The Joint Research Centre (JRC) has recently been assigned with tasks in the field of prevention of major and rare diseases, as described in the European Commission (EC) Implementing Decision 2011/C 358/06. These tasks can be summarised as follows:

(i) to develop new European guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnosis as set out in the Council Recommendation 2003/878/EC of 2.12.2003 on cancer screening, together with the establishment of the first EU voluntary accreditation scheme for breast cancer services (BCSs) as requested of the EC in the Council Conclusions of 10.6.2008;

(ii) the creation of a European Union cancer information system (ECIS) in order to collect accurate and comparable epidemiological data on cancer as advocated in Commission Communication COM (2009) 291 of 24.6.2009 which will guide and monitor European cancer policy interventions; and

(iii) the organisation of training courses on digital mammography.

The Public Health Policy Support Unit (PHPS) has been established at the Institute of Health and Consumer Protection of the Joint Research Centre (IHCP-JRC) to address a critical element of the EC's proposal concerning its strategic objective on tackling societal changes. The healthcare quality (HQ) team, part of the PHPS unit, carries out tasks (i) and (iii).

This procurement is related mainly to these 2 tasks.

This contract is focused on the development of the new European guidelines on breast cancer screening and diagnosis ('New European guidelines' in short). These guidelines are required by the Council Conclusions of June 2008 to be evidence-based.

Therefore, the HQ team aims to develop trustworthy guidelines with the following features. It will:

— be based on a systematic review of the existing evidence,

— provide ratings of both the quality of evidence and the strength of the recommendations,

— be developed by a knowledgeable, multidisciplinary panel of experts and representatives from key affected groups,

— consider important patient subgroups and patient preferences,

— be based on an explicit and transparent process that minimises biases and conflicts of interest,

— will provide a clear explanation of the relationships between alternative care options and health outcomes,

— be reconsidered and revised as appropriate.

The team that will develop the new European guidelines under JRC coordination is the 'guideline development group' (GDG), which will undertake the following tasks:

(1) select the questions to be answered;

(2) formulate each question according to an appropriate format, such as PICO (population — intervention — comparator or control — outcomes); and

(3) develop evidence-based recommendations for each question.

When possible, each recommendation shall be based on a systematic review of the evidence and on the grading (rating) of 2 separate elements: the quality of the identified evidence, and the strength of the recommendation generated.

Via a framework service contract, the contractor will provide the following services for up to a maximum of 150 questions:

(1) a systematic review of the relevant evidence to be considered and grading of its quality;

(2) the development of a draft recommendation for each question and a draft rating of its strength; and

(3) attend the GDG meetings when requested.

The output provided by the contractor will be a basis for a third working group, the GDG, which will consider this product to guide their decision-making for developing the final recommendations. Therefore, what will be made available to the public will be the outcome of the GDG.