1. Purpose of contract

The European Labour Authority (ELA) is a Union body established by Regulation (EU) 2019/1149. Its aim is to ensure that EU rules on labour mobility and social security coordination are enforced in a fair, simple and effective way and to make it easier for citizens and businesses to reap the benefits of the internal market.

One of the main pillars of ELA’s mission is to provide better access to online information and services for Union and national stakeholders and facilitate the exchange of information between them and also to enhance information provision to workers and employers. Therefore, the use of digital tools is encouraged by ELA whenever possible. Besides IT systems and websites, digital tools such as online interactive platforms and databases play an increasingly central role in cross-border labour mobility. Such tools are useful to provide easy access to relevant online information and facilitate exchange of information.

The purpose of this call for tenders is the performance of a feasibility study to assess the possibility and viability of developing an innovative digital information tool at EU level. Aim of such a tool is to bridge existing gaps in information provision related to the labour mobility in the EU and thus address the needs of mobile workers and employers (e.g. related to the free movement of workers, posting of workers, frontier work, cross-border commuting, etc.) in a more accessible, user-friendly and innovative way. The Terms of Reference of the tender will include a non-exhaustive list of types of such innovative digital information tools from which the tenderers can chose, as the object of the feasibility analysis, one tool or a combination of them or to offer an alternative type satisfying the Authorities basic requirements.

The non-exhaustive list of types of potential tools:

• A simulator tool for posting of workers – an interactive, multilingual tool which would guide the user when searching information on labour mobility for a specific Member State, for a specific skills profile, specific sector etc. After choosing the starting parameters, the user would get results that guide him/her further to the more detailed information (i.e. the tool provides an user journey);
• A chatbot – an application tool designed to simulate conversation with human users that could answer most frequently asked questions without human interaction, potentially also integrated into the EURES platform – section related to Living and Working Conditions;
• An aggregator tool - a potential new EU level solution compiling and making accessible information on a specific topic available in other info sources (either at national or EU level; e.g. collecting all available info on living and working conditions from different sources such as EURES (European Employment Services), Your Europe portal, national websites, Eurofound etc.)
• A multilingual ‘operational assistance tool’ targeting either workers or (more likely) employers in implementing their obligations related to a specific issue on labour mobility (e.g. virtual posting checklist for employers “what do I need to do in the specific case of sending my worker from country A to country B for a specific duration and a specific task…’)

The tasks foreseen under the contract are: 

• Profiling of the tool to be analysed in terms of its objectives, main characteristics and functionalities;
• Conducting a comprehensive feasibility analysis of the selected tool, covering a variety of aspects such as legal, political, technological, budget and HR requirements;
• Deriving suggestions for further steps to develop and implement the tool;
• Reporting;
• Project management and quality assurance.

The Contractor is expected to deliver:

• Minutes of the kick-off meeting;
• Induction report further specifying the methodology, team composition and roles, timeline of the project;
• Interim, draft final and final feasibility analysis, covering all predefined criteria and suggestions for development and implementation of the tool;
• Interim and final technical report, summarising the progress of the project.

2. Price

The maximum amount for this contract is EUR 136,000.

3. Indicative time schedule and contact point

The indicative time schedule for launching the negotiated procedure is August 2022. Interested economic operators can express their interest to participate in this negotiated procedure until 3 August 2022 at 12:00 CET in writing to information@ela.europa.eu. The indicative date to sign the contract is November 2022.

The estimated performance period of the resulting contract is 12 months (contract not renewable).

4. Protection of personal data

If processing a tender involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as name, address and CV), this data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2018/1725. Unless indicated otherwise, any personal data will be processed solely for evaluation purposes under the negotiated procedure by the Executive Director of ELA. Details concerning the processing of personal data are available in the privacy statement https://www.ela.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2022-03/ela-ps-procurement-0003.pdf. The tenderer's personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) if the tenderer is in one of the situations mentioned in Article 136 of the Financial Regulation. For more information, see the privacy statement.