Investigating the role of agro-dealers and service providers in supporting the agroecological transition among smallholders in West Kenya

Planned EU procurement by the European Commission DG JRC under procedure EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/MVP/4620-EXA to commission mixed-methods field data collection on agro-dealers and agroecological service providers in West Kenya. The scope includes designing and implementing structured surveys, mystery shopping, in-depth and semi-structured interviews, recruiting and supervising enumerators, and delivering cleaned quantitative and qualitative datasets. Expression of interest is electronic via the Funding and Tenders Portal from 08/09/2026 to 24/09/2026 with the negotiated procedure indicative launch on 28/09/2026, the maximum contract duration is 12 months and the contract value is not published. Suitable bidders are consultancies, research organisations or field survey providers with proven mixed-methods experience and operational capacity in Kenya.

Summary

What the contract funds

A services contract to design and implement a mixed-methods data collection campaign (structured surveys, mystery shopping, in-depth and semi-structured interviews) among agro-dealers, agroecological service providers, smallholder farmers and KCEP-CRAL/BOOST stakeholders in West Kenya to study private market actors' role in the agroecological transition.

Who can apply:Consultancies, research organisations or service providers with demonstrated experience in field data collection in Kenya (quantitative and qualitative), enumerator recruitment and training, survey management and data cleaning; bidders must be able to operate under the European Commission procurement rules and submit electronically via EU Login.

1. 1Contracting authority: European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre
2. 2Procedure: planned negotiated procedure for low or middle value contract (EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/MVP/4620-EXA)
3. 3Contract nature: services (CPV main 73000000; additional 73110000, 72314000)
4. 4Maximum duration: 12 months
5. 5Core deliverables: survey and interview instruments, trained/supervised enumerators, cleaned datasets

Estimated total value:not specified in the public notice. This posting announces the intent to launch a future negotiated procedure; full tender documents and contract value will be published at tender launch. Apply or follow updates via the Funding and Tenders Portal EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Administrative and procurement basics

Identifiers, authority and classification

Procedure identifier:EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/MVP/4620-EXA. Lead contracting authority: European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre. Procedure type: Planned negotiated procedure for a middle/low value contract (publication announcing intent to launch a future negotiated low or middle value procedure). Main CPV classification: 73000000 Research and development services and related consultancy services. Additional CPV codes referenced: 72314000, 73110000. Nature of contract: services. Maximum contract duration: 12 MONTH.

Planned timeline:Start date for expression of interest: 08/09/2026 Europe/Brussels. Deadline for expression of interest: 24/09/2026 00:59 Europe/Madrid. Indicative date of launch of the negotiated procedure: 28/09/2026 Europe/Madrid. Expression of interest submissions must be electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal using an EU Login account. The planned procurement publication date shown: 08/09/2026 ¹.

Scope, objectives and required services

Overall objective:To contribute to a data collection campaign for a JRC project investigating how private market actors (agro-dealers and agroecological service providers, ASPs) can support the agroecological transition among smallholder farmers in West Kenya. The project will use the private market engagement under the EU-funded KCEP-CRAL/BOOST project as a case study and aims to inform EU policy and the Global Gateway agenda for agrifood supply chains.

Contractor responsibilities:design and implement a multi-instrument data collection campaign; develop instruments; select, train and supervise enumerators for structured surveys; conduct or oversee mystery shopping exercises; conduct in-depth and semi-structured interviews; manage fieldwork logistics and quality assurance; deliver cleaned quantitative survey datasets and qualitative interview data (transcripts/cleaned files); coordinate with project stakeholders and JRC project leads; ensure data security and appropriate metadata and documentation for reuse.

1. 1Data collection types required: structured surveys, mystery shopping exercises, in-depth interviews, semi-structured interviews.
2. 2Target respondents and actors: agro-dealers, agroecological service providers (ASPs), smallholder farmers, and stakeholders involved in the KCEP-CRAL/BOOST project.
3. 3Deliverables expected: survey instruments and enumerator manuals, trained enumerators, supervised fieldwork, cleaned survey data sets, cleaned interview data (transcripts and/or coded files), fieldwork reports and metadata.

Eligibility, contracting and application mechanics

This is a procurement/tender (service contract) issued by the European Commission (DG JRC). The publication is an intent notice for a planned negotiated procedure (ExA reference indicates a future low or middle value negotiated procurement). Bidders must follow the Funding & Tenders Portal / EU Login electronic submission requirements for expressions of interest and later tender documents. Submissions for the expression of interest are electronic and require an EU Login account. The EXA registration deadline is shown as 23/09/2026 23:59:59 Europe/Madrid.

Eligible Applicant Types:As a public procurement for services, eligible applicants are legal entities capable of contracting with the European Commission. Typical eligible applicant types include consultancies, research organisations, universities, research institutes, NGOs, nonprofit organisations, market research firms, specialised field data collection providers, consortia of the above, and potentially SMEs or large enterprises. Individuals alone are unlikely to be suitable unless legally established as contracting entities and able to meet procurement conditions.

Funding Type:Primary financial mechanism: procurement/service contract (payment for services). This is not a grant, loan or equity instrument.

Consortium Requirement:The procurement text does not explicitly require a consortium. The nature of the work (multi-method fieldwork across actors and locations) implies that a single contractor with capacity or a consortium/consortium-like team is acceptable and possibly advantageous. The negotiated procedure typically allows for a contracting entity that can present subcontractors or partner organisations; however, the specific tender notice when launched will define whether consortia are mandatory or optional.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The contracting authority is the European Commission (EU). The work is field-based in West Kenya. Procurement is open to entities capable of contracting under EU procurement rules; there is no explicit restriction to EU-only bidders in the published intent notice. Therefore likely eligible: entities established in the EU, EEA, associated countries and potentially international providers able to enter into contract with the EC. The final tender documents will specify exact nationality/establishment rules and exclusion grounds.

Target Sector:Primary thematic sectors: agriculture, agroecology, agrifood systems. Secondary sectors: research and evaluation, market systems development, rural development, international development, and data collection/market research.

Mentioned Countries:Explicitly mentioned: Kenya (West Kenya as field location). Contracting authority location: European Commission (EU).

Project Stage:Expected project maturity: data collection / field implementation stage focused on empirical evidence gathering. The work sits at research implementation (data collection), with outputs feeding analysis and policy recommendations (so research -> validation stages).

Funding Amount:Estimated total value: Not specified in the published intent notice. The publication is an ExA notice (intent to launch a low or middle value negotiated procedure), which implies a contract in the low to middle procurement value range defined in EU rules, but no precise monetary amount is given in the scraped content.

Application Type:Method: expression of interest followed by a negotiated procurement. Initial submissions: electronic expression of interest via the Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required). After the expression of interest period, a negotiated procedure will be launched (indicative date provided).

Nature of Support:Support modality: financial remuneration through a service contract (money paid to contractor in return for deliverables). The contract procures services rather than providing grants or in-kind support.

Application Stages:Minimum stages indicated: 2. Stage 1: expression of interest (electronic submission). Stage 2: negotiated procedure (invitation to tender or negotiation and award). The negotiated procedure may include additional evaluation phases, clarification rounds or interviews (effectively 2 to 3 stages depending on contracting authority process).

Success Rates:Not provided. As a negotiated procurement for a single contract the success rate depends on number of bidders invited to negotiate and the contracting authority selection process. No statistical success rate data is included in the notice.

Co-funding Requirement:Not applicable. This is a public procurement for services; the contractor will be remunerated under contract terms. No co-funding or matching contribution by the bidder is stated in the intent notice.

Technical and operational expectations

Required technical expertise and capacities (detailed and expanded from tender description):

1. 1Proven experience in mixed-methods field data collection in agricultural/rural contexts, including structured surveys and qualitative interviewing.
2. 2Experience conducting mystery shopping or observational retail assessments in agro-input or service markets.
3. 3Capacity to design survey instruments, sampling frames and enumerator manuals appropriate for smallholder contexts and agro-dealer/ASP actors.
4. 4Ability to recruit, train and supervise enumerators in West Kenya (language skills, local knowledge and security/ethics compliance).
5. 5Robust data cleaning, data management and anonymisation procedures and delivery of datasets in standard formats (e.g., CSV, Stata, SPSS, or other specified formats) with codebooks and metadata.
6. 6Qualitative data handling: recording, transcription in relevant languages, translation if required, and provision of cleaned interview transcripts and thematic coding outputs where requested.
7. 7Logistical and health/safety management for fieldwork, and compliance with ethical standards for human subjects research and data protection (GDPR considerations where applicable for EU contracting).
8. 8Project management skills to coordinate with JRC project team and KCEP-CRAL/BOOST stakeholders and to deliver on schedule within a 12-month maximum contract period.

Technical deliverables likely expected in tender stage (to be confirmed in final tender documents): detailed fieldwork plan and timeline; sampling strategy and sample size targets; survey instruments and interview guides; enumerator training materials; daily supervision reports; raw and cleaned datasets; data codebooks and metadata; qualitative transcripts and analytic memos; final fieldwork and data quality report; financial and administrative reports as per contract.

Submission and formality guidance

How to express interest and prepare:Interested entities must register and use an EU Login account to submit the expression of interest on the Funding & Tenders Portal. The planned publication is an ExA notice and the official tender documents will be published at the time of launch of the negotiated procedure (indicative 28/09/2026). Ensure organisational eligibility, legal registration details, capacity statements, references for similar work (mixed-methods agrifood market research), and proposed team CVs are prepared. The Funding & Tenders Portal provides eForms and access tools; the notice references the portal and eSubmission (ESUBMISSION).

Templates and application form structure:The ExA notice does not include full tender templates. Standard negotiated procedure tender documentation from the Funding & Tenders Portal typically includes: 1) Invitation/contract notice; 2) Instructions to tenderers; 3) Technical specifications/terms of reference; 4) Draft contract and special conditions; 5) Selection and award criteria including scoring tables; 6) Financial offer forms and breakdowns; 7) Mandatory administrative forms (legal entity form, registration, declarations on exclusion and selection criteria). When the negotiated procedure is launched, bidders should expect to complete eForms and upload supporting documents (team CVs, past performance references, technical proposal, workplan, budget and price breakdown).

Risk, compliance and contract management points

Points bidders must anticipate and plan for:data protection and ethical approvals; security and health protocols for field teams in rural Kenya; translation and local language requirements; contingency planning for access issues to remote areas; quality control and spot-checking protocols; clear ownership and licensing of datasets produced under contract; subcontracting arrangements and subcontractor management; compliance with EU procurement and contracting conditions; insurance and liability coverage for field operations.

CPV codes and procurement metadata

How to evaluate fit and readiness

Recommended pre-bid checks and preparation:confirm organisational legal status and ability to sign EU contracts; assemble team CVs showing fieldwork in Kenya or similar contexts; secure local partnerships or Kenyan-registered subcontractors or enumerator providers; prepare template methodologies for mixed-methods data collection, quality assurance and data management plans; prepare references and examples of past datasets delivered; ensure financial and managerial capacity to deliver within 12 months; verify insurance and travel/logistics readiness for West Kenya operations.

Summary

This is a planned JRC procurement for services to implement a mixed-methods field data collection campaign in West Kenya focused on the role of agro-dealers and agroecological service providers in supporting smallholder agroecological transitions. It is an expression-of-interest/negotiated procurement (ExA notice) published by the European Commission, DG JRC. The contractor will design and run structured surveys, mystery shopping, and qualitative interviews; recruit and manage enumerators; and deliver cleaned quantitative and qualitative datasets and related documentation within a delivered contract period of up to 12 months. The procurement is service-based and remunerated under a contract; the exact contract value is not disclosed in the notice. Interested parties must submit an electronic expression of interest via the Funding & Tenders Portal using an EU Login account within the dates published and prepare to respond to the full negotiated tender when launched. This work directly supports EU policy objectives on sustainable agriculture, food systems in Africa and the Global Gateway agenda, and requires demonstrated mixed-methods research capacity, local fieldwork experience in Kenya, robust data management practices, and capacity to manage enumerator teams and field logistics.

Source and reference:official Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page for procedure EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/MVP/4620-EXA (publication date 03/10/2024 with planned dates in September 2026 for the expression of interest and procedure launch). Find the notice on the Funding & Tenders Portal ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full opportunity page and official details are published on the European Commission Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

This is a planned EU procurement notice, not an open call for tenders yet. The European Commission, DG JRC, intends to launch a future negotiated low or middle value service contract for data collection support on agro-dealers and agroecological service providers in West Kenya, under procedure identifier EC-JRC/SVQ/2026/MVP/4620-EXA.

What the Contract Is About

The contract supports a data collection campaign for a project examining how private market actors, especially agro-dealers and agroecological service providers, strengthen the agroecological transition among smallholder farmers in West Kenya. The work builds on private market engagement under the EU funded KCEP-CRAL/BOOST project as a case study and is intended to support the Commission’s wider objectives on sustainable agriculture, food systems in Africa, and the Global Gateway agenda for agrifood supply chains.

The contractor is expected to design and implement the field data collection, select, train and supervise enumerators for survey work, and deliver cleaned survey and interview datasets. The planned methodology includes structured surveys, a mystery shopping exercise, in-depth interviews and semi structured interviews.

Who Can Apply

The notice does not publish a detailed eligibility list, but the scope clearly indicates a need for suppliers with proven capacity in mixed methods research, field survey management, qualitative interviewing, enumerator coordination, and data cleaning. Suitable bidders would typically be consultancies, research firms, survey implementers, universities, policy research contractors, or local and international entities with strong field operations in Kenya and relevant agricultural research expertise.

• Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection in rural or agricultural settings
• Capacity to recruit, train and supervise enumerators
• Ability to manage surveys, interviews and mystery shopping exercises
• Local implementation knowledge in West Kenya or comparable contexts
• Ability to deliver cleaned, usable datasets within a 12 month service period

Key Commercial and Procedural Points

This is an intention notice announcing a future negotiated procedure, so there is currently no full tender dossier in the public notice and no competition stage launched yet. The first step is an electronic expression of interest through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal, and an EU Login account is required for submission.

1. 1Expression of interest opens on 08/09/2026
2. 2Expression of interest closes on 24/09/2026 at 00:59 Europe/Madrid
3. 3The negotiated procedure is expected to launch on 28/09/2026
4. 4Maximum contract duration is 12 months
5. 5The contract is for services, not a grant, so no funding rate applies
6. 6The notice does not state a contract value in the available text

What Applicants Will Want to Know

Applicants should note that the assignment is likely to require rapid operational readiness, practical field supervision, and the ability to produce high quality cleaned data across multiple respondent groups. Because the work includes both quantitative and qualitative instruments, bidders should be prepared to demonstrate rigorous sampling, enumerator control, survey quality assurance, confidentiality safeguards, and experience working with smallholder and agro input market actors.

The notice refers to a future negotiated low or middle value procedure, which usually means the Commission will invite selected candidates after the expression of interest stage rather than launching a standard open tender. Interested organisations should monitor the portal closely for the formal procurement documents and invitation to participate. Official notice: EU Funding and Tenders Portal

Practical Assessment

This opportunity is best suited to organisations that can execute specialist agricultural field research in Kenya, manage enumerator teams, and deliver reliable datasets for policy and project analysis. It is less suitable for firms without strong survey operations, local field coordination capacity, or experience handling mixed method data collection in rural development contexts.