OHD/260917 - Scientific and technical support to antimicrobial resistance surveillance

ECDC has published an open procurement for a single framework service contract to provide scientific and technical support to EARS-Net and related antimicrobial resistance surveillance activities, including data collection, validation, statistical scripting and routine and targeted analyses. The framework contract ceiling is €288,000 for a maximum duration of up to 48 months (initial 24 months renewable twice) and will be awarded on the best price-quality ratio with quality weighted 60 percent and price 40 percent; the deadline for receipt of tenders is 26 October 2026 16:00 Europe/Stockholm. Eligible economic operators established in EU Member States, EEA states or countries with procurement access may submit electronic tenders via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and must comply with the tender specifications, draft framework contract and Annex 6 financial templates.

What it funds

Scope in one line

Framework service contract to provide technical and scientific support for EARS-Net and related AMR activities, including data collection, validation, statistical scripting (STATA/R), epidemiological analyses, routine and targeted outputs, meeting support and ad hoc expert services.

Estimated budget:Total estimated value €288,000 for the framework (ceiling). Maximum framework duration 48 months; initial period 24 months with two 12-month renewals possible ¹.

1. 1Contract type: single framework contract (services), no re-opening of competition
2. 2Award method: best price-quality ratio (Price 40 %, Quality 60 %)
3. 3Place of performance: contractor premises and ECDC-designated locations (ECDC, Solna, Sweden)

Who can apply

Open procedure:economic operators established in EU/EEA or countries with equivalent procurement access may tender; sole tenderers or joint tenders allowed; subcontracting permitted (identified subcontractors >20% must be declared).

Key eligibility / selection highlights:Minimum financial capacity: average annual turnover over last 3 years above €60,000. Technical capacity: at least 10 years of similar projects, experience with EARS-Net multi-country analysis and STATA (v17+) and evidence of English (C1) report drafting.

Deadlines & submission

Deadline for receipt of tenders (official):26 October 2026 16:00:59 Europe/Stockholm. Submission method: electronic only via eSubmission on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Contract public opening: 28 October 2026. ¹

1. 1Registration: Participant Register / PIC required; EU Login account required for eSubmission
2. 2Questions: submit via F&T Portal Q&A; CA not bound to reply to questions submitted after 16/10/2026 23:59 Europe/Stockholm

Tender documents, draft FWC, financial model and specifications are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal: ECDC Tender page ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full procurement documents, annexes and submission link are on the Funding & Tenders Portal (see ECDC tender page).

Opportunity summary

Procurement type:Open procedure for a single framework service contract (FWC) to provide technical and scientific support to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) and related antimicrobial resistance (AMR) activities. Purchases will be made through specific contracts/orders under the FWC. The estimated maximum overall value of the framework contract ceiling is €288 000 for the maximum FWC duration of up to 48 months. The award method is best price-quality ratio. Submissions are electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system F&T Portal - tender details. ¹

Purpose and scope

Purpose:Provide ECDC with technical and scientific support to the development and coordination of EARS-Net and related AMR activities and to provide scientific and technical advice required to conduct state-of-the-art analysis of AMR data collected from EU/EEA countries. Core outputs include development and revision of reporting protocols and metadata, data collection tools and validation scripts, analysis plans and analysis scripts (STATA v17 minimum; R optional), routine and targeted analyses, routine surveillance outputs and draft manuscripts, meeting-related deliverables and ad hoc expert services (daily rates).

Key administrative dates and modalities

Submission method:Electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission application (EU Login and Participant Register / PIC required). Deadline for receipt of tenders: 26 October 2026, 16:00 Europe/Stockholm (CET/CEST as per portal). Public opening session: 28 October 2026, 14:00 Europe/Stockholm (virtual opening; max two representatives per tender may attend). Contract form: single framework contract concluded with one contractor, initial period 24 months, renewable twice (total up to 48 months).

Estimated total value:€288 000 (framework contract ceiling, inclusive of all specific contracts and contingency).

Who should apply / Eligible applicant types

Eligible applicants:Any economic operator established in EU Member States, EEA states or other countries with a relevant public procurement agreement with the EU, and international organisations where applicable. Tenderers can apply as a single legal entity or as a joint tender (group of economic operators). Subcontracting is permitted; identified subcontractors whose share exceeds 20% or whose capacities are relied upon for selection must be declared and provide commitment letters. Examples of eligible applicant types: SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, nonprofit organisations, public health consultancies, individual experts (via legal entity), public-private partnerships, NGOs. The call explicitly expects expertise from organisations with proven AMR surveillance, data management, epidemiology and statistical analysis capacity.

Funding type and nature

Funding type:Procurement (service contract) awarded through a framework agreement. The contracting authority will pay the successful contractor(s) for services provided under specific contracts. Nature of support to beneficiaries: monetary remuneration for contracted services (payment of invoices).

Consortium requirement

Consortium:Not required. Single tenderer or group (joint tender) allowed. If joint tender, group members must sign an Agreement/Power of Attorney and appoint a group leader. Joint tender members are jointly and severally liable. Subcontracting allowed but identified subcontractors must be listed and provide commitment letters.

Geographic eligibility / Beneficiary scope

Geographic eligibility:EU Member States and EEA countries are explicitly in scope; participation is open to entities established in the EU/EEA and third countries with procurement access (e.g. Stabilisation and Association Agreement countries) in line with the contract notice. Place of performance: contractor premises and locations specified in specific contracts; ECDC is based in Solna, Stockholm County, Sweden (contracting authority location).

Mentioned countries / locations:Sweden (ECDC headquarters: Gustav III:s Boulevard 40, 169 73 Solna); EU/EEA countries as data providers and beneficiaries; applicant countries must comply with access-to-procurement rules. The TED / F&T publication is EU-wide. No specific non-EU countries are named in the procurement documents.

Target sectors and technical areas

Primary sector:health (public health surveillance). Thematic areas: antimicrobial resistance surveillance, epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance networks, infectious disease data management and analyses, bioinformatics for AMR metadata, statistical programming (STATA v17 minimum; R optional), publication and knowledge dissemination. Secondary related sectors: ICT for data validation and pipelines, training and meeting facilitation, scientific writing and open-access publishing.

Project stage and expected maturity

Required maturity:operational / advanced. The contracting authority seeks contractors with long-standing experience (minimum ten years) in AMR data management and analysis, demonstrated use of EARS-Net data for multi-country analysis, and proven statistical programming experience (STATA v17 minimum). The work includes ongoing surveillance maintenance, annual reporting, routine and targeted analyses, scripting, validation and publication — activities at development, validation and routine operational stages rather than early-stage research only.

Deliverables and core technical requirements (summary)

1. 1Work package 1: Management and administration (launch teleconference minutes, interim and final reports).
2. 2Work package 2: Technical support to data collection and validation (updated reporting protocol, revised metadata specifications, data collection tools, data validation scripts in STATA v17 and R).
3. 3Work package 3: Analyses (revised analysis plan, analysis scripts in STATA v17 and R, routine and targeted analysis results).
4. 4Work package 4: Production of outputs (routine surveillance outputs, draft manuscripts for peer-reviewed open-access publication, editorial/proofreading tasks).
5. 5Work package 5: Support to coordination, meetings and training (meeting materials, presentations, facilitation/moderation for physical and virtual meetings).
6. 6Work package 6: Ad hoc expert services (daily consultancy rates; estimated 20 days during FWC).

Quality requirements include publishable-standard English (C1 level), use of ECDC templates, documentation of scripts (with at least 15%–20% of script code commented as required), data handling compatible with EpiPulse/TESSy platforms, reproducible workflows, adherence to data protection rules and open access publication obligations. Use of generative AI must be declared and documented in deliverables where used.

Selection and award criteria (how bids are assessed)

Selection (minimum) criteria summary:legal and regulatory capacity; economic and financial capacity (average yearly turnover of last three years above €60 000); technical/professional capacity including at least ten years of relevant project experience, proven multi-country EARS-Net analysis experience, STATA v17 use, and recent demonstrated ability to draft surveillance reports in English (sample 10 pages from the last two years required).

Award criteria:Best price-quality ratio with weighting Price 40% and Quality 60%. Quality sub-criteria (total 100 points scaled to 60% weight): methodology (70 points; includes 50 for methods and 20 for risk mitigation), organisation of work and resources (18 points), quality control measures (7 points) and sustainability measures (5 points). Minimum thresholds: each major criterion must meet minimum scores (minimum 60% per criterion except sustainability) and overall minimum quality score of 70% to be considered.

Funding amount and financial model

Framework contract ceiling:€288 000 (estimated overall maximum contract amount). The financial model is provided as Annex 6 (Financial tender spreadsheet) and requires unit prices for a list of deliverables and a realistic purchase scenario. Tenderers must upload both the Financial tender and Financial evaluation sheets (pdf and native spreadsheet) as part of the submission. Prices must be in euro, free of VAT and any duties (ECDC VAT-exempt). A standard contingency of 10% is included in the financial evaluation model (tenderers may justify alternative contingency amounts).

Financial submission notes:All unit prices to be provided with two decimals in the Annex 6 Financial tender. Tenderers must prepare a reference price (single total price scenario) that does not exceed the FWC ceiling and represents a realistic purchase scenario for evaluation purposes. The reference price will be used in the award formula combining price and quality.

Application process and templates

How to apply:Register organisational data in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC. Build and submit the tender via the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission tool. Required application documents (Annex 1 lists full documentation): Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), Agreement/Power of Attorney for joint tenders (Annex 3), List of identified subcontractors (Annex 4), Commitment letters from identified subcontractors (Annex 5.1) and from entities whose capacities are relied upon (Annex 5.2), Business Partner form, CV templates, Annual Declaration of Interest, and Annex 6 Financial tender (spreadsheet). The draft Framework Service Contract is published as part of the procurement documents and must be read carefully because it governs contractual relations.

1. 1Annex I – Tender specifications (technical requirements, deliverables, quality standards).
2. 2Annex II – Draft contract and annexes (FWC terms, special/general conditions, specific contract model).
3. 3Annex 6 – Financial tender (spreadsheet: Financial tender and Financial evaluation sheets).
4. 4Annexes 1–5 – Administrative forms: list of documents to submit, Declaration on Honour, Agreement/Power of attorney (joint tenders), list of identified subcontractors, commitment letter models.

Templates and structure:The procurement provides required templates for financial offer (Annex 6), commitment letters, Declarations on Honour and a CV template. Financial tender structure requires entering unit prices for each named deliverable/deliverable type (e.g., minutes of launch teleconference, interim and final reports, updated protocols, metadata specs, scripts, routine and targeted analysis outputs, routine surveillance outputs, draft manuscripts, meeting preparation and facilitation, ad hoc daily expert rates). The financial evaluation sheet automatically multiplies unit prices by an evaluation scenario (pre-defined number of units per deliverable over the maximum contract duration) and adds contingency (default 10%) to produce the reference price for award evaluation. Tenderers must upload both sheets, and a pdf export, per instructions.

Application type, stages and evaluation process

Application type:Open call (competitive public tender). Submission is a single-stage eSubmission of the tender (technical and financial tenders uploaded). Post-submission evaluations include exclusion and selection checks and quality/price evaluation. The contracting authority may request clarifications or missing documents during evaluation. The presumed successful tenderer will be asked to provide supporting evidence for exclusion and selection criteria before contract award.

Application stages:1. Prepare organisational registration (PIC) and upload tender documents via eSubmission. 2. Administrative and exclusion/selection checks. 3. Quality (technical) and price evaluation. 4. Request for supporting evidence from the presumed winner. 5. Award and signature of the FWC followed by ordering of specific contracts. Overall: effectively a single formal submission stage followed by evaluation steps (count as 1 submission stage but 4 internal evaluation stages).

Success rates and competitiveness

Success rates:Not published in the procurement documents. As an open ECDC procurement with a single contract to be awarded, competition is expected to be moderate to high among specialist AMR surveillance consultancies, academic consortia and public health contractors. Exact historic success rates for this specific ECDC FWC type are not provided; procurement is awardable to one tenderer meeting selection and minimum quality thresholds and offering the most economically advantageous tender (price-quality).

Co-funding and consortium financial obligations

Co-funding requirement:None. This is a paid service contract: ECDC will pay for services under the financial terms of the FWC. Tenderers must price offers exclusive of VAT. No match funding from applicants is required. Financial guarantees (pre-financing/performance/retention) are not required in the standard FWC for this call unless specified in a specific contract; if requested, the rules for guarantees are detailed in the draft FWC and special conditions.

Additional important contractual and operational points

1. 1Language and quality: Deliverables must be in British English (C1) and of publishable quality; ECDC templates and visual guidelines to be used where indicated.
2. 2Statistical software: STATA (minimum v17) mandatory for scripts; R may be requested for supplementary scripts. Scripts must be documented and stored in formats agreed with ECDC with commented code (minimum % of code commented as specified).
3. 3Data platforms: Deliverables must be compatible with EpiPulse/TESSy metadata and data structures; contractor must ensure compatibility and reproducibility.
4. 4Publishing and open access: ECDC requires open access publication for manuscripts; open access fees must be covered by the contractor and included in the financial proposal.
5. 5Security and data protection: Compliance with ECDC security policies and EU data protection rules (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and GDPR as applicable). Personal data processing details in the draft contract annexes.
6. 6AI usage: If contractor uses generative AI in deliverables, this must be declared and documented in methods.

Practical submission tips drawn from procurement documents

1. 1Register early in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC to avoid last-minute issues.
2. 2Check eSubmission system requirements (supported browsers, file formats, attachment size limits) well in advance and test uploads.
3. 3Follow the Annex 6 financial template exactly: provide both Financial tender and Financial evaluation sheets (native and PDF) and ensure the reference price does not exceed the FWC ceiling.
4. 4Include sample publications and a 10-page surveillance report extract in English (as required by selection criterion T2).
5. 5Provide the Declaration on Honour and annexed administrative forms per Annex 1.
6. 6If relying on subcontractors or other entities to meet selection criteria, include Annex 4 and Annex 5.1 / 5.2 commitment letters.

Categorisation answers (concise structured)

• Eligible Applicant Types: startups, SMEs, large enterprises, universities, research institutes, nonprofit organisations, public health consultancies, NGOs, public-private partnerships, international organisations (entities established in EU/EEA or third countries with access to procurement).
• Funding Type: procurement/service contract (framework agreement) — monetary payments to contractor.
• Consortium Requirement: single tenderer or consortium/joint tender allowed; consortium not mandatory.
• Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): EU and EEA countries and third countries with procurement access (as per procurement rules); contracting authority located in Sweden.
• Target Sector: health; thematic focus on antimicrobial resistance surveillance, epidemiology, data analysis, ICT for validation/processing and scientific publishing.
• Mentioned Countries: Sweden (Solna, Stockholm County) and EU/EEA region (general).
• Project Stage: operational / routine surveillance, analysis and reporting (development/maintenance/validation/analysis and publication phases).
• Funding Amount: estimated overall contract ceiling €288 000 (for up to 48 months).
• Application Type: open call / public tender via Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission (single-stage submission).
• Nature of Support: money (service payments) to successful contractor; non-monetary support (ECDC datasets, EpiPulse access) provided in-kind by contracting authority during contract execution.
• Application Stages: effectively 1 submission stage, with subsequent evaluation and checks (administrative/exclusion/selection/quality+price and supporting evidence stage) — count as 1 initial stage + 3–4 evaluation stages internally.
• Success Rates: not specified in documents (competitive; single contract award).
• Co-funding Requirement: none (no cost share required).

How to interpret this opportunity and recommended approach

This is an ECDC procurement for a single framework contract to secure external technical and scientific capacity to support EU/EEA antimicrobial resistance surveillance (EARS-Net and related activities). The contractor will be expected to provide validated statistical scripts (STATA v17 mandatory), develop and update reporting protocols and metadata, execute routine and targeted analyses, author surveillance outputs and peer-reviewed manuscripts, and support meetings and network coordination. The tender is evaluated on best price-quality ratio with a heavy emphasis on methodology and demonstrated capacity. Tenderers should present clear methodological approaches, a well-structured team (with CVs), examples of prior EARS-Net or equivalent multi-country AMR analyses, documentation of STATA/R scripts, a robust quality control plan, and a complete Annex 6 financial submission aligned with the reference scenario. Ensure compliance with administrative, data protection and security requirements and be prepared to provide supporting evidence for selection criteria if shortlisted.

This procurement is time-sensitive and requires early registration in the Participant Register and preparation of mandatory annexes. Read the tender specifications and draft framework contract carefully; use the templates provided (Annexes 1–6). Build a realistic financial reference price consistent with the Annex 6 scenario and include contingency within the limits described. Ensure open-access publication costs are included in pricing and that any use of AI is declared in deliverables.

Footnotes

1. 1All procurement documents (Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Draft contract, Financial tender template) and submission are available via the Funding & Tenders Portal tender details page: ec.europa.eu

This is an ECDC procurement tender for scientific and technical support to antimicrobial resistance surveillance, focused on development and coordination of EARS-Net and related AMR activities, together with advanced analysis of AMR data. The opportunity matches the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's wider EARS-Net surveillance mission to collect comparable invasive AMR data and support trend analysis and policy decisions. [1][12]

What the Contract Is About

EARS-Net is the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network. It collects routine clinical antimicrobial susceptibility data for invasive isolates and supports analysis of temporal and spatial trends, timely policy information, and the improvement of national AMR surveillance systems. The contract scope therefore appears to be specialist scientific support for surveillance coordination, data analysis, and related AMR work at EU level. [12][1]

Who Can Apply

The prior information notice indicates that economic operators must be established in the European Union, the European Economic Area, or countries covered by Stabilisation and Association Agreements. This is a public procurement procedure, so applicants need to be capable of entering into a service contract with the EU and of submitting their tender electronically through the portal. [1]

Key Financial and Procedural Terms

Requirements And Conditions Applicants Should Note

• The procurement documents include an invitation letter, tender specifications, a financial offer form, and a draft service framework contract.
• The contract is structured as a framework agreement and the draft contract indicates an initial period of 24 months that can be renewed twice, subject to the contract terms.
• The main CPV code is 85100000 Health services, with an additional classification of 72316000.
• The portal indicates that the contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 16 October 2026 23:59 Europe/Stockholm.
• Submission is exclusively electronic and requires access through the Funding and Tenders Portal.
• The opportunity is a service tender rather than a grant, so there is no grant rate or cofinancing percentage to apply.

Practical Assessment For Applicants

This opportunity is most relevant for organisations with strong epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance, microbiology, biostatistics, data management, and AMR policy analysis capabilities. Bidders should be able to demonstrate experience with European surveillance networks, harmonised data analysis, and delivery of technical advisory services in a regulated public procurement setting. The official opportunity page is EU Funding and Tenders Portal.