Call for Tender: Framework Agreement for Professional Photography Services

Issued by: Party of European Socialists (PES)

Date of Issue: 26 June 2026

1. Purpose of the Tender & About the PES

The Party of European Socialists (PES) is seeking proposals from qualified photography companies, agencies, or creative hubs to establish a long-term framework agreement for professional photography services. The selected partner will support the PES Communications Team (PES Comms) with comprehensive photographic coverage, rapid editing, and visual assets for high-level events, activities, meetings, international missions, and thematic political or European election campaigns organised by the PES.

About the PES:

The Party of European Socialists (PES) brings together the socialist, social democratic, labour and democratic parties from all over the European Union, the United Kingdom and Norway. Together with 33 full member parties and 13 associate and 15 observer parties, we fight for a better and more progressive Europe.
For more details, visit https://www.pes.eu/ .

2. Scope of Work & Task Description

The successful partner will be expected to deliver end-to-end photographic solutions based on briefs prepared by the PES Comms team:

• On-Site Event Coverage: Capturing high-resolution images of conferences, congresses, high-level political meetings, public rallies, and international missions.
• Operational Flexibility: The professionals involved must be available to travel internationally and operate outside regular working hours, including weekends, evenings, and public holidays, as dictated by the event schedule.
• Equipment & Redundancy: Bidders must provide fully equipped photographers with professional-grade primary and backup equipment (cameras, lenses, lighting, and data storage) to guarantee service continuity.
• Account Management: The provider must grant the PES high-priority availability. This includes responding rapidly to service requests during weekdays and weekends, with the capacity to deploy services within a margin of 3 days from notification.
• Workflow & Quoting: The provider must produce detailed, transparent quotes covering all anticipated services ahead of every assignment. Corresponding invoices must be issued promptly following the conclusion of the service.

3. Intellectual Property & Usage Rights

The potential partner explicitly agrees that upon final delivery, all usage rights, copyrights, and intellectual property of the produced photographs will be transferred completely and exclusively to the PES for unrestricted use across all print, digital, traditional media, and social media channels worldwide.

4. Eligibility & Minimum Requirements

Companies, agencies, or hubs wishing to participate in this tender must meet the following baseline criteria:

1. Work Eligibility: All photographers and technicians deployed for assignments must be fully eligible to live and work within the European Union.
2. Geographical Presence: Bidders must be legally registered and based within a European Union Member State. (An established office or legal representative in Belgium, France, Germany, or The Netherlands will be considered a distinct advantage).
3. Language Proficiency: Deployed photographers must possess extensive experience working with international clients and be fully fluent in English.
4. Conflict of Interest & Core Values: Bidders must not maintain clients or business associations that conflict with the progressive political, social, and ethical core values of the PES.

5. Legal Mentions & Conditions

5.1 Advisory Nature & Postponement

The purpose of this document remains strictly advisory, does not constitute a formal commitment for the PES, does not grant any rights to bidders or third parties, and cannot under any circumstances replace or modify the legal obligations of economic operators or European institutions under current legal texts.

In the event of force majeure at any time prior to the signing of the framework contract by both parties, the PES may decide to suspend proceedings and postpone the award decision indefinitely, without any party being entitled to seek compensation. Force majeure includes any unforeseen circumstance independent of the will of the decision-makers that prevents the finalisation of the procurement procedure.

5.2 Competence & Exclusions Declaration

By submitting a proposal, the bidding entity declares that it holds the full technical and professional capacity to execute the activities detailed. The bidder explicitly states that they are not bankrupt, in liquidation, undergoing judicial redress, or subject to debt collection proceedings. Furthermore, the bidder certifies that no final judicial court decision has been rendered against them regarding labour or social security infringements.

The bidder should be fully compliant with PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line) and all invoices (in case) for provided services should be submitted to the PES via PEPPOL in electronic format, according to the requirements of the Belgium law.

By applying for this tender, the bidder and its management declare that they hold no business connections, family ties, or alliances with PES management or employees that could lead to a conflict of interest.

1. Submission Guidelines & Deadlines

6.1 Required Documents

To be considered, participants must submit their application pack containing:

1. Company Profile: A detailed description of the company, agency, or hub, detailing reference experience with international or high-profile institutional clients (PDF format, up to three A4 pages).
2. Portfolio: Direct links to active digital photo galleries demonstrating relevant corporate, event, or press photography.
3. Financial Proposal: A completed, signed price offer strictly adhering to the format specified in Annex 1.(check below)

6.2 Key Timeline Dates

Confirmation: By 17 July 2026, 11:59 PM CET the bidders should send a confirmation of Participation via email to:
[email protected] and [email protected]

With subject: PES 2026 TENDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES

Submission of bid: By 14 August 2026, 11:59 PM CET bidders that confirmed participation should submit their bidding documents via email to both:
[email protected] and [email protected]
With subject: PES 2026 TENDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES

The evaluation of the bids will be completed by 01 September 2026 and all participants will be notified of the results before 14 September 2026

For any technical clarifications or questions regarding this framework tender, please contact [email protected] with [email protected] in cc. with the subject: QUESTION ON PES 2026 TENDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES

The evaluation of the bids will be completed by 01 September 2026 and all participants will be notified of the results before 14 September 2026

For any technical clarifications or questions regarding this framework tender, please contact [email protected] with [email protected] in cc. with the subject: QUESTION ON PES 2026 TENDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES

7. Evaluation Criteria & Scoring Mechanics

The selection process is governed by the principles of the “best price-quality ratio” and “best value for money”, ensuring that the contract is not awarded based on the lowest price alone. Entries will be assessed by the PES Communications Team.

A. Quality Criteria (Max 50 Points — Weighted at 30% of Total Score)

FIND OUT MORE HERE