Notice of call for expressions of interest - Expert advice in the area of Communication, Digital and Social Science

🔍 Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Parma

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Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Parma

📁: Science Professionals

📅   : EOI/EFSA/COM/2026/01 Requisition #

📅   : 2 hours ago Post Date

Notice of call for expressions of interest

EOI/EFSA/COM/2026/01

Expert advice in the area of Communication, Digital and Social Science (Operational Support Advisor - OSA scheme)

1. INTRODUCTION

CONTRACTING AUTHORITY:

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Via Carlo Magno 1A

Parma

43126

Italy

E-mail: EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu

More information about EFSA can be found here: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/

Background information

EFSA is an agency of the European Union set up in 2002 to serve as an impartial source of scientific advice to risk managers and to communicate on risks associated with the food chain. We cooperate with interested parties to promote the coherence of EU scientific advice. We provide the scientific basis for laws and regulations to protect European consumers from food-related risks – from farm to fork. A detailed description of all our activities can be found on EFSA’s website.

The core of our activities is to collect, appraise and integrate scientific evidence to answer questions about risks. The outcome of our work is scientific advice to risk managers, jointly produced by independent experts and EFSA staff. Everything we do is guided by our values of Excellence, Independence, Openness, Accountability and Cooperation. The transparency of our processes, together with our engagement activities, allows for interested parties to scrutinise our work and interact with us in an open dialogue on equal terms. We communicate about risks in the food chain independently and in a way that meets the needs of our audiences. Together with our Member States partners, we build the European food safety knowledge ecosystem, ensuring safe food as the basis for healthy diets and sustainable food systems.

EFSA, through its specialised units, communicates, engages and cooperates with audiences, stakeholders, organisations and institutions within a strategic partnership framework, to improve reputation and ensure preparedness and relevance for the future. These units:

Ensure clear, timely and impactful risk communication, corporate communication and internal communication that are targeted and coordinated with relevant partners.
Devise multilevel partnerships, engagement, community management and cooperation frameworks in line with ecosystem thinking.
Facilitate knowledge and innovation management, and shares and develops sustainable scientific partnership solutions that can support EFSA’s mission.
Inform EFSA’s scientific outlook through horizon scanning, emerging risk identification, and emergency management preparedness.
Promote capacity building informed by the definition of strategic competencies.

EFSA activities in the realm of social sciences for risk communication are summarised in its Social Science roadmap and the Future directions for risk communication editorial (Communication and Social Sciences | EFSA).

This procedure has its legal basis in Article 242 of the EU Financial Regulation, ‘Remunerated external experts’.

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL

The objective of this call for expressions of interest is to establish a list of individuals (natural persons) with expertise to assist EFSA in communication, digital and social sciences activities. The delivered work will be reviewed by EFSA staff and/or ad hoc experts for its use in digital and social sciences activities and communications.

3. FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

Individuals who are interested in applying to this call are required to ensure that their area of expertise is among the ones listed in Annex V.

A call for expressions of interest covering scientific and social science tasks was published in October 2022 (reference EOI/EFSA/2022/01). However, a need emerged to expand the portfolio of external experts in the areas of Communication, Digital and Social Sciences, resulting in the present call.
If you are a candidate already shortlisted in the social science knowledge areas under the call EOI/EFSA/2022/01, please note the following:

If you are a candidate already shortlisted in the social science knowledge areas under the call EOI/EFSA/2022/01, please note the following:

Shortlisted candidates in the social science knowledge areas under the call EOI/EFSA/2022/01 will be invited by EFSA (via written communication within 2 months of launching this call) to apply to this new call.
The list of shortlisted candidates in the social science knowledge areas from the call EOI/EFSA/2022/01 will expire six months after the launch of this new call. During these 6 months transition period (starting from the publication date of this new call) the candidates already shortlisted can still be contracted by EFSA under the call EOI/EFSA/2022/01. After expiration of this 6 months period, the experts shortlisted in the social science knowledge areas will no longer be eligible to be contracted under the call EOI/EFSA/2022/01.

4. EXPECTED TASKS

The selected candidates will be requested to provide expert advice and opinion in specific cases^[1]. The experts will provide ad-hoc support in the form of expert advice and opinion on:

Designing, improving and governing knowledge organisation and knowledge repositories, including processes for creation, storage, retrieval, reuse, and lifecycle management of codified knowledge.
Optimising document and content workflows to improve efficiency, quality, traceability and findability of information, including recommendations for workflow redesign and quality controls.
Improving search, indexing and retrieval performance, including tagging and metadata strategies, to enhance accessibility and discoverability across digital environments.
Scoping and advising on automation and data pipelines for extracting and structuring knowledge from documents and content, including feasibility, risks, and system integration considerations.
Planning and conducting user research and translating findings into actionable recommendations, including interviews, usability testing, personas, journey maps and prioritised UX improvements.
Analysing user behaviour and experience data and translating metrics, patterns and trends into evidence-based UX insights and recommendations.
Defining and improving user interface and interaction design, including information architecture, user flows, interaction patterns, and the production or review of wireframes, prototypes and design specifications in line with accessibility and brand standards.
Advising on web development and web maintenance activities, including assessment and prioritization of improvements and expert review of compliance aspects such as accessibility.
Strengthening the communication of geospatial information and map-based outputs, including review of products intended for publication and advice on workflows, checklists and internal guidance.
Identifying, assessing and implementing artificial intelligence opportunities for communication and publishing activities, including tool evaluation, use-case selection and alignment with digital strategy.
Designing and reviewing experiments and evaluation approaches for AI and machine-learning solutions, including validation strategies, performance monitoring and improvement of reliability, fairness and interpretability.
Designing and improving conversational AI and chatbot initiatives, including requirements definition, content strategy, user experience considerations, technical integration constraints and monitoring approaches.
Designing and improving scientific writing and scientific publishing communication, including the development and improvement of plain language summaries and other communication content related to scientific outputs.
Designing and reviewing visual communication solutions, including data visualisation, information design, visual identity and branding management.
Supporting strategic communication planning and campaign delivery, including campaign design, message adaptation, implementation planning, coordination and evaluation of results.
Designing and improving social media strategy, content and community management, including campaign and event support, analytics, evaluation and innovation in brand presence.
Designing and improving media relations, press management and broader media activities, including editorial planning, reputation considerations and monitoring of media outcomes.
Providing language-quality support for communication materials, including translation and localisation, linguistic quality assurance, editing and proofreading to enhance clarity and consistency.
Designing, developing and reviewing self-paced digital learning and training modules, including content structuring, learning objectives, usability and accessibility considerations.
Supporting internal communication for digital transformation and AI initiatives, including preparation of internal materials, coordination of messaging and support to webinars, workshops and training sessions.
Designing and conducting qualitative research, including study design and analysis and translation of findings into actionable recommendations.
Designing and conducting quantitative research, including survey and experimental design, data analysis and interpretation of results for decision-making.
Providing econometric, marketing and impact-evaluation support, including quantitative modelling approaches and interpretation of results.
Providing statistical modelling support, including regression, causal inference and predictive modelling, and clear communication of assumptions, limitations and conclusions.
Designing and improving data and technology enablers for analytics and reporting, including databases, API-enabled workflows, dashboarding and programming practices.
Designing and improving KPI definition, measurement and business intelligence reporting, including the use of BI tools for insights and decision support.
Designing and improving social media monitoring and listening activities, including the use of analytical and AI-based tools and interpretation of findings for communication strategy.
Developing training materials and/or training programmes and/or delivering training courses as tutors, in areas included in this call, such as communication, community management, knowledge management.
Supporting evaluation of tenders or proposals received but limiting the opinion to their field of expertise.
Advising on specific elements of tender specifications.

[1] In no case administrative support tasks or secretarial tasks will be assigned to experts.

5. PROCEDURAL ASPECTS

5.1 HOW THE LIST IS ESTABLISHED AND MAINTAINED

• Individuals submit an expression of interest in accordance with the rules set out in this notice.

• EFSA as contracting authority will draw up a list of individuals who meet the criteria set out in Annex V.

• When a task becomes necessary, EFSA will select the most suitable expert on the basis of the necessary skills, experience and knowledge.

• The principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and absence of conflict of interests will be applied throughout the selection process.

• EFSA reserves the right to interview the selected expert/s to verify the declared skills. Should EFSA conclude that the level of skills and competence does not match 6 the skills and competences required by the task, EFSA reserves the right to select another candidate. The interviewed candidate maintains his/her eligibility status for other tasks.

• The task(s) will be formalised in a contract (Annex III) which defines tasks, duration and total price.

5.2 DURATION OF THE LIST

The list resulting from this call for expression of interests and any further updates are valid for five years from publication of this open call for expressions of interest (CEI).

EFSA 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 exclusively for execution of the tasks such as those described at point 4 above.

Inclusion on the list entails no obligation on the part of EFSA to award a contract.

5.3 AMOUNT LIMITATION PER INDIVIDUAL

Maximum amount that can be paid to an individual during the whole duration of the call (5 years) is 140.000 €, including remunerations and possible reimbursements. This amount is subject to changes in line with the rules applicable for procedures below the threshold as per Directive on public procurement (2014/24/EU as further amended).

5.4 DECLARATION ON PREVIOUS WORK IN EU INSTITUTIONS

To the shortlisted individuals, EFSA will request a Declaration on previous work in EU institutions to be submitted prior to the signature of the contract, where applicable. The declaration of previous work in EU institutions is available as Annex IV of this call for expressions of interest. The below rules apply:

Current EFSA/EU staff member (statutory staff_^[2]): should not be awarded contracts.

Former EFSA/EU staff member (statutory staff_^[3]): a former EFSA/EU statutory staff member receiving unemployment allowance from the Union Budget cannot be excluded from signing a contract. However, the payment of the unemployment allowance is incompatible with the remuneration received for the services provided in force of the contract and therefore it shall cease for the whole duration of the contract. The individual has the responsibility to notify this information to the Paymaster Office (PMO).

Retired EFSA/EU staff member (statutory staff_^[4]): The award of contracts resulting from this call to retired EFSA/EU staff member (statutory staff) or ex-statutory staff member of EFSA or of an EU institution should be an exception and is permitted only in duly justified cases where their background and expertise is found to be essential to carry out a specific activity. This requirement is in line with Article 24 of the Commission Decision of 29.6.2018, C (2018) 40485_^[5]. In the event such a contract is awarded to a retired staff member, the value of signed contracts in a given year (i.e. the year in which a new contract will be signed) may not exceed the difference between the total annual net salary from the last full year of employment and the annual net pension for the calendar year in which a new contract will be signed.

[2] Statutory staff (i.e. officials, temporary agents, contract agents). Interims, trainees, seconded national experts (SNEs), contractors and individuals awarded previous ISA contracts with EFSA do not fall within the category of statutory staff.

[3] See previous footnote.

[4] See previous footnote.

[5] https://www.era.europa.eu/system/files/2022-12/decision_n182_commission_decision_on_outside_activities_en.pdf

6. CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT FOR AN ASSIGNMENT

Remuneration

Individuals shall be remunerated at a fixed fee of 360 euros per day worked.

The individuals shall commit to respect applicable national legislation, including taxation, social security and labour law with regard to any payment received from EFSA.

Expenses Reimbursement

Where applicable, the travel and subsistence expenses will be reimbursed under the conditions set out in the contract according to the conditions stipulated in Annex I.

Place of work

Tasks will be carried out in most of the cases remotely and delivered using electronic communication tools. In certain cases, EFSA may request that specific tasks are carried out in EFSA premises or other sites that will be mentioned in the contract specifications.

Individuals appointed for an assignment do not act or speak on behalf of EFSA and EFSA cannot be held responsible for their actions and expressions.

7. EX POST TRANSPARENCY

A list of individuals who have concluded with EFSA a contract of more than 15.000 € following the procedure set out at point 2.3 above shall be published on EFSA website, no later than 30 June of the year following the year in which the contract was 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 in order to protect personal data.

8. REQUIREMENTS

8.1 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Applicant must have citizenship of a Member State of the European Union (EU), of a country of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or of an EU Candidate country. Experts from third countries may also apply and will be considered, if the required level of expertise may not be found among nationals of EU, EFTA or EU Candidate countries.

8.2 EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Individuals shall be excluded from participation in the award where they are in one or more of the following exclusion situations:

(a) the person or entity is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an arrangement with creditors, its business activities are suspended, or it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under Union or national law;

(b) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the person or entity is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the applicable law;

(c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the person or entity is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the person or entity belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:

(i) fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of eligibility or selection criteria or in the implementation of a contract or an agreement;

(ii) entering into agreement with other persons or entities with the aim of distorting competition;

(iii) violating intellectual property rights;

(iv) unduly influencing or attempting to unduly influence the decision-making process to obtain Union funds by taking advantage, through misrepresentation, of a conflict of interests involving any financial actors or persons referred to in Article 61(1) FR;

(v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

(vi) incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of persons or a member of a group or similar activities that are contrary to the values on which the Union is founded enshrined in Article 2 TEU, where such misconduct has an impact on the person’s integrity which negatively affects or concretely risks affecting the performance of a contract or an agreement;

(d) it has been established by a final judgment that the person or entity is guilty of any of the following:

(i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) and Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995;

(ii) corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or active corruption within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997 (3), or conduct referred to in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA (4), or corruption as defined in other applicable laws;

(iii) conduct related to a criminal organisation as referred to in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

(iv) money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article 1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(v) terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 3 to 12 of Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council , or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in Article 14 of that Directive;

(vi) child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human beings as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(e) it has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in the performance of a contract or an agreement financed by the Union’s budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been discovered following checks, audits or investigations by a contracting authority, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) or the Court of Auditors, the Court of Auditors or the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO);

(f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the person or entity has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95;

(g) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the person or entity has created an entity in a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal obligations in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of business;

(h) (only for legal persons) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that an entity has been created with the intent referred to in point (g);

(i) it has intentionally and without proper justification resisted an investigation, check or audit carried out by the contracting authority or its representative or auditor, OLAF, the EPPO, or the Court of Auditors. It shall be considered that the person resists an investigation, check or audit when it carries out actions with the goal or effect of preventing, hindering or delaying the conduct of any of the activities needed to perform the investigation, check or audit. Such actions include, in particular, refusing to grant the necessary access to its premises or any other areas used for business purposes, concealing or refusing to disclose information or providing false information.

Other grounds for rejection from the procedure: where the individual declares to have been previously involved in the preparation of documents used in the award procedure where this entails a breach of the principle of equality of treatment, including distortion of competition, that cannot be remedied otherwise.

Exclusion Criteria - Supporting Evidence

In question 4 of the application form, applicants are requested to declare that they are in none of the situations listed in section 8.2 Exclusion Criteria above “SITUATION OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING THE PERSON”. EFSA reserves the right to ask for further supporting evidence of non-exclusion.

In case applicants are in one or more of the situations of exclusion/ grounds for rejection listed under point 8.2 above, they must download, complete and send the declaration of honour (annex II of this call) on exclusion criteria and relevant documentation to EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu.

8.3 SELECTION CRITERIA

Applicants to be shortlisted shall be selected based on their professional and technical capacity to perform the tasks described in point 4 (EXPECTED TASKS) or similar ones. In particular, to evidence their capacity, applicants must meet the selection criteria listed in Annex V of this call (Education, Professional experience and competencies, English language proficiency).

Selection Criteria - Supporting Evidence

• Application form evidencing the selection criteria requirements listed in Annex V of this call.

• Before signing a contract, EFSA reserves the right to request to the selected applicant to provide supporting documents related to their education and professional experience (i.e. copy of university degree, certificates of working experience, etc.) to demonstrate fulfilment of the selection criteria.

9. HOW TO APPLY TO THIS CALL

9.1 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 EFSA.

Applications should be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union.

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 EFSA.

Incoming applications received in response to this call will be evaluated on a need basis, where specific support under the terms of Article 242 of the EU Financial Regulation is necessary. Individuals will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as possible after the evaluation is finished.

9.2 APPLICATION PROCESS

The application shall be submitted online on the EFSA careers page, by filling in and signing the application form.

When completing the application form, candidates must select only one knowledge area (1st level). Although the system allows the selection of multiple subareas (2nd level knowledge areas), applicants are advised to select only those areas that are relevant and fall within the chosen 1st level knowledge area.

Subareas (2nd level knowledge areas), that are not linked to the selected 1st level knowledge area will not be evaluated.

10. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION and CONFIDENTIALITY

As an EU Agency, EFSA is subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (‘the EUDPR’) on the protection of personal data. The applicability of the EUDPR in the context of this call entails the following:

- EFSA, acting as data controller, shall ensure that personal data contained in your application (including inter alia your name, CV information, contact details, financial details and declaration of interest) are processed in compliance with the EUDPR. Further information on the processing of personal data in the context of EFSA procurement procedures is available in the Privacy Statement on EFSA’s website^[6];

- The selected expert acts as a processor on behalf of EFSA with respect to any processing of personal data carried out under the contract, within the meaning of Article 29 of the EUDPR. In this capacity, and in accordance with the Regulation, the expert shall:

• process personal data only on documented instructions from EFSA as the data controller,

• commit to confidentiality,

• implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the confidentiality and security of the personal data necessary for the performance of the contract,

• delete or return to EFSA all personal data after the end of the provision of services,

• make available to EFSA all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations laid down in the EUDPR and allow for, or contribute to, audits and inspections carried out by or on behalf of EFSA,

• notify EFSA without undue delay of any personal data breach.

The expert shall comply with the confidentiality requirements set out in the draft contract (Annex III of this call) and shall submit a completed and signed declaration on confidentiality, as provided in Annex 3 to the draft contract.

[6] See in: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/assets/procurementprivacystatement.pdf

Annex I - TRAVEL COSTS AND SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES

Travel costs

In certain cases, EFSA may request that specific tasks are carried out in EFSA premises or other sites that will be mentioned in the contract specifications. If travel is required, the below lump sums must be applied for travel costs of the expert:

Distance in road Km	Travel cost
up to 100	no allowance
between 100 - 400	200 €
above 400	400 €

Daily subsistence allowances (DSA)

The DSA of 200 € applies if the distance between the place of residence of the individual and the agreed place of work is more than 50 km. Such DSA covers accommodation, meals, local transport to reach airport/train station etc. For each day of a presence in the agreed place of work one DSA is granted.

Annex II - DECLARATION OF HONOUR FOR EXCLUSION CRITERIA

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2021-12/declaration-honour-exclusion-selection-confirmatory-statement-resources.pdf

Annex III - DRAFT CONTRACT

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/calls/EFSA_COM_2026_01_annex_iii.pdf

Annex IV - DECLARATION OF PREVIOUS WORK IN EU INSTITUTIONS

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/calls/EFSA_COM_2026_01_annex_iv.pdf

Annex V - EXPERTISE

Published with the call