Call for Expression of Interest for Remunerated Experts
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- May 14, 2024 Post Date
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- EEA/CEI/2024/5 Requisition #
Notice of Call for Expression of Interest
For the establishment of a list of external experts to provide scientific expertise to the European Environment Agency.
Please send us your application by no later than 10 February 2027 at midnight (Copenhagen time).
1. Introduction to EEA
This call for expression of interest is launched and managed by the European Environment Agency (hereinafter referred to as the “EEA” or the “contracting authority”).
The EEA, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the EU agency responsible for providing information on the European environment. The aim of the EEA is to ensure that decision-makers and the public are kept informed about the state and outlook of the environment by delivering timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-makers and the public. This is done to assist the European Union in its attempt to improve the environment and move towards sustainability in Europe. The legal basis of the EEA can be found in the EEA regulation. The EEA collects environmental data from the Member Countries, other EU institutions and international organisations through its established network called EIONET (the European Environmental Information and Observation Network). Based on this information, the EEA produces reports on various environmental topics. The EEA’s main report, published every five years, is the State and Outlook on the Environment in Europe (SOER). Based on the understanding that the public should be ensured easy access to the data and information used in the EEA work programme for periodical reporting, the EEA offers various data and map services. See the following link: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps. All EEA publications are available electronically on the EEA web site and are free-of-charge.
If you would like to know more about what we do, visit the EEA website.
2. List of individual experts for scientific support
2.1. Objective of the call
The objective of this call for expressions of interest is to establish a list of individuals (natural persons, not representing any company/organisation) with scientific expertise to assist EEA in carrying out preparatory work (including data related activities) in support of EEA’s scientific activities with the main focus areas outlined below.
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A. Resource use, circular economy and waste
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B. Health and Environment
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C. Oceans and sustainable blue economy
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D. Biodiversity
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E. Climate
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F. Sustainability transition
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It shall be noted that the list above is non exhaustive and that more areas of expertise may be considered depending on the scope of EEA’s activities.
It is important to note that this call is aimed to complement existing EEA contracts, grants and procedures and shall not be seen as replacing or overlapping with them, and it shall therefore only be used for needs/tasks that are not covered by other arrangements already in place.
It should be noted that the subject matter experts are appointed “ad personam” and will not be considered as representatives of any organisation or affiliation they may be employed by or associated with. For this reason, the successful applicants will be required to complete a ‘Legal Entity’ identification form (LEF) in their own name, as a ‘natural person’ and not in the name of their employer. If the applicant has a 100% owned private company, then this may exceptionally be used to complete the LEF.
2.2. Fields of expertise sought & examples of typical types of expected tasks
The list of external experts will be divided into areas of expertise. The areas of expertise are listed above.
Applicants may apply for more than one area(s) of expertise and shall clearly indicate in their application (see section 4) how their background expertise and past experience is relevant for each selected area. Such reference shall contain as a minimum the activities or projects in which the applicant participated that are pertinent in the respective area of expertise.
Experts included in the list could be asked to carry out tasks related to dedicated topical work, for example:
- Conduct literature review/research;
- Contribute to drafting of chapter(s) of a report;
- Perform data collection and/or data analysis;
- Support creation of other EEA products including technical briefings, articles, etc;
- Prepare ad-hoc specific inputs to systemic assessments;
- Prepare factsheets;
- Provide expert advice on specific elements of tender specifications;
- Provide an expert opinion about tenders or proposals received, but limiting the opinion to their field of expertise;
- Facilitate technical meetings including support to preparation and preparing the materials/ participate as invited speaker;
- Provide expert advice and support in developing training materials and/or training programmes and/or to deliver training courses as tutors, in scientific topics within EEA’s remit.
Please note that the list of tasks provided above is indicative and non-exhaustive.
When assisting EEA in the performance of the tasks mentioned above all work shall be performed in compliance with any relevant procedures, applicable rules and regulations etc. All necessary information will be made available to the selected expert(s) by EEA prior to commencement of the respective assignment.
2.3. General overview of the procedure
The procedure is based on Article 237 of the EU Financial Regulation.
Individuals are invited to submit an expression of interest in accordance with the rules set out in this notice.
EEA as the contracting authority will draw up a list of individuals who meet the eligibility and selection criteria set out in section 3.3 of this call.
An evaluation committee will be appointed for the overall duration of the call to verify that applicants pass the exclusion and selection criteria set out in this notice, in order to be included in the list. The committee shall evaluate the submitted applications on a regular basis. All applicants that are included in the list will be notified, in writing.
The list resulting from this call for expression of interests and any further updates are valid for maximum 3 years from the first publication of the call for expressions of interest. EEA retains the right to close the open call for expressions of interest at any time.
The list resulting from this call for expression of interests will be used for execution of the tasks such as those described at section 2.2 above. Inclusion on the list entails no obligation on the part of EEA to award a contract.
Maximum amount that can be paid to an individual during the whole duration of the call (3 years) is EUR 143,000.00 (hundred forty-three thousand euros), including remunerations and possible reimbursements.
In order to ensure rotation of experts, a maximum of 3 assignments per year will be assigned to the same expert.
Individuals included in the list will not act or speak on behalf of EEA and EEA cannot be held responsible for their actions and expressions.
2.3.1. How individuals are selected for particular assignments
Where a particular task described under section 2.2 is to be performed by an individual expert, EEA will consult the list in order to assign individual(s) to the task on the basis of the skills, experience and knowledge necessary and in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and absence of conflict of interests. The tasks will be formalised in a request for service sent to the individual expert selected. Before sending the request for service, the EEA may organise a short interview with the selected expert, to verify the technical ability to perform the tasks. The duration of the assignments will depend on the nature and complexity of the tasks and it will be established once the specific need arises and will be specified in the contract.
The EEA reserves the right to select more than one expert and address the request to several experts in case of non-availability of the initially selected expert.
On notification of contract appointment, and before contract signature, the expert shall be required to submit the following documentation, within 10 calendar days of notification of appointment, duly completed, signed and in original (please note that these are not required for the application process – only in case of contract assignment):
- Signed DoI;
- Financial Identification Form;
- Legal Entity Form;
- Expenses reimbursement, if relevant.
Notwithstanding conditions deriving from the specific tasks to be assigned, countersignature of the contract implies acceptance of all the conditions provisioned in the draft contract. Therefore, while drawing up their application, interested experts shall bear in mind the provisions of the draft contract (see Annex 3).
2.3.2. Declarations of interest and declaration on previous work in EU institutions
All experts are expected to ensure that their contractual and professional obligations in particular with regard to confidentiality, independence and absence of conflict of interests are well understood and upheld throughout and after any contract assignment (see Annex 5). Due to the nature of this call, EEA Scientific Committee Members, EEA Management Board members and members of the Climate Advisory Board shall not be eligible to apply to be included in the list of experts, during their appointment in the said positions.
EEA will request an Individual declaration of interest to be submitted prior to the signature of the contract. Individual declarations will be assessed by EEA as a condition of the contract signature.
2.4. Conditions of appointment for a particular assignment
2.4.1. Remuneration
Individuals shall be remunerated at a fixed fee of EUR 450 (four hundred and fifty euros) per day worked (a working day corresponds to 8 hours).
The individuals shall commit to respect applicable national legislation, including taxation, social security and labour law with regard to any payment received from EEA.
In order to be able to receive the remuneration, experts must have a bank account in their own name in an EU Member or EEA.
2.4.2. Expenses reimbursement
Where applicable in case of experts performing tasks outside their place of indicated residence, travel and subsistence expenses may be reimbursed under the conditions set out in the contract according to the conditions stipulated in Annex 1.
2.4.3. Place of work
Tasks will be carried out in most of the cases remotely and delivered using electronic communication tools. In certain cases, EEA may request that specific tasks are carried out in EEA premises in Copenhagen, Denmark, or other sites that will be mentioned in the contract specifications, in which case expenses will be reimbursed (see section 2.4.2).
2.5. Ex post transparency
A list of individuals who have concluded with EEA contract(s) of more than EUR 15,000.00 (cumulative value) following the procedure set out under point 2.3 shall be published on EEA website, no later than 30 June of the year following the year in which the contracts were awarded. Information published includes the name of the individual, the locality (region of origin), the amount, and the subject of the contract. The information shall be removed two years after the year of the contract award.
3. Requirements
3.1. Eligibility criteria
Participation in this call is open on equal terms to all natural persons from one of the 32 EEA member countries and to all natural persons established in a third country which has a special agreement with the European Union in the field of procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement.
At this point in time, applicants established in one of the following countries are eligible: EU-27, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye; under the stabilisation and association agreements: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99.
3.2. Exclusion criteria
The objective of the exclusion criteria is to assess whether the applicant is in any of the exclusion situations listed in Article 136 of the Financial Regulation. Applicants found to be in an exclusion situation will be rejected. To that end, applicants shall submit a declaration duly filled out and signed, using the template available on the EEA website. EEA reserves the right to ask for further supporting evidence of non-exclusion.
3.3. Selection criteria
Applicants to be placed on the list shall be selected based on their professional and technical capacity to perform the tasks described in point 2.2. In particular, the applicants must meet these selection criteria to evidence their capacity:
Education
A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three (3) years attested by a diploma in one or more fields related to Areas A to F in section 2.2.
Professional experience and competencies
- At least 3 years of proven professional experience after their degree in at least one of the above fields in which the above qualifications were obtained. A remunerated PhD degree acquired in a field relevant to the areas mentioned above can be counted as professional experience up to 3 years. Paid traineeships are counted as working experience;
- Demonstrable experience in the scientific areas indicated in section 2.1 above, as evidenced by being the lead author of at least 2 reports and/or 2 publications in peer-reviewed journals/scientific/technical papers related to the above-mentioned scientific expertise, carried out in the last 5 years before the application date (the publications should be in EN language and a weblink should be provided);
- An excellent ability to communicate clearly and effectively in both spoken and written English, evidenced by either having written at least 2 reports or publications in English; or a certificate demonstrating at least level C.1 of the Common European Framework of References for Languages; or having worked for at least 2 years in a working environment where the day-to-day working language for meetings and communications is English.
Supporting evidence requested
- Duly filled-in application form, submitted via the EEA online application tool, evidencing the above requirements;
- Before any contract of appointment, EEA reserves the right to request the selected applicant to provide supporting documents relating to their education and professional experience (i.e. copy of university degree, and certificates of working experience, etc.) to demonstrate fulfilment of the selection criteria.
4. How to apply
4.1. General information
The call for expression of interests shall be read in conjunction with its annexes which contain essential additional information.
Submission of an application implies acceptance of the terms and conditions laid down in this Call for Expression of Interest and all relevant annexes.
Expenditures for preparing and submitting expressions of interest will not be reimbursed by EEA.
Applications should be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union, preferably in English, being the working language at the EEA. Applications may be submitted at any time during the period of validity of the call for expression of interest, with the exception of the last three months of that period. However, we advise you to apply as early as possible, as assignments can arise at any point in time during the validity of the list.
Individuals may withdraw their application at any moment by written notice to EEA.
4.2. Application process
Please submit your application online by means of the EEA online application tool at https://jobs.eea.europa.eu/.
The online tool is the only acceptable means of submitting an application. It allows candidates to enter their application until the deadline in order to make changes. Applications sent via email or post are not accepted. The evaluation of a candidature will be based solely on the online application.
In order to submit their application, candidates will have to create an EEA account and fill in an application form. The application form will contain specific questions related to the position and they are meant to verify and assess the eligibility and the suitability of the candidate.
The application form is only available in English. Candidates are kindly invited to fill in their application form in English, in order to facilitate the selection procedure.
Candidates are requested to ensure that they provide in their application form the correct email address as this will be the main channel of communication for correspondence relating to the selection procedure.
Questions regarding this selection process or technical issues shall be sent to cei.experts@eea.europa.eu.
4.3. Personal data protection and confidentiality
As an EU Agency, EEA is subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, forming the primary legal basis for measuring the lawfulness of personal data processing. The applicability of this Regulation in the context of this call has the following implications:
As data Controller, EEA shall ensure that personal data contained in your application (e.g. names of individuals, their CVs, contact details, financial details, declarations of interest) is processed in compliance with the Regulation. More detailed information on the processing of personal data in the context of procurement procedures of EEA is available in the Privacy Statement on our website.
The selected individual acts as a processor of EEA in case any personal data should be handled under the contract in the sense of Article 29 of the Regulation. In such case and in accordance with this provision, the individual:
- shall only process the personal data on documented instructions of EEA as the data Controller;
- shall commit him/herself to confidentiality;
- shall undertake appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the confidential and secure processing of the personal data needed for the implementation of the contract;
- shall delete or return to EEA all personal data after the end of the provision of services;
- shall make available to EEA all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations pursuant to the Regulation and shall allow for or contribute to audits and inspections by or on behalf of EEA;
- shall notify any personal data breaches to EEA.
The expert must comply with the confidentiality standards set out in the contract (Annex 3) and must include a completed and signed statement on confidentiality, provided in Annex to the draft contract.
5. Annexes
5.1. Travel costs and subsistence allowances
5.2. Declaration on absence of CoI
5.3. Draft contract
For more information on this process, and relevant documentation, please visit: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/about/procurement-and-grants/remunerated-scientific-experts.