Provision of services on conducting staff engagement surveys and follow-up activities

Frontex is procuring a framework service contract (FRONTEX/2026/OP/0062) for the design, administration, analysis, reporting and follow-up of staff engagement surveys, covering two survey rounds (2027 and 2029) with an estimated total value of €160,000 excluding VAT and a maximum duration of 48 months (initial 24 months plus one renewal). The open procedure is evaluated on best price-quality ratio with 60 percent technical and 40 percent price weighting and requires electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 26 October 2026 at 16:00 Europe/Warsaw. Minimum selection requirements include an average turnover of €80,000 over the last three closed financial years, at least three similar projects in the last three years, and a team comprising a Project Manager, Senior Consultant and Junior Consultant with specified experience. The procurement imposes strict data protection and AI compliance obligations, including processing and storage in the EU/EEA, a Data Processing Agreement, and explicit declarations for any AI systems used.

What is funded

Scope in one line

Provision of services to design, deploy, administer and analyse staff engagement surveys for Frontex, including benchmarking where applicable, professional reporting, recommendations and follow-up activities (action plans, training, optional consultancy). The supplier must ensure data protection, confidentiality and comply with AI Act requirements when AI is used.

Estimated budget:Estimated total value €160 000 for the framework (all lots combined) ¹.

1. 1Who can apply: legal entities and consortia (economic operators) from EU/EEA and third countries with procurement access as described in the procurement documents; subcontracting allowed; joint tenders permitted.
2. 2Contract type: open procedure to award a framework service contract (framework agreement without reopening of competition).
3. 3Duration: framework initial 24 months, renewable once (maximum total duration 48 months).
4. 4Award method: best price-quality ratio (technical 60%, price 40%).

Mandatory electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required). Tender must include technical proposal (methodology, data protection and AI info), financial offer (Annex IV) and supporting documents (declaration on honour, evidence of capacities). See procurement dossier for full terms and templates ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement dossier and documents (Invitation, Tender Specifications, Terms of Reference, Draft Contract, Annexes) available on the Funding & Tenders Portal: FRONTEX/2026/OP/0062 Tender Details.

Call summary and purpose

Lead contracting authority:European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX). This is an open procedure tender to establish a framework service contract for the design, administration and analysis of staff engagement surveys (2027 and 2029), comparative benchmarking with past Frontex surveys, confidential reporting, recommendations and optional follow-up consultancy. Work includes questionnaire design, communication planning, online deployment, quantitative and qualitative analysis, reporting, presentation to HR and senior/executive management, and optional post-survey consultancy and training. The contract is a framework agreement for up to 24 months initially, renewable once to a maximum total duration of 48 months. The estimated total value of the procedure is €160,000 (excluding VAT).

Important dates:Deadline for receipt of tenders: 26 October 2026 16:00 Europe/Warsaw. Virtual opening session: 27 October 2026 11:00 Europe/Warsaw. Contract notice / documents published 17 September 2026. Contract maximum duration including one renewal: 48 months.

Administrative and procedural details

Procedure identifier FRONTEX/2026/OP/0062. TED reference 180/2026 640177-2026. Procurement classification: CPV 79414000 Human resources management consultancy services (additional CPV codes: 79311100 Survey design services; 79311200 Survey conduction services; 79633000 Staff development services). Award method: best price-quality ratio with weighting 60% technical / 40% price. Submission method: electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission (EU Login / PIC required). Framework agreement, without reopening of competition. Public procurement documents and annexes (Invitation, Tender specifications, Terms of Reference, Draft contract, Data Processing Agreement, AI/DP appendices, Financial template, Tender Submission Form, Declaration on honour, Order form template, Reimbursement rules, Acceptance form) are published on the F&T Portal and referenced in procurement documents ¹.

Tender scope and deliverables:Design, deployment and analysis of biannual staff engagement surveys (2027 and 2029), ensuring methodological continuity with past surveys; secure online platform provisioning; anonymous data collection and safeguarding of respondent confidentiality; comparative analysis and benchmarking with previous Frontex surveys and where appropriate publicly available comparators; preparation of professional reports (draft and final) and recommended action plans; presentation of findings to HR and senior/executive management; optional follow-up consultancy tasks including action plan assistance, training of HR on interpretation, and benchmarking (estimated up to 16 days across the four-year framework).

1. 1Kick-off and delivery schedule planning (within 2 weeks of order form).
2. 2Communication plan and stakeholder engagement materials (within 10 working days).
3. 3Questionnaire design and review (within 20 working days).
4. 4Deployment of on-line survey tool and operations (timeline agreed at kick-off).
5. 5Quantitative and qualitative analysis and draft report (within 1 month of survey close).
6. 6Final report and presentations to HR and senior management (presentation materials within 5 working days after final report).
7. 7Optional: targeted post-survey consultancy and training (ordered as needed).

Eligibility and selection

Participation is open to natural and legal persons covered by EU Treaties and to entities from third countries with procurement access under relevant agreements (EEA, Stabilisation and Association, Association Agreements where applicable). Tenderers must not be subject to EU restrictive measures or exclusion situations under Article 138 of the EU Financial Regulation. Tenders may be submitted by a sole tenderer or a joint tender (consortium). Subcontracting is permitted but subcontractors must be declared and will be subject to exclusion/selection checks.

Eligible Applicant Types:SMEs, large enterprises, consultancies, human resources consultancies, survey vendors, market research companies, nonprofit research institutes, universities, public bodies (where eligible), joint ventures/consortia. Subcontractors and third-party contributors may be used but must be listed and meet exclusion criteria.

Mandatory selection evidence and minimum requirements:Legal capacity documentation, economic/financial evidence (average annual turnover in last 3 financial years minimum €80,000), and technical/professional capacity: at least three similar projects in the last 3 years (public or private, international/EU level) meeting subcriteria (surveys with >150 completed responses; inclusion of open questions; produced follow-up action plans; at least one project delivered via on-line tool). Personnel CVs required: Project Manager (≥5 years survey project management), Senior Consultant (≥5 years covering staff engagement, org development, change programmes, communication of survey results), Junior Consultant (≥2 years in survey management/HR engagement).

Award evaluation

Stage 1 compliance and exclusion checks → Stage 2 selection criteria verification → Stage 3 technical evaluation (threshold 60% overall, scoring grid total 80 points technical, 100 normalized top technical = 100) → Stage 4 financial evaluation (lowest price receives 100 points) → Final score = 0.6 * Technical score + 0.4 * Financial score. Technical criteria detail: implementation plan and methodology (30 points); methodological continuity and benchmarking (15); safeguarding anonymity and confidentiality (15); communication, reporting quality and dissemination (15); innovation and AI/technology use (5).

Contractual, legal, data protection and AI requirements

The award will lead to a framework service contract based on the draft FWC provided. Frontex requires strict compliance with data protection (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725) and a signed Data Processing Agreement (Appendix 1) detailing processing, retention, storage in EU/EEA only, breach reporting timelines (within 24 hours), and deletion obligations. Any AI components must be declared in Appendix 3, comply with the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) and be accompanied by an AI compliance declaration (Appendix 4). It is explicitly prohibited to use Frontex data or staff personal data to train external AI models. The framework contract includes clauses covering IP, pre-existing rights, confidentiality, audits, and liability as per the draft contract.

Processing location and security:All personal data must be processed and stored exclusively within EU/EEA. The contractor must ensure encryption, access control, logging/observability and restricted access. Sub-processing requires Frontex written authorisation and must be listed in the DPA.

Estimated budget and pricing

Estimated overall contract amount (framework ceiling) €160,000 excluding VAT for the whole framework duration. Tenderers must submit prices in EUR net (excluding VAT) using the provided Financial Proposal template (Annex IV). Prices are all-inclusive and must cover all deliverables, platform costs, user guides, training for Frontex users of any AI tool proposed, and any administrative costs. Reimbursement rules for travel and subsistence (if in-person presentations requested) are provided in Appendix 2 to the Terms of Reference.

Funding Type:Public procurement / service contract (framework agreement). Not a grant or loan. This is a tender for paid services governed by EU public procurement and Frontex Financial Regulation.

How to apply and templates

Submission is electronic only via the Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). A valid EU Login and PIC are required. The procurement documents include mandatory templates and annexes to be completed and uploaded: Invitation letter, Annex I Tender specifications, Annex II Terms of Reference and appendices (AI description template, AI compliance declaration, DPA, reimbursement rules, acceptance form), Annex III Draft contract and Order Form template, Annex IV Financial Proposal workbook, Annex V Declaration on honour, Annex VI Tender Submission Form, Annex VII Power of Attorney / Commitment letter. Use the Annex IV financial template and Annex VI tender submission form exactly as provided. Failure to include required documentation may lead to rejection.

1. 1Register organisation in Participant Register and obtain PIC if not already done.
2. 2Subscribe to the call on the F&T Portal to receive updates.
3. 3Prepare Technical Proposal addressing Terms of Reference and award criteria.
4. 4Complete Annex IV Financial Proposal template in EUR (net).
5. 5Complete Annex V Declaration on honour and Annex VI Tender Submission Form.
6. 6Upload all required supporting evidence and signed forms via eSubmission before the deadline.

Additional practical notes and constraints

The Contractor must ensure methodological continuity to enable trend and benchmark analyses with earlier Frontex surveys. Platform must not require direct integration into Frontex HR systems. Anonymity and minimum cell-size rules will be applied (a threshold will be agreed to avoid identifiability of small groups). The Contractor must be able to export and hand over historical and benchmark data to successors. Any proposed AI use must be disclosed and fully compliant with the AI Act and data protection rules; Frontex may suspend or terminate the contract if AI compliance is not maintained.

Consortium Requirement:Single tenderer or consortium allowed. Joint tenders must appoint a lead partner with power of attorney. Joint tender members are jointly and severally liable. Subcontracting is allowed but subcontractors must be declared and provide commitment letters and meet exclusion criteria.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Eligible applicants from the EU and EEA are explicitly eligible. Participation is also open to entities from third countries having procurement access under specific agreements (e.g. certain Western Balkans, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) consistent with Frontex rules described in the Tender Specifications. Processing and storage of personal data must occur within the EU/EEA.

Target Sector:Human resources, organisational development, surveys and analytics, public sector HR, management consultancy, ICT for survey deployment. Primary thematic sector: human resources management consultancy / HR analytics.

Mentioned Countries:Poland (Frontex HQ Warsaw location indicated), EU and EEA countries are referenced for eligibility and data location. Tender is EU/EEA-wide; procurement documents refer to candidate countries with procurement access (North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo) and to Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine for certain thresholds.

Project Stage:Implementation and demonstration of survey and analytics activities. Expected maturity: operational deployment of digital survey tool, data collection and analysis; includes benchmarking and reporting; optional follow-up consultancy, training and action-plan implementation (post-survey activities).

Funding Amount:Estimated total framework contract value: €160,000 (excluding VAT) for the two survey cycles and optional additional services across the contract period. Framework ceiling may be increased up to 50% within three years under procedures described in the Tender Specifications.

Application Type:Open tender call for tenders published on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Electronic submission mandatory. Not an invitation-only or rolling call.

Nature of Support:Monetary remuneration via a services contract (procurement). Contractual purchase of services; not a grant.

Application Stages:Three main evaluation stages are used: 1) formal and exclusion checks at opening, 2) selection criteria verification (legal, economic/financial, technical capacities), 3) award evaluation (technical scoring then financial scoring and final combined ranking).

Success Rates:Success rates are not published in the tender documents. As a competitive EU agency procurement with a single FWC intended, success probability depends on competition level; typical public-sector professional services tenders have single-digit to low-double-digit success rates. No explicit success rate data provided.

Co-funding Requirement:No co-funding by applicants is required. Tender is a fee-for-service procurement and Frontex will pay for contracted services per the framework and order forms. VAT treatment: Frontex is generally exempt; contractors established outside Poland must obtain VAT exemption where applicable (assistance via certificate 1510).

Templates:Mandatory templates and forms are published with the procurement dossier: Annex IV Financial Proposal (spreadsheet), Annex VI Tender Submission Form, Annex V Declaration on Honour (exclusion/selection), Annex VII Power of Attorney / Commitment letter (subcontractors / consortium members), Appendix 3 AI description template and Appendix 4 Declaration AI Act compliance, Data Processing Agreement (Appendix 1). Bidders must use these templates and complete required fields as instructed. Financial offers must use Annex IV; invoices and acceptance follow Appendix 5 deliverable acceptance form and Order Form template (Annex III).

How to decide whether to apply

This opportunity is suitable for HR consultancies, survey/methodology specialists and vendors with experience delivering large-scale staff engagement surveys, secure online survey platforms, analysis and action planning for international or EU public sector clients. Strong experience in confidential staff surveys with open-ended analysis, benchmarking and senior management reporting is essential. Bidders must demonstrate required turnover, references (three projects in last three years meeting subcriteria), and qualified personnel. Data protection and AI compliance (if AI used) are mandatory. Prepare the technical proposal to address the 5 technical evaluation criteria and submit financials using the official Annex IV template. Submit electronically via eSubmission (EU Login/PIC) before the deadline.

Further information is available in the published procurement documents on the Funding & Tenders Portal, including the tender specifications, Terms of Reference, DPA, AI appendices, draft contract and templates ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents, templates and Q&A are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender page for FRONTEX/2026/OP/0062 (Invitation, Annex I to IV, Annex II Terms of Reference and appendices, Annex III draft contract and order form template, Annex IV Financial Proposal, Annex V Declaration on honour, Annex VI Tender Submission Form, Annex VII PoA and commitment letters).

This is an open EU procurement launched by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) for a framework service contract covering the design, administration, analysis, reporting, and follow-up of staff engagement surveys. Frontex uses staff engagement surveys as part of its organisational performance and has previously reported survey-based engagement indicators, including a 2023 survey and a prior survey in 2019.[1]

What the contract is about

The contractor will design and run staff engagement surveys for Frontex, analyse the results, compare them with previous survey rounds, prepare professional reports and recommendations, and support follow-up activities. The work also includes communications planning, presentation of findings to Frontex HR and senior management, benchmarking where relevant, and strict protection of respondent anonymity and confidentiality.

1. 1Design a scientifically grounded questionnaire and survey methodology
2. 2Administer online surveys across Frontex duty stations
3. 3Analyse quantitative and qualitative results and compare them with previous surveys
4. 4Prepare reports, recommendations, and presentation materials
5. 5Support follow-up activities and possible additional consultancy services

Who can apply

Participation is open to natural and legal persons within the scope of the EU Treaties, international organisations, and certain operators established in third countries that have procurement access under applicable agreements. Tenderers may bid alone, as a consortium, through subcontracting, or by relying on other entities for capacity, provided all eligibility and exclusion rules are met.

• Tenderers must not be subject to EU restrictive measures
• Tenderers and all involved entities must not be in an exclusion situation
• Tenderers must have legal capacity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional capacity
• Tenderers must demonstrate no professional conflicting interests
• Tenderers must provide country of establishment and supporting evidence normally acceptable under that country’s law
• The call is marked as not suitable for SMEs

Tenderers must submit a Declaration on Honour, a signed Tender Submission Form, evidence of legal registration, and all required capacity documents. In joint bids, each member must meet the relevant eligibility and exclusion requirements, and subcontractors or relied-on entities must also satisfy the applicable conditions.

Selection criteria and capacity requirements

The tender documents set clear minimum capacity thresholds. Economically and financially, the tenderer must show an average yearly turnover of at least €80000 over the last three closed financial years. Technically and professionally, the tenderer must show at least three similar projects completed in the last three years and a team including a Project Manager, a Senior Consultant, and a Junior Consultant, with the required experience in survey management, HR consultancy, staff engagement, and communication of survey results.

Contract scope, duration, and commercial terms

The contract is structured as a framework service contract with an initial duration of 24 months and the possibility of one renewal of 24 months, for a maximum total duration of 48 months. The contracting authority states that the framework contract ceiling may be increased by up to 50 percent within three years after signature through a negotiated procedure, if the original duration is unchanged and the additional services are the same or similar.

• Initial term is 24 months
• Renewal is possible once for an additional 24 months
• Maximum total framework duration is 4 years
• Initial estimated ceiling is €160000 excluding VAT
• The contractor must submit a financial proposal in euro, net of VAT and all inclusive
• Frontex is generally exempt from VAT, and non-Polish contractors may need to support VAT exemption formalities

Technical deliverables and operational requirements

The terms of reference require the contractor to deliver the 2027 and 2029 staff engagement surveys, ensure the survey tool works without direct integration with Frontex HR systems, monitor response rates, protect anonymity, and produce reports and presentations tailored to different audiences. The questionnaire must be based on a scientifically recognised measurement system and allow trend analysis and benchmarking with previous surveys.

• Survey communication must be reliable, inclusive, jargon-free, and consistent with Frontex branding
• Survey responses must be anonymous and confidential
• Aggregated reporting must prevent identification of individuals or very small groups
• The survey platform must be available from connected devices and support regular maintenance checks
• Historical data and benchmarks must be transferable to any successor contractor
• The contractor must provide presentations of key findings to HR and management

Data protection and AI requirements

The procurement places strong emphasis on data protection, security, and AI compliance. Tenderers using AI must submit a detailed AI system description and a declaration of compliance, including information on intended purpose, transparency, privacy, security, data management, logging, human oversight, robustness, and corrective action procedures. The terms also require a privacy policy, privacy statement, description of processing operations, server location, and related data protection documentation.

• AI use is permitted only if compliant with the AI Act and Frontex AI provisions
• The contractor must explain how Frontex data and staff data will be processed and protected
• The contractor must describe retention and deletion arrangements
• The contractor must identify any sub-processing and any international data transfers
• The contractor must ensure security of processing, breach handling, and audit cooperation
• The tender includes specific AI compliance documentation in the documents set

How tenders are evaluated

The award is based on best value for money using a 60 percent technical and 40 percent price weighting. Technical quality is scored against five criteria, and tenders must achieve at least 60 percent of the total technical score to remain in the competition.

Practical application notes

Applications must be submitted electronically through the Funding and Tenders Portal using EU Login and a Participant Identification Code. The invitation letter states that tenders submitted by email or by post will be disregarded, that only one tender per tenderer is allowed unless variants are expressly permitted, and that costs of preparing the tender are borne by the bidder.

1. 1Create or use an existing EU Login account
2. 2Register in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC
3. 3Prepare the technical offer, financial offer, and supporting documentation
4. 4Submit only through the electronic submission system
5. 5Monitor the portal for clarifications or updates before the deadline
6. 6Plan for the public opening on 27 October 2026

Overall, this is a specialised procurement for experienced survey, HR consultancy, and employee engagement providers with strong capability in research design, digital survey delivery, confidential data handling, and executive-level reporting.