NIRAS receives highest technical score for much-awaited Lot 2 in SEA 2023

When we announced NIRAS’ landslide wins last year, bagging 12 out of 17 lots in the EU's SEA 2023 Framework Contracts (FWC SEA 2023), the results for the winning bidders in one of the lots (Lot 2) hung in the balance for a while.

Today, it is with great joy we share that NIRAS received the highest technical score for Lot 2, potentially bringing our hit ratio to 76% in the FWC SEA 2023. This lot, valued at EUR 25 million, will focus on natural resources management and covers areas such as biodiversity protection, water management, pollution control and land-use planning.

It is a timely initiative, one that seeks to address issues such as the degradation among our planet’s natural resources, loss of biodiversity and the overwhelming increase in global waste. Because of the initiative’s urgency, our team is primarily tasked with mobilising expertise quickly as needed by the stakeholders, whether that involves providing technical assistance to relevant EU services and partners or mainstreaming EU policy priorities.

"Preparing a FWC bid is always challenging, but thanks to NIRAS’ extensive experience in FWC and in Natural Resources Management we managed to take home a huge win with the precious support of Mikaela Kruskopf, Tania de la Rosa, Carolina Da Silva Cristofaro, Dima Issa and Valeriia Kravchenko," says Antonello Esposito, a Team Leader for the Framework Contracts Unit and the manager of Lot 2.

Mikaela Kruskopf is a Project Manager and Senior Consultant for water resources; Tania de la Rosa is a Senior Consultant and Project Manager with knowledge in natural resources management and agriculture and forestry; Carolina Da Silva Cristofaro is a Tender Specialist and Project Manager specialising in sustainable urban development, as well as environmental and resilience planning; Dima Issa is a Tender and Project Manager specialising in agricultural and rural development, economic and social development and others; and Valeriia Kravchenko is a Tender and Project Assistant with knowledge in development economics.

NIRAS is well-placed to take on the contracts under Lot 2, given the company’s experience in projects related to land, water, forestry and waste management. For years, NIRAS has been supporting forest management for sustainable production in the Brazilian Amazon. We have also implemented several projects related to integrated water resources management across the globe – in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and Nepal to name a few. 

Our solid track record in FWCs also show our readiness for future projects with the EU, as can be seen in the work we did for the EU FWC Services for the Implementation of External Aid (SIEA) 2018, where we received an approval rate of 100% in our contractual outputs. SIEA 2018 is replaced by SEA 2023, the former of which NIRAS was a part of five out of six lots. In SEA 2023, we are currently leading five and are a partner in seven; Lot 2 will add to the total. 

"NIRAS has been managing FWCs for the last 25 years, and Lot 2 has always been our core expertise since then, so of course, we have hoped for the opportunity to continue delivering services to the Commission under these technical sectors, but it is always nice to be confirmed in our technical leadership in this sector, by being the Consortium that obtained the highest technical score in the evaluation of tenders," shares Karen Soboleosky, the Director of the Framework Contracts Unit at NIRAS. "Now, we will be looking forward to start implementing assignments in this area, just like we have been doing in the other lots since February this year!"

The SEA 2023 framework contract is designed to aid the European Commission Directorates-General (DG) – such as DG INTPA, DG NEAR, the service for Foreign Policy Instruments and various EU Delegations around the globe – in executing external action policies and projects. It is different from the standard tender procedure in that it follows a flexible mechanism for quickly mobilising expertise and services through specific contracts.

At NIRAS, our dedicated Framework Contracts Unit, which is led by Karen Soboleosky at our Copenhagen office, has 30 employees across Europe and South America. Our team not only has expertise in project cycle management; they also have a strong dedication to providing sustainable solutions for environmental projects, such as those under Lot 2. 

If you would like to be considered for a role in the technical teams for the upcoming projects, register your CV with us today at cv.niras.com. Together, we can build a greener future for our planet.