The EEA and Norway Grants are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway’s contribution to reducing economic and social disparities in Europe and to strengthening bilateral relations with 15 Beneficiary States in Northern, Central and Southern Europe.
For the period 2021-2028, EUR 3.268 billion will be allocated to 15 programme areas and three dedicated funds structured around three overarching priorities:
European green transition,
Democracy, rule of law and human rights
Social inclusion and resilience.
More information on thematic priorities and programme areas can be found in the Blue Book.
This framework agreement aims to support the assessment of programs and funds under the EEA and Norway Grants ensuring transparency, efficiency and evidenced-based decision making in line with FMO’s commitment to results based management. The services to be provided under this framework may include appraisals, monitoring, evaluations and studies.
The FMO is looking for a maximum of 8 framework contractors with a particular expertise in one or more of the programme areas and/or funds managed by EEA & Norway Grants, experience working in its Beneficiary States and proven methodological expertise in conducting assignments of similar nature.
The maximum contract value is EUR 4,5 million and it will run for 2 years initially with possibilities of renewal.
Deadline for submission is: 28/04/2025 at 12:00 Brussels Time
Questions as to the procurement or documents must be e-mailed to fmo-procurement@efta.int. The questions and answers will be shared in this article (see below), without disclosing names or other confidential information regarding the persons or companies raising the question. Questions asked less than 10 working days before the tender deadline will not be answered before the tender deadline.
You can find more detailed information in the Terms of Reference and Tender instruction documents below:
- Terms of Reference for Framework Agreement on Appraisals, Monitoring, Evaluations and Studies
- Annex 1 - Draft Framework Agreement on Appraisals, Monitoring, Evaluations and Studies
- Annex 2 - Organisation track record template
- Annex 3 - Evaluation methods questionnaire
- Annex 4 - Country-Sector Matrix
- Annex 5: Price matrix
- Annex 6 - Instructions on Invoicing of travel related expenses 2021
- Annex 7 - DSA rates 2024
Download all the documents in .zip
Questions and answers related to the invitation to tender
Q: Are there any page limits apart from 5 pages per CV maximum and 5 pages per company presentation?
A: No, there is no page limit apart from the ones set for the CVs and company presentation.
Q: Is there a maximum number of CVs that should be shared for experts?
A: As indicated in section 3, the proposed core team should consist of a maximum of 10 persons. Therefore, no more than 10 CVs should be provided at this stage.
As defined under section 3.5, CVs of beneficiary States' sector experts (not part of the core team) could be requested at a later stage during the assessment of tenders.
Q: Could you please let us know whether the submission deadline could be extended?
A: Due to our internal timeline, no extension of the deadline is foreseen.
Q: Are organisations based outside Belgium/the EEA eligible to apply?
A: There are no limitations in the Terms of Reference regarding the geographic location of the bidder. However please note that the bidders will be evaluated on their knowledge, understanding of and presence in the Beneficiary States, and that this may set some practical limitations regarding where a Contractor under the framework agreement can be based.
Q: Can a bidder apply as a consortium/partnership of several entities, or including subcontractors? And can references for consortium partners/subcontractors be submitted to fulfil the relevant criteria? How does the use of subcontractors/consortium partners affect the submission requirements for the Annexes?
A: The FMO expects to sign framework agreements with individual entities, acting as Contractors under the Framework Agreements and taking on all the responsibilities described in the contract. However, a Contractor can assign parts of its responsibilities under the contracts to subcontractors. The qualifications and tasks assigned to such subcontractors will be taken into account when bids are assessed.
Q: Can bidders/contractors use external experts to 1) document their geographical and sectoral expertise under that award criteria, and 2) fulfil their obligations under the contract?
A: The FMO expects to sign framework agreements with individual legal entities, acting as Contractors under the Framework Agreements and taking on all the responsibilities described in the contract. However, we understand that all bidders/contractors will need to rely on external expertise to a varying degree in order to provide coverage of the sectors and countries required. This can be achieved through formal relationships through partnerships/consortia/use of subcontractors, and/or through the use of external experts on a less formal basis. For the former, please refer to the separate question regarding subcontracting/partnerships.
Q: The documents and the EEA grants website indicate the deadline as 28/04/2025 at 12:00 Brussels Time. However, on the Ted website we see deadline listed as 25/04/2025 12:00:00 (UTC+2). Could you please confirm the correct submission deadline?
A: The correct deadline is 28/04/2025. A change notice has been published to TED accordingly.