Reasonable accommodation: case studies and focus group interviews - 260406/7819

Eurofound has published a service contract tender titled "Reasonable accommodation:case studies and focus group interviews" (ref. 260406/7819) to deliver qualitative research, case studies and focus groups on reasonable accommodation in employment. The procurement is classified under CPV 79315000 for a planned duration of 12 months and was published on 2026-07-20 with EXA registration required by 2026-08-12 and planned electronic submission on 2026-08-17 via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The tender is not SME-reserved, the contracting authority is Eurofound, and the procurement dossier (PD 2026) available on the portal contains the full technical specifications, award criteria and budget which are not reproduced in the short notice. Interested legal entities such as research consultancies, universities or consortia should consult the tender dossier and submit in accordance with the portal instructions.

What it funds

Scope summary

A service contract to deliver case studies and run focus group interviews on reasonable accommodation (as defined in the procurement documents). The activity covers research, qualitative data collection (focus groups), analysis and reporting over an expected 12-month period.

Who can apply:Open to tenderers able to provide social research and qualitative fieldwork services (research consultancies, academic teams, or specialised contractors). The contracting authority is the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). ¹

1. 1Procurement type: services (CPV 79315000)
2. 2Duration: planned 12 months
3. 3SME suitability: marked not suitable
4. 4Submission method: eSubmission via Funding & Tenders Portal

Estimated contract value:not specified in the published record. Interested parties should consult the tender documents and submit via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal link to the tender notice.

Tender reference and call identifier:EUROFOUND/2026/LVP/0011-EXA. Main contracting authority: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full tender record and official documents available at the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Tender details.

Reasonable accommodation: case studies and focus group interviews - 260406/7819

Tender summary and administrative metadata

This is a public tender published by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for services entitled Reasonable accommodation: case studies and focus group interviews (Reference: 260406/7819, Call identifier EUROFOUND/2026/LVP/0011-EXA). The tender is listed on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The procurement is classified as services, main CPV code 79315000. The tender description is short in the portal: As per PD 2026. The contracting authority is Eurofound, Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin, D18 KP65, Ireland.

Publication and key dates:Publication date on portal: 2026-07-20. Registration deadline for EXA registration: 2026-08-12 23:59:59 (Europe/Dublin). Planned submission deadline (planned date): 2026-08-17 (Europe/Dublin). Portal/timezone information indicates eSubmission via the Funding & Tenders Portal. The record ingestion and indexing timestamps indicate portal processing in July 2026 ¹.

1. 1Contracting authority: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound).
2. 2Call identifier: EUROFOUND/2026/LVP/0011-EXA.
3. 3Portal reference / tender details URL: see footnote ¹.
4. 4CPV main code: 79315000 (as presented in the tender metadata).
5. 5Lot identifier: PAR-0001 (single lot).
6. 6Planned contract duration: 12 months (durationMeasure: 12, unit: MONTH).
7. 7Procurement type: services. Contract nature: not part of a framework (contractingSystemTypeCode: none).
8. 8SME suitable indicator: false (tender metadata).
9. 9Submission method code: ESUBMISSION (electronic submission via portal).

Scope of work (as available)

The published title and short description indicate the contract covers case studies and focus group interviews relating to reasonable accommodation. The portal text itself only contains the short descriptor As per PD 2026 which indicates the full technical requirements, tasks, deliverables, evaluation criteria and procurement documents are contained in the procurement documents listed as PD 2026 (Procurement Documents). The tender metadata does not reproduce the full specification. Therefore the detailed research questions, target groups for focus groups, geographic coverage of case studies, sample sizes, deliverables (reports, datasets, anonymisation, consent procedures), timeline milestones and budget breakdown must be obtained from the PD 2026 procurement documents available on the tender portal when accessing the tender dossier ¹.

Eligibility and applicant requirements

The portal metadata does not include a detailed eligibility section in the scraped text. Typical public tenders published by Eurofound require interested economic operators or legal entities capable of entering into a contract with the EU. The tender record lists no explicit benefiting zones and the benefittingZones array is empty. The contracting authority is an EU agency; therefore applicants are normally required to be legal entities established in EU Member States or in countries eligible under the Funding & Tenders rules for that specific call. The SME suitability indicator is false, so the tender is not specifically reserved for SMEs. Specific exclusion, selection and award criteria, required supporting documents (legal entity form, financial statements, technical capacity, CVs of key experts, samples of previous work, references), and any minimum turnover or professional liability insurance requirements will be stated in the procurement documents (PD 2026). Applicants must consult those documents for exact eligibility and documentary proof requirements ¹.

Eligible applicant types (inferred and typical):Based on the type of service and Eurofound practice, eligible applicants likely include consultancies, research institutes, universities, NGOs, nonprofit research organisations, independent research teams, and other legal entities able to contract with an EU agency. Individual applicants are generally not accepted unless they can present as legal entities. Public bodies may be eligible if allowed by the procurement documents. Exact allowed applicant types and any exclusion of certain categories (e.g., entities in non-eligible countries) must be confirmed from PD 2026 ¹.

Financial and contractual details

This procurement is a contract (tender) rather than a grant. The metadata does not include a requestedTenderTotal or an explicit contract price. The procurementProject.requestedTenderTotal field is empty in the scraped data. Therefore no funding amount or budget envelope is published in the scraped record. The tender is funded under eu-funds (fundingProgramCode eu-funds) and coded as eu-funded. Any contract value, invoice rules, pricing model (lump sum, day rates, unit prices), VAT treatment, vat exemptions and milestone payments will be defined in the procurement documents (PD 2026). Co-funding is generally not applicable to procurement contracts: the contractor supplies services in return for payment under the contract. Financial guarantees, performance securities or professional indemnity insurance requirements may be included in the contract notice or tender dossier.

Funding Type:Procurement contract (public tender / service contract). This is not a grant, loan or equity instrument; it is a service contract awarded following a procurement procedure.

Application process and practicalities

Submission is electronic via the Funding and Tenders Portal (eSubmission). The tender record shows ESUBMISSION as submission method and the eforms extension accessToolName is Funding and Tenders Portal. The EXA registration step is required (EXARegistration Deadline 2026-08-12). The planned submission date is 2026-08-17. Interested applicants must register and follow the portal procedure, download the procurement documents (PD 2026), prepare required selection and financial documents, and upload their tender through the portal before the deadline. The tenderingProcess structure indicates no auction, and the contractingSystemType is none, which implies a standard single-contract award following evaluation of submissions.

Consortium requirement:The portal metadata does not mandate a consortium. The procurement is structured as a single lot (PAR-0001). Unless the procurement documents specify minimum team composition or joint bids, a single economic operator may submit or entities may submit a joint bid/consortium if allowed by the procurement terms. The tender dossier (PD 2026) will specify whether joint bids, sub-contracting rules and mandatory partners are required ¹.

Geographic and beneficiary scope

The contracting authority is an EU agency and the tender is listed on the EU portal. The scraped metadata contains no explicit list of eligible countries; benefittingZones is empty. Standard Eurofound procurements generally accept bidders established in EU Member States and possibly other countries if explicitly permitted in the tender documents. For clarity on whether entities from EEA countries, candidate countries or third countries may participate, consult PD 2026 on the portal ¹.

Target sector and project stage:Target sector: social policy, employment and working conditions research; thematic focus: reasonable accommodation (disability/working rights). Project stage: research, qualitative fieldwork and analysis (case studies and focus group interviews), with expected tasks including design, fieldwork, analysis, reporting and dissemination over a 12-month contract period.

Evaluation, stages and success chances

The scraped tender metadata does not include award criteria, weighting, or scoring. Typical Eurofound service tenders use technical and financial evaluation with minimum threshold scores, and may include quality, methodology, staff CVs/experience, past performance and price. The portal record shows awardingTerms placeholder but no details. Therefore applicants must consult PD 2026 for award criteria, evaluation methodology and scoring thresholds. The number of application stages: effectively one formal tender submission stage followed by evaluation and contract award (so 1 primary submission stage plus internal evaluation). Success rates are not published and depend on number and quality of bids; historic success rates for similar single-supplier public tenders are typically low (competition dependent) but not stated here.

Co-funding:Co-funding from applicants is not applicable in standard procurement contracts: the contractor provides services in return for payment. There is no indication of required co-financing or matching funds in the scraped metadata. Any financial participation obligations would be specified in the procurement documents if applicable.

Application templates and documents

The scraped record references procurement documents under the label PD 2026. The portal entry includes fields such as callForTendersDocumentReference and tendererQualificationRequest which are empty in the scraped feed. Typical required application elements for Eurofound service tenders include: completed tender response form or standard submission templates (annexes), technical offer describing methodology and work plan, CVs and proof of experience of key experts, financial offer or priced cost breakdown, legal and financial capacity documents (legal entity form, recent accounts), declarations on exclusion grounds and absence of conflicts of interest, and any certificates or insurance evidence. Applicants should download the full tender dossier (PD 2026) and all annexes from the Funding & Tenders Portal to obtain the official templates and the structure required for submission ¹.

Mentioned countries and geographic references

No specific countries are explicitly listed in the scraped content. The contracting authority is located in Ireland and the tender is published on the EU portal, indicating EU-level procurement. For exact geographic coverage of case studies and focus groups (for example whether the work must cover a selection of EU Member States or other countries), consult PD 2026 in the tender dossier ¹.

What applicants must do next

Interested bidders should:1) access the full tender dossier and procurement documents (PD 2026) via the Funding & Tenders Portal link in the tender notice, 2) register in EXA by the registration deadline (2026-08-12), 3) download all templates and annexes, 4) prepare technical and financial offers according to the templates and evaluation criteria, include required legal and financial documentation, 5) submit the completed tender electronically through the portal before the submission deadline (planned: 2026-08-17), and 6) follow any clarification procedures and requests for additional information through the portal messaging service. Failure to follow the exact tender dossier instructions may render a bid ineligible.

Risks, unknowns and mandatory checks

Key unknowns in the scraped record:the detailed technical specification (scope/outputs), contract value and budget envelope, award criteria and weighting, specific eligibility restrictions, and mandatory deliverables and reporting obligations. These items are essential for an accurate bid and must be obtained from the procurement documents (PD 2026) on the portal. Applicants should verify whether the tender includes requirements on data protection, ethics, participant consent for focus groups, language of deliverables, travel and subsistence rates, and whether subcontracting is permitted or limited ¹.

Concluding summary

This is a 12-month service contract tender published by Eurofound for research activities titled Reasonable accommodation: case studies and focus group interviews (260406/7819). It is a procurement procedure using electronic submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal. The short portal entry references procurement documents (PD 2026) for the full specification. Key administrative dates are publication on 2026-07-20, EXA registration deadline 2026-08-12 and planned submission date 2026-08-17. The tender is not SME-reserved. Applicants likely to be eligible are consultancies, research organisations, universities, NGOs and legal entities with experience in conducting qualitative research and focus groups. The procurement dossier (PD 2026) on the portal must be consulted for the full technical specification, budget, eligibility, award criteria and application templates; the tender URL is provided in the footnote ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender details and procurement documents available at Reasonable accommodation: case studies and focus group interviews - 260406/7819 || ec.europa.eu

This is a European Commission procurement tender focused on reasonable accommodation at work, with a research design built around case studies and focus group interviews. The publicly accessible sources confirm the disability and employment policy context, but they do not expose the full procurement pack, so the budget, deadline, duration, and award criteria cannot be confirmed from the available material [1][4][21][22].

What the opportunity is about

Reasonable accommodation in EU employment law means appropriate measures that enable a person with a disability to access, participate in, or advance in employment, unless the measures impose a disproportionate burden [21][30][37]. The Commission and EU OSHA guidance highlights practical examples such as assistive technology, personal assistance, workspace adjustments including teleworking, flexible working time, and flexible task arrangements [1][4][21][38].

Policy and research context:The tender title suggests a qualitative study that will gather workplace evidence through case studies and focus groups, likely to inform Commission guidance or policy work on how reasonable accommodation is implemented in practice [1][4][17][38].

Who can apply

The sources provided do not state the eligibility rules for this specific tender. As a procurement contract, it is most likely intended for economic operators such as research consultancies, universities, policy institutes, NGOs, or consortia that can deliver qualitative fieldwork, cross country case studies, and stakeholder interviews; this applicant profile is an inference from the tender subject and standard EU public procurement practice [5][22][29].

What bidders are likely expected to demonstrate

• Experience with qualitative research, interviews, and focus groups in employment, disability, or social policy settings.
• Ability to recruit and manage diverse participants, including employers, workers, and disability stakeholders.
• Strong data protection, consent, and confidentiality procedures for sensitive personal information.
• Capacity to analyze and synthesize case study evidence into a clear policy oriented report.
• Coverage across Member States or regions relevant to the study design.

Confirmed details visible from the sources