Closing date: 25 August 2025
Start date: September 2025
Contract period: September 2025-February 2026
Budget: up to 30.000 Euro
The Hot or Cool institute seeks to contract a consultant for support in the development, recruitment and distribution of a large-scale survey within the context of the HORIZON project SPOON “Food Systems in transition – ParticipatOry, Open citizen research for sustainable Nutrition”.
About the SPOON Project
SPOON is a four-year, EU-funded project that brings together citizens, researchers, industries, civil society organizations, and policymakers to reimagine food production, distribution and consumption. By facilitating partnerships and driving collaboration, we aim to build a more sustainable and inclusive food system.
Sustainable food systems are vital for addressing global challenges such as climate change, food security, and public health. Despite growing interest in sustainable diets, consumer behaviour continues to be shaped by complex factors including accessibility, affordability, culture, and information. To better understand the European consumer landscape, we are commissioning a market research organization to prepare, translate, distribute and analyse a quantitative survey targeting attitudes and behaviours related to sustainable and healthy food consumption in 4 to 6 European countries. This research will inform citizens engagement activities, consumer behavioural interventions and policy recommendations.
Objectives of this Tender
The objective of this tender is to collect information on European consumers’ attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards healthy and sustainable food consumption, including key barriers and drivers influencing food choices. To deliver on this objective, the following services are expected:
- Support the survey design phase, including translation of the survey text into relevant languages.
- Recruit panels and distribute the survey to a stratified sample of consumers (ca. 500/800 responses in each of the project countries).
- Provide a quantitative analysis of the results for each country, and a cross-country comparison overview.
Scope of Work
The selected organization will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of the survey, including:
Support to the Survey Design
- Collaborate with Hot or Cool Institute to refine the structured questionnaire.
- Ensure cultural relevance and linguistic accuracy through appropriate translation.
Sampling and Fieldwork
- Conduct the survey in 4 European countries (Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Belgium).
- The survey could potentially be distributed in two additional countries (Spain and Greece). The addition of ES and GR is optional.
- Ensure a sample size of 500 to 800 respondents per country, representative of the general population by age, gender, region, and socio-economic status. The survey should ensure the inclusion of vulnerable groups (e.g., low-income households, rural households, youth and elderly people, single mothers or single parent households).
- Administer the survey using appropriate methods (e.g., online panels, CATI, CAWI), ensuring high data quality and response reliability.
Data Management and Analysis
- Clean and validate all collected data.
- Conduct basic and advanced statistical analyses to identify trends, patterns, and correlations.
- Provide a country-specific analysis, as well as cross-country comparative insights.
Reporting and Deliverables
- Provide detailed methodology documentation.
- Submit a comprehensive final report including:
- Executive summary
- Methodology
- Country-specific findings supported by visuals and graphs as necessary
- Cross-country comparisons
- Conclusions and actionable recommendations
- Deliver raw and cleaned data sets (in SPSS, CSV or Excel formats).
- Present findings to Hot or Cool Institute.
Timeline and Budget
The Market Research Organisation will work with Hot or Cool from September 2025 through February 2026. A budget of up to 30.000 Euro is available for the contracted party.
Submission requirements
Interested service providers must submit the following to b.meo@hotorcool.org and L.Coscieme@hotorcool.org.
1 . Technical Offer
- Description of the proposed methodology with an overview of tools and platforms to be used
- Quality assurance measure
- Timeline and workplan
2. Financial Offer
- Detailed budget breakdown
- Total cost must not exceed 30.000 Euro, in line with the Horizon Europe grant allocation
3. Profile and Relevant Experience
- Evidence of previous experience in survey design, distribution and market research analysis
- Examples of similar projects, preferably in food systems and broader sustainability field
4. Supporting Materials (Optional)
- Case studies, references or testimonials
Criteria for awarding the tender
The selection of the successful candidate will be based on a combination of factors, including relevant experience in survey design, distribution, and market research analysis; the quality of the technical offer, particularly the clarity, feasibility, and innovation of the proposed workplan and methodology; the financial offer, with an emphasis on cost-effectiveness and alignment with the scope of work; and demonstrated knowledge in the relevant field.