International Cooperation Facility 2026

The European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA) is procuring the International Cooperation Facility 2026, a fee-based services contract to provide technical assistance and Team Europe coordination in Ghana with an estimated total value of €2 million and a maximum duration of 36 months. The procedure is a restricted tender managed via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with a deadline for requests to participate of 16 November 2026 at 10:00 Africa/Accra time and shortlisting of 4–8 candidates. Minimum selection criteria include an average annual turnover of at least €1 million over the last three closed financial years, an average of at least 7 relevant personnel over the current and previous two years, and completion of at least 3 contracts worth at least €800,000 each in the last four years. Award will be on the best price-quality ratio (indicative quality weighting 80% and price weighting 20%) and bidders must submit the prescribed request to participate and declaration on honour via the portal.

What the contract funds

Scope and outputs

Technical and coordination services to strengthen EU‑Ghana partnership under the Global Gateway strategy. Output 1: technical support for identification, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of EU‑funded projects, Team Europe initiatives and Global Gateway investments, including mainstreaming of gender equality, disability inclusion, human rights and climate. Output 2: enhanced Team Europe coordination, secretariat support, analytical/mapping and programming assistance.

Who can apply

Eligible natural and legal persons and consortia, including international organisations, that meet PRAG/NDICI rules of origin and eligibility. Sub-contracting allowed; short-listing will invite 4 to 8 candidates to tender.

Key selection and capacity thresholds

Provisional start date of the contract 01/07/2027. Requests to participate and clarifications must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal; see the invitation to submit a request to participate for full procurement documents Invitation to submit a request to participate 1.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents, selection criteria details, templates and the additional information contract notice (Invitation to submit a request to participate) are available from the opportunity page on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Opportunity summary

This is a restricted tender launched by the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA) to establish a 36-month fee-based service contract (framework agreement) titled International Cooperation Facility 2026. The objective is to strengthen the partnership between the European Union and Ghana by increasing awareness and effectiveness of EU cooperation, with a special focus on the Global Gateway strategy. The contract will deliver technical assistance for project identification, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, mainstreaming of gender and other cross-cutting issues, and Team Europe coordination and secretariat support.

Main expected outputs and tasks

The contract is structured around two principal outputs with specific tasks under each.

Who can apply and eligibility

Participation is open to all eligible natural and legal persons and groupings (consortia) including international organisations under the legal basis of Regulation (EU) No 2021/947 (NDICI Global Europe). Candidates from entities subject to EU restrictive measures at award cannot be awarded the contract. Sub-contracting is allowed. A consortium may be permanent or formed for this procedure; all members are jointly and severally liable.

Procurement procedure and submission

Selection and award criteria

Selection is based on economic and financial capacity, professional capacity and technical capacity. Award is on best price-quality ratio with quality and price weighting to be found in the procurement documents.

If more than 8 candidates meet the selection criteria, additional comparative ranking criteria will be applied in order: highest number of relevant completed contracts, then highest cumulated value of relevant completed services.

Application details and templates

Requests to participate must be submitted using the official request to participate form available from the Annexes page referenced in the procurement documentation. The declaration on honour on exclusion and selection criteria must be provided using the provided template. Candidates must register in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC. Group submissions for consortia require PICs for each member.

Administrative and practical conditions

Only one request to participate or tender may be submitted by any natural or legal person (including as member/leader of a consortium). Requests to participate submitted after the deadline will be rejected. Candidates can withdraw or replace their request to participate before the deadline. Candidates included in EU restrictive measures lists at the award decision time cannot be awarded the contract. Currency for financial data is EUR; conversions should use InforEuro exchange rate of November 2026 if needed.

Evaluation stages and competition

Geographic scope, target sectors and project maturity

Technical and experience requirements (detailed)

Technical capacity requirement specifies at least three past contracts in the last four years, each valued at or above €800,000, covering relevant domains (technical assistance for project design/implementation, institutional/regulatory strengthening; strategic, sector and political economy analysis; project and investment identification, prioritisation and pre-feasibility support; Team Europe Initiatives coordination/support). Professional capacity requires an average of at least seven relevant specialists engaged during the current and previous two years. Economic capacity requires average annual turnover of at least €1,000,000 over the last three closed financial years.

Other notable procurement details

For full procedural, legal, template and technical submission requirements consult the procurement documents and the Additional Information to the Contract Notice linked below Additional information to the contract notice 1.

Categorisation and structured answers

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement document a5f additional information contract notice final clean (Invitation to submit a request to participate), published 13/10/2026, provides full details, templates, selection and award criteria and administrative instructions. Access via the F&T Portal opportunity page or direct link above.

Executive Summary

International Cooperation Facility 2026 is a fee-based European Commission service procurement procedure supporting the EU Ghana partnership. The contract is intended to improve the identification, preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of EU-funded projects, Team Europe initiatives and Global Gateway investments in Ghana, while strengthening coordination among Team Europe actors.

This is not a grant scheme. Applicants compete to become the service contractor, and the successful contractor will be paid for professional services delivered under a contract with the European Commission, Directorate-General for International Partnerships. The estimated total contract value is €2 million, with a maximum implementation period of 36 months.

The authoritative opportunity record is available through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal and the related contract notice document.

Opportunity Identification

Contract Scope

The contractor will provide advisory, analytical, project preparation, implementation support and coordination services connected with EU cooperation in Ghana. The work is structured around two principal outputs.

Output 1: Technical support

The contractor will support the identification, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of EU-funded projects, Team Europe initiatives and Global Gateway investments. Expected activities include:

Output 2: Team Europe coordination

The contractor will help improve coherence, complementarity and synergies among Team Europe actors. Expected activities include:

Financial and Contract Parameters

The principal financial and operational parameters are as follows.

The €2 million figure is an estimated overall contract value rather than a grant allocation or guaranteed amount payable automatically to an applicant. The final financial offer, pricing structure, budget assumptions, payment arrangements and any applicable ceiling must be confirmed in the detailed tender documents issued to shortlisted candidates.

Eligibility and Applicants

Participation is open to eligible natural persons, legal persons, groupings of such persons and international organisations, subject to the nationality, eligibility and rules of origin requirements under the applicable NDICI Global Europe and EU external action procurement rules.

Consortia are permitted. A consortium may be a permanent legally established grouping or an informal grouping formed for this procurement. All consortium members, including the leader and other members, are jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority.

Applicants should verify their eligibility against the full procurement documents and the Practical Guide rules. An ineligible participant can cause exclusion of the participant and, where included in a consortium, exclusion of the entire consortium.

A natural or legal person may submit no more than one request to participate or tender, whether acting alone or as the leader or member of a consortium. An entity participating in more than one submission can cause all affected submissions to be excluded.

Subcontracting is allowed. Applicants relying on capacity-providing entities must provide evidence that the necessary resources will be available and must ensure that those entities satisfy the relevant eligibility requirements. For technical and professional capacity, the capacity-providing entity must perform the tasks for which its capacity is relied upon. For economic and financial capacity, the relevant entity becomes jointly and severally liable for contract performance.

Minimum Selection Criteria

Applicants must satisfy economic and financial, professional and technical capacity requirements. For consortia, the criteria generally apply to the consortium as a whole unless the procurement documents specify otherwise.

For partially implemented contracts, only the part completed during the relevant reference period will be considered. Applicants must support the claimed value and work performed with documentary evidence, such as approved reports or deliverables, proof of payment, or a certificate or statement from the contracting entity.

Where experience was delivered through a consortium, the applicant must clearly demonstrate its own share of the work, the value of the services performed and the nature of the services delivered. Consortium agreements, payment records and contracting authority confirmations may be needed to substantiate the reference.

Shortlisting and Comparative Ranking

Between 4 and 8 candidates will normally be shortlisted for the tender stage. If more than 8 eligible candidates satisfy the minimum selection criteria, the contracting authority will rank them using additional comparative criteria.

The first comparative criterion is the highest number of contracts meeting the technical capacity requirement. If candidates remain tied for the final shortlist position, the second comparative criterion is the highest cumulative value of completed services under qualifying contracts.

Shortlisted candidates may not change their composition, form alliances with other shortlisted candidates or subcontract to another shortlisted candidate for this contract unless the contracting authority provides prior authorisation. Applicants should therefore choose consortium members and key subcontractors carefully before submitting the request to participate.

Award Method

The contract will be awarded using the best price-quality ratio. The available procurement data indicates an 80 percent quality weighting and a 20 percent price weighting, although the definitive scoring methodology, subcriteria and minimum technical thresholds must be taken from the tender dossier provided to shortlisted candidates.

The high quality weighting means that relevant experience alone will not be sufficient at tender stage. Shortlisted candidates should be prepared to demonstrate a credible methodology, strong technical team, Ghana delivery arrangements, effective coordination systems, risk management, quality assurance, gender and inclusion mainstreaming, climate responsiveness and a clear understanding of Global Gateway implementation challenges.

Deadlines and Timetable

The opportunity metadata contains an additional date of 1 January 2026, but the authoritative tender record and additional information document identify 16 November 2026 at 10:00 Africa Accra time as the deadline for requests to participate. Applicants should rely on the live Funding and Tenders Portal record and any subsequent corrigendum or notice for the operative deadline.

Submission Requirements and Process

Requests to participate must be submitted exclusively through the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal. Submissions by email, post or other channels will be disregarded.

Applicants need an EU Login account and must register in the European Commission Participant Register. Each organisation receives a 9 digit Participant Identification Code, known as a PIC. Each consortium member must be registered, and a group submission must be created for a consortium.

The request to participate must use the prescribed request to participate form and must be accompanied by the required declaration on honour covering exclusion and selection criteria. The procurement document specifies that additional unsolicited material, such as brochures or letters, will not be taken into consideration.

The expected upload structure is as follows:

All written communications for the procedure and contract must be in English. Financial information must be expressed in EUR. Where historical amounts are stated in another currency, the procurement document requires conversion using the InforEuro exchange rate for November 2026.

Clarification questions must be submitted in writing through the Funding and Tenders Portal. Questions may be submitted no later than 21 days before the participation deadline, and the contracting authority is expected to publish clarifications no later than 8 days before that deadline. Applicants remain responsible for monitoring the portal for updates, amendments and new questions and answers.

The electronic submission receipt, including its official timestamp, is the evidence of timely submission. Applicants should submit well before the deadline and retain the receipt. Draft submissions can generally be edited or replaced before the deadline, subject to the portal rules.

Exclusion and Compliance Considerations

Applicants must submit the required signed declarations confirming that they are not in any exclusion situation under the applicable Practical Guide provisions. The same declaration is required from capacity-providing entities and relevant subcontractors where requested by the procurement documents.

Entities subject to applicable EU restrictive measures at the time of the award decision cannot be awarded the contract. Applicants should conduct sanctions, ownership, control, conflict of interest and integrity checks across consortium members, capacity providers and subcontractors.

Applicants should not rely on experience from a contract that was terminated by a contracting authority following a breach, as such experience cannot be used for the selection criteria.

Applicant Fit and Competitive Position

The opportunity is best suited to an established international development consultancy, project management consultancy, public policy advisory firm, engineering or investment advisory organisation, or consortium with a strong Ghanaian delivery presence and experience in EU external action.

A strong candidate would normally combine the following capabilities:

Potential consortium structures could combine an international lead with a Ghanaian consulting or research organisation, a specialist investment or infrastructure adviser, a gender and social inclusion specialist, a climate specialist and experts in public sector or regulatory reform. The consortium must ensure that each member's role and contribution can be evidenced and that joint and several liability is understood.

Recommended Preparation Strategy

Key Risks and Points Requiring Verification

The tender record describes the estimated value and maximum duration, but the definitive payment mechanism, budget breakdown, staff input assumptions, reimbursable costs, contractual conditions, performance indicators, liability provisions and detailed tender scoring must be verified in the full tender dossier when available.

The opportunity is a restricted procedure. Submission of a request to participate does not constitute a tender and does not guarantee an invitation to the second stage. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit detailed technical and financial tenders.

The selection thresholds are minimum requirements. Where more than 8 candidates qualify, the number and cumulative value of qualifying contracts may determine whether an otherwise eligible applicant reaches the shortlist.

The provisional invitation date of 15 November 2026 appears earlier than the participation deadline of 16 November 2026. This inconsistency should be treated as provisional timetable information and checked against any updated notice or portal communication. The participation deadline remains the operative date stated in the tender record unless formally amended.

The programme field is labelled Neighbourhood in the portal data, while the substantive legal basis and geographic purpose concern Ghana under NDICI Global Europe. Applicants should use the contract notice and procurement dossier as the controlling documents where portal classification fields appear generic or inconsistent.

Overall Assessment

This is a substantial strategic advisory and technical assistance procurement rather than a conventional funding opportunity. It offers a potential €2 million, 36 month services contract for an organisation able to combine high-level policy analysis, project and investment preparation, implementation support and Team Europe coordination in Ghana.

The principal barriers to entry are the €1 million average turnover requirement, the minimum team capacity of 7 relevant personnel, the requirement for at least 3 qualifying contracts of at least €800,000 each, the restricted procedure and the likely competition for a maximum of 8 shortlist places.

Applicants with the strongest prospects will be those that can provide well documented comparable references, credible Ghana-based implementation capacity, a multidisciplinary team, clear experience with EU or donor coordination and a technically strong approach to Global Gateway investment preparation and cross-cutting policy requirements.

Official Sources

The official Funding and Tenders Portal record should be treated as the primary source for the live status, submission mechanism, documents, updates and questions and answers: International Cooperation Facility 2026.

The additional information about the contract notice, including eligibility, selection criteria, shortlisting, submission requirements and provisional timetable, is available here: Additional information about the Contract Notice.