Research Services for Interviews with Senior Decision-Makers in the Manufacturing Sector on Firms’ Adoption of AI in Rural and Urban Areas.
Overview
This is a planned negotiated procurement by the European Commission DG JRC (reference EC-JRC/2026/MVP/5020-EXA) to commission survey fieldwork interviewing senior decision-makers in manufacturing firms on AI adoption with explicit rural–urban comparison. The contractor must programme and implement a JRC questionnaire with embedded randomised experimental treatments, recruit respondents across at least three EU Member States, ensure sufficient rural firm representation, and deliver clean, anonymised datasets compliant with GDPR. The estimated total value is €100,000 and the maximum contract duration is 13 months. Expressions of interest must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal using EU Login between 25/09/2026 and 09/10/2026, with an indicative launch of the negotiated procedure on 12/10/2026.
Highlights
What it funds
Scope and key deliverables
Tender to provide professional survey fieldwork:programme and implement a JRC questionnaire (with embedded randomised experiments); recruit and interview a representative sample of senior decision-makers in manufacturing firms across at least three EU Member States; ensure adequate rural firm representation for subgroup analysis; deliver clean, anonymised, well documented datasets; comply with EU data protection and professional survey standards.
Estimated value:€100,000 (total estimated contract value) 1.
- 1Target contractors: survey research firms or market research providers with experience recruiting senior firm decision-makers and running complex questionnaire fieldwork across multiple EU countries.
- 2Contract duration: maximum 13 months from award.
- 3Geographical scope: at least three EU Member States with explicit sampling to capture rural and urban firms.
| Procurement authority | European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre |
|---|---|
| Procedure type | Planned negotiated procedure for middle/low value contract (ExA) |
| Expression of interest opens | 25/09/2026 (Europe/Brussels) |
| Expression of interest deadline | 09/10/2026 21:59 (Europe/Brussels) |
| Indicative launch of procedure | 12/10/2026 (Europe/Brussels) |
This notice announces the contracting authority's intention to launch the negotiated procedure; final tender documents and submission instructions will be published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Interested suppliers must hold or create an EU Login account to express interest.
Footnotes
- 1Opportunity page: Tender details.
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Breakdown
Opportunity summary
This is a planned negotiated procurement (planned negotiated procedure for middle/low value contract) published by the European Commission, DG JRC Joint Research Centre (JRC). The contract reference is EC-JRC/2026/MVP/5020-EXA. The JRC intends to contract survey fieldwork services to implement interviews with senior decision-makers in manufacturing firms to collect behavioural evidence on how alternative regulatory approaches affect firms adoption of AI, with explicit attention to rural-urban heterogeneity across at least three EU Member States. The procurement is classified under CPV 79311000 Survey services (additional classification 73110000). The estimated total value of the procedure is €100,000 and the maximum contract duration is 13 months. The publication is an announcement of intent to launch a future negotiated low or middle value procedure rather than an immediate call for tenders.
Key dates:Expression of interest start: 25/09/2026 Europe/Brussels. Deadline for expression of interest: 09/10/2026 21:59 Europe/Brussels. Indicative date of launch of the negotiated procedure: 12/10/2026 Europe/Brussels. Publication date (this notice): 25/09/2026 1.
Specific objectives and scope of work
The general objective is to provide high-quality survey fieldwork services to enable the JRC to collect behavioural evidence on AI adoption decisions in firms and the effects of alternative regulatory approaches, with focus on rural-urban heterogeneity. The specific objectives the contractor must deliver are listed in full below.
- 1Programme and implement a survey questionnaire developed by the JRC, including the correct implementation of embedded randomised experimental treatments.
- 2Recruit and survey a representative sample of senior decision-makers in firms in the manufacturing sector across at least three EU Member States.
- 3Ensure sufficient representation of rural firms to permit rigorous subgroup analysis comparing rural and urban firms.
- 4Deliver clean, anonymised, well-documented datasets suitable for advanced statistical analysis by the JRC (data cleaning, harmonisation, metadata and documentation).
- 5Implement all fieldwork in accordance with EU data protection legislation and professional standards for survey research (including anonymisation, secure data handling and storage, and ethical standards).
Procurement modality and administrative details
Procedure type:Planned negotiated procedure for middle/low value contract (ExA type notice: publication announcing intent to launch a future negotiated low or middle value procedure). Method of expression of interest: electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; EU Login account required. Submissions for expression of interest must be sent exclusively to the address indicated in the portal. The contracting authority is the European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre. CPV main classification: 79311000 Survey services (mainCode: 79311000). Nature of the contract: services. Estimated total procedure value: €100,000. Maximum contract duration: 13 months.
Web link (procurement notice):Full notice and entry point for expressions of interest: Tender details 1.
Eligibility and application-related classifications (extracted)
The notice does not provide a detailed list of eligible legal entity types in the scraped content. Standard EU procurement rules apply; therefore legal entities established in eligible countries and meeting the tender conditions may participate. The procurement is not marked SME-suitable and the SMESuitableIndicator is false in the record. The announcement requires an electronic expression of interest and later participation in a negotiated procedure.
Structured answers to categorisation questions
- 1Eligible Applicant Types: Procurement notices typically accept legal entities such as market research agencies, survey research firms, social science research consultancies, academic institutions with survey capacity, specialised survey fieldwork subcontractors, SME research firms, large enterprises and consortia of such entities. The notice text does not explicitly restrict applicants; it is addressed to suppliers of survey services. Public bodies could bid only if allowed under contracting rules and if not excluded by competition rules.
- 2Funding Type: This is a procurement contract (service contract) awarded under a negotiated procurement procedure. Financial mechanism: procurement (service contract), not a grant or loan. The estimated contract value is €100,000.
- 3Consortium Requirement: The notice does not mandate a consortium. The procedure allows single suppliers or teams; consortia are typically allowed under negotiated procedures in procurement, but the specific tender documents (to be published) will state whether joint bids are permitted or required. Current metadata does not require a consortium.
- 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic scope for the research is the European Union; bidders must be able to operate in at least three EU Member States. Eligibility to bid will follow EU procurement rules and the Funding & Tenders Portal electronic submission requirements (EU Login). The notice itself targets suppliers able to recruit and conduct fieldwork in multiple EU Member States.
- 5Target Sector: The thematic sectors targeted are research and survey services applied to artificial intelligence adoption in the manufacturing sector. Relevant sectors: research, manufacturing, artificial intelligence policy, social science survey research, statistics, and public policy analysis.
- 6Mentioned Countries: The text explicitly refers to EU Member States generally and requires fieldwork across at least three EU Member States. No specific member states are named in the notice. Therefore the explicit list of countries is: European Union (unspecified member states).
- 7Project Stage: The contract is for fieldwork implementation, data collection and delivery of analysis-ready datasets. Expected project maturity: implementation/execution stage (survey fieldwork, data collection, data cleaning and delivery).
- 8Funding Amount: Estimated total procedure value: €100,000. This is the estimated overall contract amount available for the procurement.
- 9Application Type: This is an expression of interest followed by a planned negotiated procedure. Method: open electronic expression of interest through the Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required) within the dates indicated. The negotiated procedure will be launched thereafter (indicative date given).
- 10Nature of Support: Beneficiaries (the winning contractor) will receive monetary compensation under a service contract from the JRC for delivering the specified survey services. The support is commercial payment for services (money).
- 11Application Stages: At least two distinct stages are implied: (1) expression of interest (electronic) within the deadline, and (2) participation in the negotiated procedure (submission of tender/proposal and negotiation/award). The negotiated procedure could include additional evaluation steps defined in the contract documents, but the notice explicitly shows expression of interest followed by the negotiated procurement launch, implying at least two stages.
- 12Success Rates: The notice does not provide historical success rates. Given the low/middle value negotiated procurement modality and limited estimated budget, competition may be modest. No numerical success rate is provided; success probability cannot be determined from the published metadata.
- 13Co-funding Requirement: No co-funding or matching contribution is mentioned in the notice. This is a procurement for services; bidders submit priced offers and are paid under contract. Therefore no external co-funding by the contracting authority is required. Any proposal-specific co-financing or subcontracting cost-sharing would be a commercial matter for the bidder but is not requested in the notice.
- 14Templates: No application or proposal templates are included in the scraped notice. The notice states procurement documents will be available when the tender is launched; bidders must consult the Funding & Tenders Portal for tender documents, specification, model contract, and submission templates when published. EU Login is required to access and download those documents.
Operational requirements and deliverables (as stated)
- 1Programming and implementing the JRC-provided survey questionnaire including the correct randomised experimental treatments and ensuring fidelity to the experimental design.
- 2Recruiting a representative sample of senior decision-makers in manufacturing firms across at least three EU Member States, with sampling procedures ensuring representativeness by firm size/sector and geographic (rural/urban) status.
- 3Achieving sufficient sampling of rural firms to enable statistically robust subgroup comparisons between rural and urban firms (sampling targets, quotas or oversampling as needed).
- 4Delivering clean, anonymised, and well-documented datasets, including codebooks, variable and coding definitions, metadata, documentation of sampling methods, fieldwork logs, and details of randomisation and treatment assignment suitable for advanced statistical analysis.
- 5Ensuring full compliance with EU data protection legislation (e.g., GDPR) and professional standards for survey research, including secure data processing, anonymisation/pseudonymisation, consent procedures, and secure data transfer to the JRC.
Operational responsibilities above typically imply experience in cross-national survey coordination, multilingual interviewer recruitment and training, quality control and monitoring, secure data handling, and delivery of analysis-ready files in standard statistical formats (e.g., Stata, SPSS, CSV) with comprehensive documentation.
Expected documentation and compliance evidence bidders should prepare
- Company profile and demonstrable experience in large-scale survey fieldwork and implementation of experimental treatments in questionnaires.
- Examples of previous similar projects with references and contact details.
- Detailed fieldwork plan and methodology (sampling strategy, recruitment approach for senior decision-makers, quotas for rural/urban representation, expected response rates and mitigation strategies).
- Data protection and privacy compliance documentation (GDPR compliance statement, data security measures, data transfer and storage protocols, anonymisation/pseudonymisation procedures).
- Quality assurance and interviewer training plans, monitoring and control procedures, pilot testing approach, and contingency plans.
- Deliverable schedule and proposed timeline within the 13-month maximum contract duration.
- Pricing proposal aligned with the estimated budget and the tendering rules to be published (cost breakdown, unit costs per interview, travel or language costs if applicable).
- Capacity to produce well-documented, analysis-ready datasets and accompanying metadata, codebooks and fieldwork logs.
Bidders should anticipate requirements for multilingual fieldwork and country-specific compliance. The final tender dossier will specify administrative documents, eligibility and exclusion criteria, selection and award criteria, model contract, and submission templates.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Reference | EC-JRC/2026/MVP/5020-EXA |
| Contracting authority | European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre |
| Estimated value | €100,000 |
| Maximum duration | 13 months |
| CPV | 79311000 Survey services (also 73110000) |
| Procedure type | Planned negotiated procedure for middle/low value contract (ExA notice) |
| Expression of interest open | 25/09/2026 |
| Expression of interest close | 09/10/2026 21:59 Europe/Brussels |
| Indicative tender launch | 12/10/2026 Europe/Brussels |
Practical recommendations for prospective bidders
1) Ensure EU Login account is active and that your organisation can access the Funding & Tenders Portal. 2) Prepare documentation proving relevant survey experience, particularly cross-country and rural/urban comparative designs and implementation of embedded randomised experiments. 3) Prepare a clear sampling and recruitment strategy for senior decision-makers in manufacturing firms, including how to secure rural firm representation (possible oversampling or targeted lists). 4) Prepare robust GDPR and data security documentation, and protocols for anonymisation and secure dataset delivery. 5) Plan pricing with the €100,000 estimated budget and provide cost breakdowns per deliverable and per country if requested. 6) Monitor the Funding & Tenders Portal for publication of the negotiated procedure documents (technical specification, award criteria, model contract and templates) on or after the indicative launch date.
Procurement notices of this type often require bidders to demonstrate methodological rigour, capacity to reach senior decision-makers (C-level or equivalent), and to implement controlled experimental treatments in survey instruments while maintaining data quality and legal compliance. The final tender specifications will provide the formal requirements that determine admissibility and evaluation.
Comprehensive summary
This procurement is a JRC-commissioned service contract to procure survey fieldwork for interviews with senior decision-makers in manufacturing firms across at least three EU Member States to study adoption decisions for artificial intelligence and how regulatory alternatives influence those decisions, with explicit focus on rural versus urban differences. It is announced as a planned negotiated procedure (ExA notice) with an estimated budget of €100,000 and a maximum duration of 13 months. The contractor will be responsible for programming and implementing the JRC questionnaire including embedded randomised experiments, recruiting a representative and sufficiently rural-inclusive sample of senior decision-makers, delivering anonymised, well-documented datasets ready for advanced analysis, and ensuring compliance with EU data protection and professional survey standards. Expressions of interest must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal between 25/09/2026 and 09/10/2026; the negotiated procedure is indicated to be launched around 12/10/2026. Prospective bidders should prepare evidence of cross-national survey fieldwork experience, capacity to reach senior firm decision-makers, detailed sampling and quality assurance plans, GDPR-compliant data handling procedures, and a pricing proposal consistent with the estimated value. Final tender documentation, award criteria and templates will be available in the Funding & Tenders Portal at the time the negotiated procedure is launched.
Footnotes
- 1Full notice and administrative details are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu
Short Summary
Impact Generate robust behavioural evidence on how alternative regulatory approaches affect manufacturing firms' adoption of AI, with rigorous comparison of rural and urban firms to inform policy decisions. | Impact | Generate robust behavioural evidence on how alternative regulatory approaches affect manufacturing firms' adoption of AI, with rigorous comparison of rural and urban firms to inform policy decisions. |
Applicant Ability to deliver multinational survey fieldwork including recruitment of senior manufacturing decision-makers, questionnaire programming with embedded randomised experiments, GDPR-compliant secure data handling and anonymisation, quality control, and delivery of analysis-ready datasets with full documentation. | Applicant | Ability to deliver multinational survey fieldwork including recruitment of senior manufacturing decision-makers, questionnaire programming with embedded randomised experiments, GDPR-compliant secure data handling and anonymisation, quality control, and delivery of analysis-ready datasets with full documentation. |
Developments Funding will support survey fieldwork and data collection on AI adoption decisions in the manufacturing sector, explicitly designed to capture rural–urban heterogeneity across at least three EU Member States. | Developments | Funding will support survey fieldwork and data collection on AI adoption decisions in the manufacturing sector, explicitly designed to capture rural–urban heterogeneity across at least three EU Member States. |
Applicant Type profit SMEs/startups, large corporations, researchers — specifically survey research companies, market research providers and research consultancies with cross‑country capacity. | Applicant Type | profit SMEs/startups, large corporations, researchers — specifically survey research companies, market research providers and research consultancies with cross‑country capacity. |
Consortium No consortium is mandated; single suppliers or teams may bid (consortia are typically permitted but not required). | Consortium | No consortium is mandated; single suppliers or teams may bid (consortia are typically permitted but not required). |
Funding Amount Estimated total contract value:€100,000. | Funding Amount | Estimated total contract value:€100,000. |
Countries European Union Member States in general, with fieldwork required in at least three EU Member States (no specific countries named). | Countries | European Union Member States in general, with fieldwork required in at least three EU Member States (no specific countries named). |
Industry Research and policy analysis on artificial intelligence adoption in manufacturing (research/survey services targeting AI policy and manufacturing sector behaviour). | Industry | Research and policy analysis on artificial intelligence adoption in manufacturing (research/survey services targeting AI policy and manufacturing sector behaviour). |
Additional Web Data
Opportunity overview
This is a planned negotiated procurement by the European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre, and not yet an open call for tenders. It is intended to fund survey fieldwork services that will help the JRC gather behavioural evidence on how alternative regulatory approaches affect AI adoption decisions among firms in the European Union, with a specific focus on rural and urban differences. 1412
What the contract covers
The contractor is expected to programme and implement a JRC questionnaire with embedded randomised experimental treatments, recruit and survey senior decision makers in firms across at least three EU Member States, ensure sufficient rural firm representation for subgroup analysis, and deliver clean, anonymised and well documented datasets suitable for advanced statistical analysis. All fieldwork must comply with EU data protection legislation and professional survey research standards. 1
| Key fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Procedure identifier | EC-JRC/2026/MVP/5020-EXA |
| Lead contracting authority | European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre |
| Procedure type | Planned negotiated procedure for middle and low value contract |
| Nature of contract | Services |
| Main CPV | 79311000 Survey services |
| Additional CPV | 73110000 |
| Estimated total value | €100000 |
| Maximum contract duration | 13 months |
| Expression of interest period | 25/09/2026 to 09/10/2026 21:59 Europe/Brussels |
| Indicative launch of negotiated procedure | 12/10/2026 |
| Submission method | Electronic expression of interest via the portal, with EU Login required |
Who can apply
The notice does not publish a restrictive beneficiary class comparable to a grant call. It is aimed at economic operators that can deliver multi country survey fieldwork, respondent recruitment, questionnaire programming, experimental survey design, secure data handling, and anonymised dataset delivery. 1
- Survey research companies with experience in business or industrial surveys
- Market research or fieldwork providers with cross border capacity
- Research consultancies or consortia able to operate in at least three EU Member States
- Providers with proven GDPR compliant data management and anonymisation processes
Commercial and operational conditions
This is a procurement contract, so a funding rate does not apply. The public notice does not set out detailed award criteria, submission documents, or final contract terms because those are normally provided when the negotiated procedure is launched. The extract also does not indicate a framework agreement. 1
What applicants should prepare
- 1Evidence of capability to survey senior decision makers in manufacturing firms
- 2A plan for securing strong rural firm coverage alongside urban coverage
- 3Capacity to implement questionnaire programming and embedded experimental treatments
- 4Clear GDPR compliant procedures for anonymisation, storage, and delivery of datasets
- 5Ability to submit an electronic expression of interest before the deadline using EU Login
Assessment for prospective suppliers
This opportunity is a small scale but specialised research services contract with a tightly defined methodology. The main value drivers are cross country fieldwork capability, access to senior respondents in manufacturing firms, rural coverage, and reliable delivery of clean data suitable for statistical analysis. 1
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