Study - Structured youth engagement at the time of the European Year of Youth 2022: mapping local, national, EU and international good practices

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is planning to launch a procurement procedure for a study on Structured youth engagement at the time of the European Year of Youth 2022: mapping local, national, EU and international good practices.

This announcement is made pursuant to Annex I.14 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, with a view to the awarding of a low value contract as the result of a negotiated procedure. It is published ahead of the procurement procedure with basic information on the subject matter of the contract to give interested economic operators the opportunity to express their interest in participating as tenderers in the subsequent procurement procedure.

All economic operators established in the European Union, European Economic Area and countries with a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, with proven experience in conducting studies on related topics, may express their interest in participating.

DESCRIPTION

The overall objective of the European Year of Youth was to reinforce the efforts of the Union, the Member States and regional and local authorities to support and engage with young people in a post-pandemic perspective on topics such as education, employment, climate action and participation.

Following up on the European Year of Youth 2022, it is important to reflect on how to tackle the intergenerational aspect of climate and sustainability policies and how to reflect it in the implementation of strong, meaningful youth engagement at all stages of EU decision-making processes, from the drafting of legislative proposals and initiatives through to implementation, monitoring and follow-up. The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through the European Green Deal requires a new approach to a more inclusive, multi-stakeholder governance model that would put young people at the heart of the engagement process and go far beyond ad hoc meetings and mere calls for consultation.

As a first step, the study will provide a general overview of the ongoing good practices and experiences of structured youth engagement in decision-making processes at local, national, EU and international level. Tenderers will be asked to map participation mechanisms within the 27 EU Member States, the EU institutions and other major international organisations (FAO, UNEP, UNDP, etc.) and to identify good practices. Particular attention should be given to the structure of the practices, the process of selecting participants and any follow-up mechanisms in place.

As a second step, the study will provide EU policy recommendations, including possible measures geared towards future EESC initiatives. Specifically, the objective of the study is to map and draw lessons from good practices of structured youth engagement to help the EU institutions, and in particular the EESC, to develop the necessary and appropriate mechanisms to ensure that the voice of young people is duly heard. The study will build on the EESC opinions Towards structured youth engagement on climate and sustainability in the EU decision-making process, adopted in September 2020, and The EU Youth Test, adopted in September 2022. It will help review and improve the recently launched Youth Climate and Sustainability Round Tables and define options for new participation mechanisms within the EESC.

Languages/geographical area

The study should be carried out in English, and cover all Member States, the European Union institutions and other major international organisations.

Indicative timeline

1. Launch of the invitation to tender: November 2022.
2. Contract award: December 2022.
3. The final study report is expected within 8 months of the signing of the contract.
4. Deadline for submission of tenders: approximately 3 weeks after the launch of the invitation to tender.

DATA PROTECTION

By submitting your contact details, you consent to the EESC processing these personal data in line with this Privacy Statement. To access, change or delete your data at any moment, please contact the data controller by sending an email to studies-eesc@eesc.europa.eu.

DISCLAIMER

Please note that this announcement does not create any obligation for the EESC to launch a procurement procedure. The EESC will take the submitted information into account only to identify potential candidates. Expressing interest to participate in a negotiated procedure of this type does not create any legal right or legitimate expectation on the part of any economic operator, and the EESC has the right to cancel the procedure at any time. The procurement documents will only be provided to the identified candidates, and any tender received from a legal or natural person not invited to tender will be rejected.