Supply of services in statistical methodology

Eurostat has published an open procurement (EC-ESTAT/2026/OP/0007) for framework contracts to supply methodological and technical services in official statistics, divided into two lots with an estimated total value of €20.5 million and a maximum duration of 48 months. Lot 1 covers statistical methodology support (estimated €10,000,000; FP and QTM specific contracts) and Lot 2 covers technical services for production of statistics (estimated €10,500,000; Time & Means specific contracts). The award will be based on the best price-quality ratio (50 percent quality, 50 percent price) and requires named expert profiles, security and confidentiality compliance, and adherence to Commission IT and open-source reuse requirements. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login and PIC) by 9 October 2026 at 16:00 Europe/Luxembourg.

What it funds

Scope summary

Framework contracts to provide methodological and technical statistical services to Eurostat for development, production and dissemination of European and related statistics, and development/maintenance of statistical tools. Work includes methodological advice, data processing, modelling, data engineering, disclosure control, dissemination and training.

Structure and duration:Two lots (Lot 1 Statistical Methodology Support; Lot 2 Technical Services). Framework contracts up to 48 months, executed via specific contracts (Fixed Price, Quoted Time & Means or Time & Means) ¹.

1. 1Lot 1: methodological support, FP and QTM specific contracts
2. 2Lot 2: technical Time & Means support to Eurostat services
3. 3Work performed mainly at contractor premises; limited on-site missions

Who can apply

Eligibility highlights

Open procedure:any natural or legal person, joint tenders and subcontractors are permitted; participation also open to entities from third countries where access rules (GPA or specific agreements) apply. Tenderers must be registered in the EU Participant Register (PIC) and submit electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Key selection and performance points:Award on best price-quality ratio; minimum technical/continuity requirements apply (profiles, backup, security, confidentiality declarations). Contractors must provide experts across profiles (master, senior, expert, technical assistant, project manager) and accept framework ordering mechanisms (reopening of competition or cascade). ¹

1. 1Registration: Participant Register (PIC) and EU Login required
2. 2Submission: electronic only via F&T Portal eSubmission
3. 3Security: contractors and staff must comply with Eurostat/Commission security and confidentiality rules

Practical deadlines & logistics

Deadline for receipt of tenders:09/10/2026 16:00 Europe/Luxembourg. Public opening scheduled 13/10/2026. Questions cut-off: 01/10/2026 23:59 Europe/Luxembourg. Submissions via Funding & Tenders Portal using EU Login.

How to access the procurement documents:All procurement documents (invitation, tender specifications, draft framework contracts, financial forms and annexes) are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Tender details ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full tender dossier, annexes and templates (Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Annex 6 financial forms, draft framework contracts, Annex 9 Ordering of services) are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal link above.

Summary of the opportunity

The European Commission, Directorate-General Eurostat (DG ESTAT) has launched an open procedure (TED reference 154/2026 559855-2026, procedure identifier EC-ESTAT/2026/OP/0007) to award framework contracts for the supply of services in statistical methodology. The procurement is divided into two lots: Lot 1 Statistical Methodology Support and Lot 2 Technical Services. The overall estimated total value of the procedure is €20 500 000 (Lot 1 estimated value €10 000 000; Lot 2 estimated value €10 500 000). Maximum duration of each framework contract is 48 months. The award method is best price-quality ratio. Submissions are electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). The deadline for receipt of tenders is 09/10/2026 16:00 Europe/Luxembourg. Public opening of tenders is scheduled for 13/10/2026 10:00 Europe/Luxembourg. TED publication date: 12/08/2026.

What is procured (detailed)

The contracting authority seeks methodological support and technical services to develop, produce and disseminate European (and other) statistics and to develop and maintain statistical tools. Activities span analysis of user needs, survey and census techniques, data collection and processing, validation and editing, estimation and modelling (including forecasting, nowcasting, microsimulation, small area estimation), time series and seasonal adjustment, statistical disclosure control, data integration, data engineering, machine learning and AI methods for official statistics, data visualisation and dissemination, quality assurance, documentation, training, workshops and collaboration with the ESS, academia and the private sector. Work will be delivered through specific contracts under the framework contract (Fixed Price and Quoted Time and Means for Lot 1; Time & Means for Lot 2). Deliverables include reports, code and prototypes, microdata files, guidelines, metadata and quality reports, training and event organisation, dashboards and publication-ready outputs. Open-source publication of results and code is required where not restricted by pre-existing third-party IPR. Confidential statistical data handling rules and obligations apply and must be signed by all team members.

Lots and volumes

1. 1Lot 1: Statistical Methodology support and other support services for the development, production of statistics and other statistical processes. Estimated 4 750 person-days per year (19 000 person-days over 4 years). Estimated total value €10 000 000. Framework agreement: mixed multiple, maximum 3 contractors, reopening of competition as default; cascade allowed for contracts under €300 000. Specific contract types: Fixed Price (FP) and Quoted Time & Means (QTM). Maximum on-site interventions limited to 15% per specific contract and under 5% of annual volume.
2. 2Lot 2: Technical services for development and production of statistics and other statistical processes, including methodological support. Estimated 4 000 person-days per year (16 000 person-days over 4 years). Estimated total value €10 500 000. Framework agreement: multiple framework contracts in cascade with maximum 3 contractors. Specific contract type: Time & Means (TM). Up to 20% of services may be performed on Commission premises; mission days capped (5% per specific contract; under 1% year total). For Lot 2, contractors will usually receive Commission IT equipment (laptop) and an IT account for access to Commission systems when required.

Key contractual modalities

Framework contracts will be implemented via specific contracts. Lot 1 uses FP and QTM specific contracts and a mix of framework arrangements (with reopening of competition as default). Lot 2 is implemented in cascade with Time & Means specific contracts. Tenderers may submit for any lot. Joint tenders and subcontracting are permitted (detailed rules and forms in the tender specifications). The contracting authority uses the Funding & Tenders Portal for subscription, questions and mandatory electronic submission (EU Login and PIC required). Award criteria and quality scoring rules for reopening of competition are described in Annex 9. A cascade ranking is used for Time & Means orders under Lot 2 (the contracting authority offers requests sequentially down the ranked list).

Place of performance and working modalities

Work will be mainly carried out at contractor premises or remotely. Depending on the lot and the specific contract the contracting authority may require on-site work in EU Member States, EFTA countries, the United Kingdom, candidate countries and potential candidates; on-site interventions are limited by percentage caps (Lot 1 on-site interventions: max 15% per specific contract; Lot 2 mission days: max 5% per specific contract). Estimated distribution of deliveries: 75% Luxembourg, 25% Brussels (estimates only). For Lot 2 premises must be inside the EEA and located so service providers can reach Eurostat premises within 24 hours if required.

Who is the contracting authority

European Commission, DG ESTAT - Eurostat. Eurostat is responsible for the European Statistical System and provides high-quality European statistics. Eurostat also supports other Commission Directorates-General and external stakeholders. Contractor teams will work for Eurostat units and, where relevant, other Commission DGs and EU agencies.

Eligibility and participation rules

Participation is open to economic operators established in the territory covered by the Treaties, and to entities from states party to relevant procurement agreements (Agreement on Government Procurement, etc.) on the conditions set out in the tender specifications. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures cannot participate. Registration in the Participant Register and possession of a PIC is mandatory. Tenderers can bid as sole tenderer or joint tender (joint tender rules and power of attorney template in Annex 3). Subcontracting is permitted; identified subcontractors and entities whose capacities are relied upon must provide commitment letters (Annexes 5.1 / 5.2 in tender specifications).

Eligibility of profiles and minimum requirements

Tenders must demonstrate procedures for FP and QTM responses (Lot 1) and continuity/back-up measures for service providers. The contracting authority requires availability of expert profiles defined in the tender specifications: Master Expert (limited to 20 working days per specific contract), Senior Expert, Expert, Junior Expert, Technical Assistant, Project Manager. Minimum experience, language and capacity requirements are detailed in Section 3.2.3 of the tender specifications. For Lot 2 specific profiles and working hour rules (normal day = 8 hours) are defined. For certain sensitive tasks security clearances and on-site secure-room work may be required; confidentiality declarations (Annex IV) must be signed by all team members handling confidential data.

Award and evaluation

Each lot is evaluated independently. Award of framework contracts to multiple contractors (up to three per lot) will be based on the open procedure evaluation using exclusion, selection and award criteria set out in the tender specifications. Award of specific contracts under the framework contracts is done either by reopening of competition (default for Lot 1) or by cascade (Lot 2) or, where allowed, cascade for Lot 1 under specified conditions (projects under €300 000 and strictly delimited scope). For reopening of competition the contracting authority will invite contractors simultaneously and evaluate replies against defined quality criteria and price; the specific tender with the best price-quality ratio will be selected.

Contract types, ordering and operational rules

Lot 1:Mixed multiple framework contracts (max 3 contractors). Specific contracts: FP and QTM. Reopening of competition is the default; cascade allowed for small projects (<= €300 000) with precise technical specifications. Lot 2: Multiple framework contracts in cascade (max 3 contractors). Specific contracts: Time & Means, usually one profile per request. Detailed ordering procedures are described in Annex 9 (Ordering of services through requests for specific contracts). The contractor must propose at least two CVs per requested profile and, if refused, cascade penalties apply. For QTM and TM, time reporting requirements (daily presence records, monthly timesheets, possible Jira/Tempo logs) and monthly/quarterly progress reporting apply; acceptance periods (up to 45 working days) and contract consumption tracking rules apply.

Budgets, volumes and financial forms

Estimated total procedure value:€20 500 000. Lot 1 estimated value €10 000 000 (19 000 person-days over 4 years; Annex 6 includes financial tender forms, price-per-day templates with profiles and distributions). Lot 2 estimated value €10 500 000 (16 000 person-days over 4 years; Annex 6 includes daily rate templates for Senior, Expert and Junior experts). Financial tender forms (Annex 6) must be completed precisely; prices in euros excluding VAT; all costs (overheads, travel included where stated) must be included in unit prices. Variable costs are not reimbursed unless explicitly provided. Price revision (indexation) rules are specified in the draft framework contract and special conditions.

Payment and invoicing

Invoices are to be submitted electronically as specified in the specific contract. For Time & Means specific contracts (Lot 2) interim payments are typically quarterly based on days performed and supported timesheets; final payment is triggered by the final report and acceptance. Payment deadlines are 60 days from receipt of correctly submitted invoices unless suspended for justified reasons. Travel and mission expenses are normally included in day rates for on-site interventions unless otherwise stated in the specific contract; in exceptional international missions travel costs may be reimbursed per Annex IX of the draft framework contract.

Security, confidentiality, data protection and IPR

The contractor and all personnel must comply with applicable Commission security rules. Contractors may be required to obtain security clearances or positive security advice (screening by Belgian authorities for Commission buildings) for service providers accessing Commission premises or IT assets. Remote access and information security baseline rules are in Appendix 3 to the special conditions (Security Baseline for External Connections – Rules for Contractors and service providers) and are mandatory. Handling of confidential statistical data is strictly controlled: Annex IV (Commitment on statistical confidentiality) must be signed by each team member with access to confidential microdata. Open-source publication obligations apply: results (software, tools, documentation) created under these contracts that are not background IPR must be made shareable and publishable under open licences (e.g., EUPL or EUPL-equivalent) at the Commission open source repository (code.europa.eu) or Eurostat GitHub channel unless restricted by third-party IPR.

Procurement documents and templates supplied

Procurement documents published on the Funding & Tenders Portal include:Invitation to tender, Tender specifications (detailed scope, tasks, deliverables, profiles, reporting, security, place of performance), Annex 6 Financial tender forms for Lot 1 and Lot 2, Annex 9 Ordering of services, draft framework contract for Lot 1 and Lot 2, TS Annex 9 Ordering of services, TS Annex 6 financial forms, and templates for commitment letters, declarations on honour and power of attorney. All documents are available in English as published 12/08/2026. Tenderers must follow the required forms (Annex 6 price templates, Annex 4 list of subcontractors, Annex 5 commitment letters, Annex 2 Declaration on Honour, Annex 3 Power of Attorney for joint tenders).

Timetable and milestones

Key dates published in the notice:TED publication 12/08/2026; Deadline for receipt of tenders 09/10/2026 16:00 Europe/Luxembourg; Public opening 13/10/2026 10:00 Europe/Luxembourg; deadline for questions to be answered by the contracting authority 01/10/2026 23:59 Europe/Luxembourg. Contract start date will be the date of signature; maximum duration 48 months. The contracting authority reserves the right to cancel the procurement at any time prior to contract signature.

Administrative and procedural highlights

Submissions must be uploaded via eSubmission (EU Login required). The PIC is mandatory for tender submission. Tenders must be in English. Attachments must comply with eSubmission system requirements: maximum file size per attachment < 50 MB; maximum number of attachments 200 files. The contracting authority may request documentary evidence for legal, financial and technical selection criteria at short notice. Declarations on honour and documentary evidence must be supplied when requested. The contracting authority will verify exclusion and selection criteria (EDES checks may be performed). Tenderers must ensure SME status is up to date in the Participant Register if applicable.

Evaluation stages and selection procedure

1. 1Administrative compliance: correct language, signed declarations and submission via eSubmission.
2. 2Exclusion checks: declaration on honour and possible documentary evidence; EDES checks.
3. 3Selection checks: legal, financial and technical capacity requirements (as set out in tender specifications). Tenderers can rely on subcontractors or other entities to meet capacity thresholds; commitment letters required.
4. 4Technical evaluation: assessment of the technical tender against minimum requirements and award criteria.
5. 5Financial evaluation: comparison using provided financial models and Annex 6 templates.
6. 6Ranking and award: framework contract award to ranked tenderers (multiple winners up to 3 per lot). Specific contracts awarded later by reopening of competition or cascade.

Eligible applicant types

Eligible applicant types:legal entities (companies), consortia / joint ventures, public bodies if compliant with access to procurement rules, national statistical institutes, universities, research institutes, non-profit organisations, SMEs and large undertakings. Natural persons may participate only if representing an eligible economic operator in accordance with the tender rules. Subcontractors and entities on whose capacities the tenderer relies are allowed, but identification and commitments are required in the tender (Annex 4 and Annex 5 models).

Categorisation questions (structured answers)

Eligible Applicant Types:Eligible applicant types include: SMEs and startups (as legal entities), large enterprises, consultancies, specialised statistical and data-science companies, universities and academic research institutes, national statistical institutes (NSIs), public bodies and EU agencies (where access rules permit), non-profit organisations and NGOs active in statistics/data science, joint ventures and consortia, subcontractors. Individuals cannot apply alone; they must be part of an organisation or a nominated service provider through a contractor. All participants must be registered in the Participant Register and have a PIC.

Funding Type:Primary financial mechanism: public procurement procurement framework contract (services). Award is via framework agreement with specific contracts (Fixed Price, Quoted Time & Means, Time & Means) rather than grant or loan. This is a tender/procurement procedure, not a grant call.

Consortium Requirement:Consortium is not mandatory. Submission as a single tenderer or joint tender (group of economic operators) is allowed. For consortia, a group leader must be nominated and joint & several liability applies. Subcontracting is permitted; identified subcontractors (>15% share or relied-upon capacities) must be declared and provide commitment letters.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Geographic eligibility: participation open to natural and legal persons established within the scope of the EU Treaties and to entities from countries party to the Agreement on Government Procurement for the lots in scope. Service performance may be from contractor premises within the EEA; Lot 2 requires contractor premises within the EEA that allow reaching Eurostat premises within 24 hours if on-site is requested. Missions may include EU Member States, EFTA countries, the United Kingdom and candidate countries. Remote delivery sites must be in EU Member States or the EEA as specified in the tender specifications and security appendices.

Target Sector:Primary sector: statistics and official statistics methodology. Thematic coverage: data science, statistical methods, survey methodology, econometrics, machine learning/AI for official statistics, data engineering, time series, seasonal adjustment, disclosure control, statistical production processes, quality assurance, data visualisation, and statistical tool development. Secondary sectors include ICT (software development, data architectures), innovation and research, training and community engagement.

Mentioned Countries:Countries explicitly mentioned or referenced in the documents: European Union Member States, EFTA countries, the United Kingdom, candidate countries and potential candidates. Place of performance specifically references Brussels (BE) and Luxembourg (LU) as principal delivery locations (estimated distribution: Luxembourg 75%, Brussels 25%).

Project Stage:Expected maturity: activities cover a broad range from research and method development (research), prototyping and tool development (development and validation), piloting and demonstration (demonstration), routine production, data processing and operational support (production/implementation) through to support for dissemination and training (deployment). The tender targets projects across the TRL/MLR chain for statistical methods and data processing.

Funding Amount:Estimated procedure total €20 500 000 across both lots (Lot €1 10 000 000; Lot €2 10 500 000) for the maximum 48-month duration. These figures are estimates and do not constitute a commitment beyond the framework contract ceiling and the specific contract award volumes.

Application Type:Submission type: open call / open procedure via EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). Tenderers must submit a full tender by the published deadline. Specific contracts will be awarded via reopening of competition or cascade as described in Annex 9.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries receive contractual payments for services (monetary). The contracting authority also provides non-monetary support in the form of access to Commission premises, IT accounts, Commission IT equipment (for Lot 2 service providers), collaborative platforms and templates, and access to data (including confidential data under strict conditions) as specified in specific contracts.

Application Stages:Stages: 1) Tender submission and administrative/compliance checks; 2) Exclusion and selection checks; 3) Technical and financial evaluation of tenders leading to ranking and award of framework contracts; 4) Subsequent ordering and award of specific contracts under the framework by reopening of competition or cascade (this stage includes interview/selection of CVs, project-specific technical offers and price quotes where relevant). In practice the initial tender evaluation is one multi-step procurement evaluation and the specific contract awards are subsequent separate competitions.

Success Rates:No explicit historical success rates are published for this procedure. Framework contracts are limited in number (maximum 3 contractors per lot); therefore the success rate for selection of the framework contractors will be low relative to the number of applicants. Success at the framework stage does not guarantee specific contract award, as specific contracts are competitively awarded among framework contractors (reopening of competition or cascade).

Co-funding Requirement:No co-funding from the contracting authority is required beyond contract pricing. Contractors must include all costs (overheads, travel, missions for on-site interventions, administration) in their unit day rates unless specific contracts state reimbursable travel for missions outside the EU territory in accordance with Annex IX. Variable costs are generally included in unit prices and will not be reimbursed separately.

Templates and application structure

Tenders must use the official templates provided in the procurement documents (Annexes) and follow the exact structure and forms. Key templates and forms described in the tender documents include:

• Annex II: Contractor’s tender (technical tender) – includes technical approach, methodology for FP/QTM responses (Lot 1), methodology for TM deployments (Lot 2), business continuity/back-up processes, CVs for proposed profiles, organisation chart, project manager details, IT and security measures, references and past performances.
• Annex 6 TS ANNEX 6 Financial tender form Lot 1 and Lot 2 – price-per-day templates by profile. Lot 1: per-profile day rates for on-site and contractor-premises work and distributions; Lot 2: daily rates for Senior, Expert and Junior experts and estimated distributions. Tenders must complete the exact Excel templates provided (no extra columns).
• Annex 3 (Tender specifications): Model Agreement/Power of Attorney for joint tenders (must be signed by all group members).
• Annex 4 List of identified subcontractors (where subcontractor share > 15% or subcontractors relied upon for selection criteria) and Annex 5 (commitment letters) – binding commitments from subcontractors or third parties on whose capacities the tenderer relies.
• Declaration on Honour (Annex 2 of the tender specifications) and documentary evidence on request for selection/exclusion checks.
• Annex III of the framework contract: model for specific contracts (FP, QTM, TM) - to be used during execution and for signature of specific contracts.
• Annex IV: statistical confidentiality commitment template to be signed by contractor and all team members with access to confidential data.
• Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 to the Special Conditions: Security rules and Security Baseline for External Connections – contractors must describe and commit to security measures and name an IT security manager.

Form and content guidance (high level):The technical tender must describe the tenderer’s organisation, proposed delivery model, roles and responsibilities, risk management and business continuity, CVs for required profiles, approach for Fixed Price / Quoted Time & Means or Time & Means responses, quality assurance and reporting approach, proposed methodologies for the statistical areas relevant to the lot applied for, references and examples of similar assignments. The financial tender must follow the exact Annex 6 templates and show day rates per profile, and compute totals consistent with the estimated distributions. All templates must be completed in full and submitted via eSubmission.

Mandatory security and confidentiality steps

Security and confidentiality obligations are strict and mandatory. Key points:service providers working on Commission systems or in Commission premises must sign the Ethics Reminder / Service Provider Declaration and Annex IV confidentiality commitments. Commission security screening (positive security advice) may be required for access to certain Commission premises and IT assets (screening process and fee described in the security appendices). Remote access is governed by the Security Baseline for External Connections (Appendix 3). Contractors must designate an IT security manager for liaison with the contracting authority. All deliverables that are not background IPR must be publishable under an open license where possible (EUPL or similar) unless third-party rights prevent this.

How to apply (submission practicals)

1) Register in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC. 2) Create EU Login account. 3) Subscribe to the call in the Funding & Tenders Portal. 4) Prepare the technical tender following Annex II and Annex I Tender specifications (including CVs and all required declarations). 5) Complete Annex 6 financial tender form exactly (Lot 1 or Lot 2 sheet required). 6) Provide Annex 4 list of identified subcontractors and Annex 5 commitment letters where applicable. 7) Submit all documents electronically via eSubmission before the deadline (09/10/2026 16:00 Europe/Luxembourg). Keep copies of submission receipt. Files must be under 50 MB each; maximum 200 attachment files.

Risks, penalties and performance management

Key contractual penalties and management clauses:cascading penalties if contractor fails to propose a compliant offer or provides insufficient CVs (penalty 1% of request value and €250 per non-compliant request; doubled if contractor declines more than twice); penalties for late or missing deliveries may be applied (liquidated damages). Service quality indicators will be monitored (ordering process, mobilisation and replacement performance, respect of starting dates, availability of candidates). Acceptance periods for deliverables and rejection/rectification processes are specified (e.g., acceptance period up to 45 normal working days). The contracting authority may require the contractor to report risks and remediation plans; failure may trigger contract performance penalties or termination for breach.

Footnote and source:This summary is extracted from the tender notice, tender specifications and annexes published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (call EC-ESTAT/2026/OP/0007, publication 12/08/2026). Full procurement documents and templates are available on the Portal. For original documents and the eSubmission link see the call page Eurostat Tender – Supply of services in statistical methodology ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Full tender specifications, Annex 6 financial tender forms, Annex 9 Ordering of services, draft framework contracts (Lot 1 and Lot 2) and Invitation to Tender are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page: ec.europa.eu

This is an open EU procurement for statistical methodology and technical services supporting the development, production, dissemination and maintenance of European and other statistics, organized by Eurostat as a 48 month framework agreement with two lots and a combined estimated value of €20.5 million ¹.

Opportunity summary

The contract is for specialist services rather than grant funding. Eurostat is seeking external experts and technical teams to support methodological work, statistical production processes, data validation, analysis, dissemination, tool development, quality assessment, training, and cooperation with the European Statistical System, academia, and other stakeholders.

What the tender covers

The scope includes support across the statistical business process, from identifying user needs and designing surveys to modelling, estimation, data integration, validation, disclosure control, time series work, dashboards, dissemination, quality assessment, and the development and maintenance of statistical tools.

The tender also explicitly covers modern data and innovation topics such as machine learning, deep learning, large language models, AI for official statistics, data engineering, data architecture, and the use of administrative data, big data, and other innovative sources.

Lots

Who can apply

The procedure is an open procedure, so eligible economic operators may submit a tender for either lot or both lots, provided they meet the selection criteria and other requirements in the procurement documents.

Tenders may be submitted for any lot, but each lot is assessed independently. Partial tenders for only part of a lot and conditional tenders depending on the award of another lot are not permitted.

Tenderers must use EU Login for electronic submission and need a Participant Identification Code. The portal also indicates that the opportunity is not marked as SME suitable.

Key dates and deadlines

• TED publication date: 12 August 2026
• Deadline for receipt of tenders: 9 October 2026 at 16:00 Europe Luxembourg
• Deadline after which the contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions: 1 October 2026 at 23:59 Europe Luxembourg
• Public opening: 13 October 2026 at 10:00 Europe Luxembourg

The provided metadata also mentions a second deadline of 1 January 2026, but the operative deadline shown in the portal data is 9 October 2026 at 16:00 Europe Luxembourg.

Award method and contract terms

Award is based on the best price quality ratio, with 50 percent for quality and 50 percent for price.

The contract duration is 48 months. The subject is a services contract, and the main CPV code is 79330000 Statistical services.

For Lot 1, specific contracts can be fixed price or quoted time and means. For Lot 2, specific contracts are time and means.

What applicants should know

The work is highly specialized and requires strong statistical, methodological, data science, and technical delivery capacity. The tender specifications request named service provider profiles, including Master Expert, Senior Expert, Expert, Technical Assistant, and Project Manager, with detailed expectations for experience, technical skill, professional capability, and language proficiency.

For Lot 1, the contractor must be able to provide at least two CVs for each requested profile under the cascade mechanism, maintain business continuity arrangements, and respond fully to specific contract requests. Failure to provide a conform offer can trigger penalties and cascade to the next contractor.

For both lots, deliverables must be provided in PDF and fully editable formats, readable and editable by Microsoft Office applications, and prepared in professional English for outputs intended for publication or external audiences.

The contractor must ensure compatibility with Commission IT standards, use proper configuration and documentation practices, and be ready to provide reusable, reproducible, and shareable software and code when applicable.

Operational and security conditions

Eurostat may require on-site work in Luxembourg or travel within EU Member States, EFTA countries, the United Kingdom, candidate countries and potential candidates. For Lot 1, on-site interventions are capped at 15 percent of each specific contract and less than 5 percent of annual person days overall.

All costs, including overheads, infrastructure, administration, and travel, must be built into the unit prices in the financial offer, except for certain missions outside the listed territories, where the framework contract rules provide for reimbursement.

Access to confidential statistical data is tightly controlled and may only be possible within Eurostat premises. Team members involved in the contract must sign the required confidentiality and ethics declarations.

The contract also includes strong open source and reuse provisions. Results that are not background intellectual property owned by the contractor must be freely shareable and may be published under open licences if Eurostat decides to do so.

Useful practical takeaways

1. 1This is a framework contracting opportunity, not a grant.
2. 2Eurostat wants both methodological depth and hands on delivery capacity.
3. 3Lot 1 is broader and more advisory and innovation oriented.
4. 4Lot 2 is more operational and tied to direct technical support and time and means delivery.
5. 5Strong teams should show experience in official statistics, data science, data engineering, disclosure control, and publication ready reporting.
6. 6Applicants should prepare for strict security, documentation, and continuity requirements.

Footnotes

1. 1Official EU Funding and Tenders Portal tender record for EC-ESTAT/2026/OP/0007, Supply of services in statistical methodology, and the associated tender specifications and draft contract documents available through the portal.