persons established in third countries that have a special agreement with the Union in the field of public procurement. However, participation is not open to natural and legal persons established in countries that have ratified the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) concluded within the World Trade Organisation. ²

Tenderers can submit as sole economic operators or as joint tenders (consortia). Subcontracting is permitted. All involved entities must not be subject to EU restrictive measures, must have access to procurement where applicable, and must not be in an exclusion situation as defined in the tender specifications.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Economic and Financial Capacity

Tenderers must provide a declaration on honour stating they fulfil economic and financial criteria applicable to them. Upon Eurofound's request, tenderers must provide copies of profit and loss accounts and balance sheets for the last two years for which accounts have been closed, or appropriate statements from banks. The most recent year must have been closed within the last 18 months.

Technical and Professional Capacity - Organisational Criteria

Tenderers must demonstrate the following:

• References for at least 2 projects delivered in the last three years with a minimum value of €100,000 each. At least one project must provide evidence of experience with multi-country firm-level qualitative fieldwork.
• A short description of economic activities (one overall description for all entities involved if applicable).
• References for at least 2 projects delivered in the last three years demonstrating necessary language coverage across the required country groups. Projects provided under the first criterion may be used to fulfil this requirement if they clearly demonstrate language coverage compliance.
• One document of at least 10 pages (report, study, etc.) in English that the tenderer has drafted and published or delivered to a client in the last two years. Verification will be carried out on 5 pages of the document.
• A description of the tenderer's organisational presence or partnerships in relevant countries, established networks, including connections within employer associations, trade unions, subcontractors, or local experts where applicable.

Technical and Professional Capacity - Key Team Members

Tenderers must provide CVs for the following key team members, each indicating their intended function in service delivery:

• Project Manager: At least 5 years experience in project management, including overseeing project delivery, quality control, client orientation, and conflict resolution in projects of similar size (at least €200,000) and coverage (at least 4 countries), with experience managing teams of at least 6 people.
• Expert in Technological Change and Firm-level Research: At least 5 years professional experience in research on technological change, AI adoption, or work organisation at firm level. Relevant higher education degree required. Demonstrated experience in designing and leading qualitative comparative studies, including case study research involving firm-level interviews. Publications in academic and policy research on AI and labour market outcomes required.
• Expert in Qualitative Data Analysis and Comparative Research: At least 5 years professional experience in qualitative data analysis, including application of systematic coding frameworks, thematic analysis, and cross-case comparative methods. Doctoral level (PhD) in social science, organisational studies, or closely related field required. Demonstrated experience in analysing interview-based data from multi-country studies, including use of qualitative data analysis software, and producing comparative research reports drawing on primary qualitative evidence.
• Team for Data Collection: At least 4 researchers collectively responsible for conducting semi-structured interviews across required Member States. The team must collectively have knowledge of languages of proposed countries, covering as a minimum: either German or French; at least one Nordic language; at least one of Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese; and at least one Eastern European language. Each team member must have at least 3 years experience in qualitative data collection including semi-structured interviewing.
• Language Quality Check: At least one team member should have C1 level in English according to the Common European Framework for Reference for Languages, evidenced by language certificate or relevant experience in CV.

Scope of Work and Deliverables

Research Objectives

The contractor must generate firm-level evidence on how artificial intelligence technologies are adopted and deployed in practice by firms in selected Member States, and how such adoption affects productivity and workforce outcomes. The case studies will examine how firms deploy AI technologies within specific workflows and business processes, how they understand and measure productivity in the context of AI adoption, and how such adoption affects job roles, task allocation, skills requirements, and employment conditions.

AI Technology Types

The contract covers three broad types of AI technology:decision-oriented AI (predictive, analytical, and machine-learning systems used for forecasting, classification, and optimisation); generative AI (large language models and related tools for content generation, coding, and text production); and physical AI and robotics (automation of physical tasks and process control).

Case Study Requirements

The contractor must design and implement a comparative qualitative study based on at least 24 firm-level case studies. The sampling matrix must ensure variation across type of AI technology, country, sector, and company size. Country coverage must include: either Germany or France; at least one Nordic country; at least one of Spain, Italy, or Portugal; and at least one Eastern European Member State. Tenderers must propose at least six countries, ensuring broad geographic coverage across the EU.

The contractor must identify and secure participation of at least 24 firms in line with the agreed sampling matrix. A key selection criterion is that the AI technologies studied must be at a sufficient level of operational maturity to allow assessment of their impacts on productivity and workforce outcomes. Firms where AI deployment is still in an initial phase shall not be included. A reserve list of at least 40 firms must be created prior to fieldwork to ensure the minimum of 24 confirmed cases can be achieved.

Fieldwork Requirements

Fieldwork shall proceed in two phases:pilot case studies (at least 2 firms with full interview set) followed by main case studies. A minimum number of interviews is required: three for firms with up to 50 employees, six for firms with 50 or more employees. Semi-structured interviews must cover mandatory informants including senior management/strategy, HR/workforce management, worker representatives (where available), and workers using AI systems. Desirable informants where the role exists include technology/AI implementation leads and line managers/operational managers.

Key Deliverables

• Inception report detailing research framework, methodology, data collection instruments, and refined sampling matrix (due N+6 weeks)
• Longlist of at least 40 candidate firms and shortlist for pilot case studies (due N+8 weeks)
• Pilot case study reports for minimum 2 firms in draft and final versions (due N+3 months and N+4 months)
• Individual case study reports for each of the 24 firms delivered in three batches in draft and final versions (due N+6 to N+13 months)
• Primary evidence from each case study comprising anonymised interview transcripts or detailed summaries, documentary evidence, and observational notes
• Coding framework and analytical documentation including coding scheme, analytical procedure, and traceability matrix
• Comparative overview report synthesising findings across all 24 case studies with methodological annex (due N+15 months draft, N+18 months final)

All deliverables must be submitted in English in electronic format, including editable and non-editable PDF versions. Individual case study reports must be structured around thematic dimensions including types and deployment of AI technologies, drivers and barriers, work organisation and workforce impacts, employment conditions, productivity, and emerging AI impacts in terms of inequalities.

Data Protection and Compliance Requirements

The tenderer must possess appropriate data processing technical and organisational measures meeting minimum requirements including technical capability for pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data, security measures ensuring confidentiality and integrity, technical measures for restoring availability upon incident, internal processes for erasing personal data, control measures preventing data retention beyond necessary periods, and processes for promptly notifying Eurofound of data breaches. ³

Critically, the localisation of and access to personal data processed on behalf of Eurofound must be exclusively within the territory of the European Union or the European Economic Area, and shall not extend beyond said jurisdiction. The EEA includes all 27 Member States of the European Union together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

The tender must comply with applicable data protection, environmental, social, and labour law obligations established by Union law and national legislation. If the tenderer uses AI systems or models in delivering services to Eurofound, it must adhere to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act). Under no circumstances may prohibited AI practices outlined in Article 5 of the AI Act be applied in service delivery to Eurofound.

All contractors carrying interviews on behalf of Eurofound are obliged to use a data protection notice available on Eurofound's webpage and the Participant Consent Form attached to the tender documentation. Confidentiality and ethical standards must be respected throughout data collection and reporting. All participating firms must be provided with a written guarantee of anonymisation, ensuring that no firm or individual can be identified in any published output.

Submission Requirements and Process

Tenders must be submitted exclusively via the electronic submission system (eSubmission) available from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Tenders submitted in any other way will be disregarded. Each member of a group in the case of a joint tender must register in the European Commission's Participant Register and obtain a Participant Identification Code (PIC). Economic operators already registered shall reuse their existing PICs.

Tenders must be presented in the following structure:Chapter 1 - Identification of the tenderer; Chapter 2 - Non-exclusion; Chapter 3 - Selection; Chapter 4 - Technical offer; Chapter 5 - Financial offer. The technical offer must cover all aspects and tasks required in the technical specifications and provide all information needed to apply award criteria. Offers deviating from requirements or not covering all requirements may be rejected as non-compliant.

The financial offer must be expressed in euros, quoted free of all duties, taxes, and other charges including VAT, and must be a fixed amount including all charges such as travel and subsistence. The quoted price must not be subject to revision. Tenderers from countries outside the euro zone must quote prices in euro, bearing the risks or benefits from any exchange rate variations.

Award Criteria and Evaluation

The contract will be awarded using the best price-quality ratio method. Tenders will be evaluated on the basis of technical quality and financial value. The evaluation will assess tenderers' ability to deliver the research objectives, the quality of the proposed methodology, the feasibility of the sampling strategy, the strength of the team proposed, and the reasonableness of the budget.

Key evaluation dimensions include:the analytical framework and approach to addressing thematic dimensions; the strategy for identifying and accessing firms for case studies; the strategy for ensuring participation and engagement of selected firms; the organisation of work and management including risk mitigation; internal quality assurance mechanisms; and the overall financial proposal.

Exclusion Criteria

Tenderers must declare that they are not in any of the exclusion situations specified in the tender specifications. These include bankruptcy or insolvency, breach of tax or social security obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, involvement with criminal organisations, money laundering or terrorist financing, child labour or human trafficking, significant deficiencies in implementing EU-funded contracts, irregularities, creation of entities to circumvent legal obligations, and resistance to investigations or audits.

All identified subcontractors must submit a Declaration on Honour on exclusion criteria. Eurofound may request such declarations from any subcontractor if deemed necessary. The exclusion criteria apply throughout the whole performance of the contract.

Important Conditions and Restrictions

Variants (alternatives to the model solution described in tender specifications) are not allowed. The contracting authority will disregard any variants described in a tender. Tenders must be drawn and submitted in complete independence and autonomously from other tenders. A natural or legal person cannot participate at the same time as member of two or more groups or as both a sole tenderer and member of another group; all such tenders will be rejected.

Cross subcontracting is forbidden:an entity may not participate as tenderer and as subcontractor to another tenderer within the same procedure, nor may tenderer B subcontract to tenderer A if A subcontracts to B. Both tenders would be rejected in such cases.

Changes in the composition of a joint tender group after the submission deadline and before contract signature shall lead to rejection, except in specific cases of merger, takeover, or removal of a member subject to restrictive measures or exclusion, provided cumulative conditions are met. Changes concerning identified subcontractors during the procedure require prior written approval of the contracting authority.

Delivery of fewer than 20 accepted case studies shall be deemed a failure to meet a minimum essential requirement. In such circumstances, Eurofound reserves the right to refuse acceptance of contract deliverables in their entirety with no payment due, and may terminate the contract. Alternatively, Eurofound may accept deliverables and apply proportionate price reduction.

Eurofound reserves the right not to select a contractor if the price of tenders proposed exceeds the budget allocated to this project. Eurofound may reject abnormally low tenders, particularly if it establishes that the tenderer or subcontractor does not comply with applicable obligations in environmental, social, and labour law.

Intellectual Property and Pre-existing Rights

In the tender proposal, all quotations or information originating from other sources and to which third parties may claim rights must be clearly marked with source publication details, creator, number, and full title in a way allowing easy identification. The successful contractor will be requested to establish a list of all pre-existing rights and rights of creators and third parties on the results of the contract or parts thereof, to be provided no later than the date of delivery of final results.

Any use of AI systems or models must not infringe third-party intellectual property rights, including copyright. Should generative AI systems or models be employed in producing deliverables under the contract, the successful contractor must provide a declaration regarding every impacted deliverable to Eurofound. The use of generative AI systems or models in results must fully respect the contract provisions on ownership and use of results.

Contact and Submission Information

The official portal for this tender is the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/tender-details/8c0962e2-79dc-4cff-af7b-701a01d62483-CN. All procurement documents are available for download from this link.

Questions must be submitted in writing through the F&T Portal by clicking 'Create a question' in the Questions & Answers section. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to requests for additional information received less than six working days before the deadline for receipt of tenders. Requests for clarification must be made before 3 June 2026 at 23:59 Dublin time.

For technical issues with eSubmission, contact the eSubmission Helpdesk. For general enquiries, contact Eurofound at ef-procurement@eurofound.europa.eu. Representatives attending the public opening session must provide full name, date of birth, nationality, and ID or passport number at least two working days in advance to ef-procurement@eurofound.europa.eu.

Key Recommendations for Applicants

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the eSubmission system and system requirements well in advance of the submission deadline. The supported browsers are the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. File types, size of attachments, and other system requirements are specified in the system requirements documentation. Maximum file size per attachment is 50 MB, and maximum number of documents per tender is 200 files.

Applicants should ensure they have a valid EU Login account with 2-factor authentication activated (required as of 30 June 2026). They should register their organisation in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC if not already registered. All members of a joint tender must be separately registered with their own PICs.

Applicants should carefully review all procurement documents, including the Invitation Letter (Part A), Tender Specifications (Part B), Standard Reply Form (Part C), Draft Service Contract (Part D), and Participant Consent Form (Part E). The tender specifications contain detailed requirements for research design, team composition, data protection, and deliverables that must be fully addressed in proposals.

Applicants should demonstrate clear evidence of experience with multi-country qualitative fieldwork, firm-level research, and AI-related topics. They should provide concrete examples of previous projects meeting the minimum value and scope requirements. They should clearly articulate their strategy for identifying and engaging firms across the required countries and sectors, including evidence of existing networks or credible plans to establish access.

Applicants should ensure their financial proposals are realistic, fully costed, and clearly broken down according to the cost table template provided. They should avoid abnormally low bids that may raise questions about compliance with labour and environmental standards. They should ensure all team members have appropriate qualifications and experience as specified, with CVs provided in Europass format where possible.

Applicants should ensure full compliance with data protection requirements, including confirmation that all personal data processing will occur exclusively within the EU or EEA. They should confirm their organisation's capacity to implement the required technical and organisational security measures. They should ensure understanding of AI Act compliance requirements if any AI systems will be used in service delivery.

Footnotes

1. 1The budget allocation is indicative and establishes proportionate value among outputs for the purpose of objective reductions in payment where outputs are not delivered or accepted in accordance with requirements. Each case study is valued at approximately 1/24 of the 80 percent allocation attributed to case studies, without prejudging how the contractor may differentiate costs across countries or allocate resources to interim tasks.
2. 2The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) concluded within the World Trade Organisation does not apply to Eurofound. Therefore, participation is not open to natural and legal persons established in countries that have ratified this Agreement. Participation is open to all natural and legal persons falling within the scope of the EU Treaties and to international organisations, as well as to natural and legal persons established in third countries with special agreements with the Union in public procurement.
3. 3Data protection minimum requirements include technical capability for pseudonymisation and encryption, security measures for confidentiality and integrity, technical measures for restoring availability, internal processes for data erasure, control measures preventing retention beyond necessary periods, processes for notifying Eurofound of data breaches, regular testing and assessment of security measures, safeguards against accidental or unlawful destruction or loss, and maintenance of records of all processing operations. Critically, personal data localisation must be exclusively within EU or EEA territory.