Tender for Conducting Public Opinion Research on Support for EU Accession

Despite all the challenges of the full-scale war, now in its fifth year, Ukraine continues to advance along the path of European integration and is undergoing a complex, multi-layered process of accession to the European Union.

Alongside its efforts to counter military aggression, the country is preparing for the opening and work on the negotiation clusters, aligning its legislation with the EU acquis, and implementing large-scale reforms required for future membership. Ukrainian society continues to demonstrate a high level of support for the country’s European course. At the same time, the prolonged war, worsening socio-economic conditions, the complexity of certain reforms, and the absence of rapid, tangible results may gradually lead to fatigue, frustration, and declining trust. Such sentiments may be further amplified by political manipulation, disinformation, and oversimplified or distorted representations of the accession negotiations.

Under these circumstances, it is particularly important to understand how well citizens are informed about the EU accession negotiations, how they perceive the related legislative changes and reforms, what outcomes they expect, and what risks or concerns they identify. It is equally important to identify, in a timely manner, issues that may generate misunderstanding, distrust, public resistance, or growing Eurosceptic sentiment.

With financial support from the European Union, the International Renaissance Foundation is implementing the project “Whole-of-Society Accession: Strengthening Civil Society’s Role in Ukraine’s EU Accession”, which aims to strengthen the role and capacity of civil society in Ukraine to use the European integration process to reinforce democracy, the rule of law, and reforms in economic and social policy.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of the research is to obtain comprehensive and in-depth data on the attitudes of Ukrainian citizens towards European integration, the negotiation process on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and reforms related to meeting the conditions for EU membership.

The research should go beyond the traditional measurement of general public support for Ukraine’s accession to the EU and focus on how citizens understand the substance and current state of the negotiation process; how aware they are of EU accession requirements across individual negotiating chapters; what expectations and concerns they have; what factors may potentially contribute to growing Eurosceptic sentiment; how aware they are of specific benefits of EU membership and how interested they are in these benefits; to what extent they support the relevant reforms regardless of EU accession; where they are prepared to accept painful requirements as a trade-off for the benefits of membership; and to what extent they are willing to change their personal behaviour in response to European integration-related changes.

The findings should provide insight into current public opinion trends and the specific information needs of different population groups. The data will be used to improve government communication on European integration and to help civil society organisations plan their work to raise public awareness of the accession negotiations, the required reforms, their substance, and their potential impact on different areas of life.

The research is expected to become an annual exercise. Therefore, subject to a positive experience of cooperation with the research team selected in 2026, there may be an opportunity to continue cooperation on subsequent waves of the study.

Research Objectives

The main objectives of the research are to:

• Assess citizens’ level of awareness, understanding, and perception of the substance and current state of the EU accession negotiations.
• Assess citizens’ awareness of and attitudes towards EU accession requirements across different areas of the negotiations, including changes related to public governance, protection of minority rights, the business climate, taxation, agriculture, energy, environmental protection and the green transition, transport, and other areas. Identify sensitive and potentially contentious issues, as well as reforms whose necessity is widely perceived as self-evident regardless of EU accession.
• Assess citizens’ awareness of specific benefits of EU membership and their level of interest in these benefits, including, but not limited to, awareness of and potential interest in participating in EU programmes supporting business, education, science, the environment, energy efficiency, regional development, and other areas.
• Identify widespread and potential fears, habits, narratives, misconceptions, and factual issues that may fuel Eurosceptic sentiment.
• Assess the extent to which citizens are prepared to change their personal behaviour in response to changes required as part of European integration.
• Identify citizens’ specific information needs regarding individual topics/negotiating chapters and the related reforms.
• Determine which sources of information, communication channels, content formats, and representatives of institutions or organisations are most trusted by different target audiences.
• Develop recommendations for civil society organisations on information, educational, and communication activities targeting different population groups.

Target Audience

The main target audience of the research is adult citizens of Ukraine residing in territories where the research can be conducted safely and in a methodologically sound manner.

Separate target audiences for the qualitative component of the research may include:

• representatives of public authorities responsible for European integration, reforms, and communication;
• representatives of local self-government bodies;
• representatives of civil society organisations and experts on European integration and the accession negotiation process;
• entrepreneurs, particularly small and medium-sized businesses operating in different sectors of the economy;
• farmers and rural residents;
• journalists and media representatives;
• community leaders and other individuals who may influence the formation of public opinion.

Eligible Tender Participants

Research teams with experience in conducting this type of research and preparing relevant analytical reports, as well as access to the necessary methodologies and technical capacities.

Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be taken into account:

• the competencies of the research team;
• the extent to which the tender proposal corresponds to the purpose and objectives of the research;
• availability of previously published analytical materials demonstrating experience with qualitative public opinion research methods, including interviews, focus groups, etc.

Research Design and Methods

The research should combine quantitative and qualitative methods and include the following:

• Quantitative public opinion survey.
• Structured and in-depth individual interviews and/or focus groups with:
  • civil society organisations representing different thematic areas and geographical scopes of activity;
  • stakeholders involved in the EU accession process, including representatives of national and local authorities, entrepreneurs, farmers, and others.

Expected Deliverables

• Draft report in Ukrainian.
• Final report in Ukrainian and English.
• Annexes to the final report, including quantitative survey tables and other relevant materials.

Qualification Requirements

• At least three years of experience in research and public opinion polling.
• Experience conducting research in the civil society sector.
• Proficiency in Ukrainian and English.

Submission of Proposals

The application should include:

• Research methodology, to be proposed by the research team.
• Description of the research team’s technical capacities, including access to and experience with the tools required to conduct this type of research and experience applying the proposed methodology.
• Composition of the research team, including a list of all persons involved, their first and last names, roles within the research team, primary place of employment, contact details, and brief CVs/portfolios.
• Budget proposal, with a detailed breakdown of the requested costs. Please note that researchers’ services will be paid under direct contracts between the International Renaissance Foundation and the respective individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) or legal entities (LLCs).

Winner Selection Criteria

Proposals will be assessed based on:

• the content and completeness of the detailed proposal, including the proposed methodology, research tools, and quantitative parameters;
• compliance with the Terms of Reference;
• previous experience of the prospective contractor;
• financial proposal.

Tender proposals that do not meet the requirements listed above will not be considered.

Research period: mid-September – October 2026.

Deadline for submission of proposals: 1 September 2026, 12:00 noon.

Tender participants will be informed of the results by email by 10 September 2026.

Tender proposals should be submitted by email to shulga@irf.ua and kvashuk@irf.ua. Please indicate “Tender survey perception of the EU” in the subject line of the email.

Contact Persons

Dmytro Shulha
shulga@irf.ua

Olha Kvashuk
kvashuk@irf.ua

All communication and information exchange will take place electronically until 31 August 2026. Requests for confidential information will not be accommodated.

The tender is conducted within the framework of the project “Whole-of-Society Accession: Strengthening Civil Society’s Role in Ukraine’s EU Accession”, implemented by the International Renaissance Foundation with the support of the European Union.