Study - The role and increasing weight of the National Economic and Social Councils at national level

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is planning to launch a procurement procedure for a study on The role and increasing weight of the National Economic and Social Councils at national level.

WHAT IS THIS PUBLICITY ABOUT?

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, to award a low value contract for a study as a result of a negotiated procurement procedure. It is published ahead of the procurement procedure with basic information on the subject matter of the contract, to give economic operators the possibility to express interest in participating as tenderers in the subsequent procurement procedure.

DESCRIPTION

Since the annual meeting of the Presidents and Secretaries-General of the EESC and of the National Economic and Social Councils (NESCs) in Paris (November 2021) it has become even clearer that the NESCs are becoming increasingly important at national level, in terms of socio-economic and political governance.

The implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans stemming from the NextGeneration EU seems to have acted as a catalyst in that sense, but, in broader terms, NESCs are probably more and more perceived as key actors when governments interact with organised civil society.

Against this background, the EESC intends, on the one hand, to study the extent of this positive trend, and on the other, to assess whether there are any useful lessons from which the EESC could draw inspiration or feed its reflection on how to further strengthen its role as an institutional bridge with civil society.

In light of the conclusions of the recent Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), which identifies a need to "enhance the institutional role of the EESC and empower it as facilitator and guarantor of participatory activities like structured dialogue with civil society organisations and citizens' panels" cf. Proposal 39(6), the EESC is currently strengthening its already solid relations with the NESCs operating in 21 Member States.

The study should, through a combination of an online survey and semi-structured interviews, assess the trend and answer the questions indicated above.

Languages/geographical area

The study should be carried out in English and cover the National Economic and Social Councils in 15 Member States.

Indicative timeline

  1. Launch of the invitation to tender: second quarter 2023.
  2. Contract award: second quarter 2023.
  3. The final study report is expected within 6-7 months following the signature of the contract.
  4. Deadline for submission of tenders: approximately May-June 2023.

WHO MAY EXPRESS INTEREST TO BE INVITED IN THE SUBSEQUENT CALL FOR TENDERS?

Participation is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons established in the European Union (EU) or in a third country which has a special agreement with the EU in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement. This includes:

  • All EU Member States;
  • Parties to special international agreements with the EU in the field of public procurement:
    • European Economic Area agreement (EEA): Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein;
    • Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA): North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

HOW TO EXPRESS INTEREST

Entities established in a country that has access to the procurement can express interest in participating in the planned procedure by filling in and submitting the contact form (see link at the bottom of this page).

DATA PROTECTION

By submitting your contact details, you consent to the EESC processing this 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 this type of negotiated procedure 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 documents of the actual call for tenders (invitation letter, tender specifications and draft contract) will only be provided to the identified candidates when the procedure is launched, and any tender received from a legal or natural person not invited to tender will be rejected.

Contact

Expressions of interest in participating or requests for further information should be sent via the following contact form:

Deadline

Monday, April 24, 2023 - 14:57