Parliament publishes call for scientific consultancy services

Brussels, Feb 2004

The European Parliament has published a call for tenders aimed at selecting a service provider to provide scientific advice to its Scientific and Technological Options Assessment (STOA) unit.

STOA is a body whose brief is to provide MEPs and other parts of the Parliament with high quality, independent assessments of scientific and technical issues that are relevant to Parliament in its role as legislator.

The service provider's brief will mainly be to carry out, exclusively on behalf of the European Parliament, projects of technology assessment in which the impact of scientific and technological developments is analysed, approaches to solving technology-related problem areas are described, and policy options for action are identified in a manner helpful to Parliament's role. The service provider is expected to be able to operate across the scientific disciplines and to present complex facts in a manner which is easily understood. The service provider bears sole scientific responsibility for the results of its work. All work involved in the assessment of scientific and technological options is to be carried out independently and in a transparent way.

The service provider's brief is the following:
- implementation of the technology assessment projects approved by the STOA Panel (medium and long term studies);
- preparation of opinions on proposed technology assessment projects and of draft plans for approved technology assessment projects;
- scientific implementation of the approved technology assessment projects;
- project management, and award, support and acceptance of subcontracts (experts' reports and surveys);
- delivery of presentations and workshops;
- drawing up of reports helpful to Parliament's policy making role;
- development of a communications network with the European technology assessment institutions;
- supervision of three post-graduate fellows per year in the area of technology assessment.

Requests to participate can be submitted both by individual scientific research and consultancy institutions with experience in technology assessment and by consortia of service providers (joint bid). The annual volume of work will comprise four to six projects of technology assessment. 400,000 euro is earmarked for this purpose in the 2004 budget. The total funding available for subsequent years is dependent on the number of projects STOA decides to have carried out and on the estimated budget appropriations. Estimated total value: 2,000,000 euro for five years.

For further information, please contact:
Rolf Meyer
European Parliament
Directorate-General for internal policies
Scientific and Technological Options Assessment
ASP 6D046
B-1047 Brussels
Tel +32-2-284-0606
Fax +32-2-284-4980
E-mail: Romeyer@europarl.eu.int

To see the full details of the call, please consult the following web address:
http://ted.publications.eu.int/static/do ccur/en/en/35428-2004.htm
Remarks: The deadline for requesting tender documents is 19.3.2004.
The deadline for submitting tender documents is 29.3.2004.

Before contacting the Commission, tenderers are strongly advised to consult the original call text in the Official Journal of the European Union at the reference below.

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