On the basis of this terms of reference, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) intends to award a framework agreement for short-term support services as well as supplementary services. The BMWK's Transformation Policy Management Staff, which was established in March 2022, is to be supported in its tasks within the framework of the Citizens' Dialogue on the Energy Transition and in accompanying and shaping the socio-ecological transformation of the economy and society with regard to the energy transition. A framework agreement is to be concluded on "process consulting, support and design of measures for the participation of citizens and stakeholders in the transformation and strategic preview". For this purpose, a contractor or a consortium of contractors is sought to provide technical support.

On the one hand, the focus of the service is on the professional process support of social participation and (multi-)stakeholder processes, dialogue formats with large and small groups, workshops, citizens' and youth councils and other formats (including town hall events) on questions of energy transition and transformation, which are developed and prepared by the contractor using innovative, collaborative and co-creative methods in close coordination with the client, accompanied, moderated and documented (process design and support, see section 2.1 of the service description). In addition, on the other hand, the contractor should be able to design and implement small citizens' and youth councils - based on the so-called "Voralberger model". The contractor is also to participate in the organizational and content-related conception of a potential "large citizens' assembly" ("Citizen Assembly"), which is located at the level of the BMWK or several ministries (conception of the citizens' and youth council, see section 2.2 of the service description). In addition, short-term consultations in the form of workshops are required to support a forward-looking transformation policy, which are prepared, moderated and evaluated by the contractor using methods of strategic foresight in close coordination with the client (strategic foresight, see section 2.3 of the service description).

For the maximum four-year term, the total volume of call-offs under the framework agreement, i.e. the volume for the entire term of the contract (basic term and optional renewal periods), is estimated at EUR 1.71 million net and therefore at an average value of EUR 427,500 net per year. The value of the services actually called up may fall below or exceed the order value estimate. Therefore, the conclusion of the framework agreement does not give rise to any claim on the part of the contractor to a certain minimum order volume or to the award of a certain minimum number of individual contracts. Likewise, service call-offs cannot be rejected if the order value estimate is exceeded. The maximum total volume of call-offs for the entire term of the contract - regardless of whether the extension options are used - is EUR 2.5 million net.