Background
NetZeroCities, through Special Grant Agreement 2 (SGA2) Task 1.6, ‘Sub-European Peer-to-Peer Collaboration’, is actively working to provide tailored support in various national contexts. The aim is to provide additional support to cities, foster communities of practice between cities in each country, i.e. to strengthen city-to-city collaboration spaces at national level and thus help to reinforce national platforms. To achieve this, NetZeroCities has developed a country-specific support framework tailored to the unique characteristics and needs of each context.
In the Republic of Croatia, Zagreb is the only Croatian city participating in the EU Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” as a Mission City, while two additional Croatian cities, Križevci and Slavonski Brod, are Mission Twin Cities. Beyond these, many Croatian cities, including Poreč, Rijeka, Zadar, Šibenik, Koprivnica and Varaždin, are actively implementing ambitious climate actions and improving the citizens’ wellbeing. It is important to facilitate collaboration on climate neutrality between Croatian cities to enable knowledge exchange and transfer of good practices in the same national context.
To consolidate ongoing efforts, this assignment is designed to establish a structured and continuous engagement process building on the work delivered between October 2025 and September 2026.
Relevant background information and materials from the previous implementation period will be made available to the awarded supplier.
These services, which will be contracted through this tender, are to be delivered by a supplier with deep expertise in the Croatian national context and experience in convening stakeholders from local, regional and national governments. This approach ensures targeted support that directly addresses the objectives outlined in this Request for Proposals.
Finally, as part of this specific support, each country has a NetZeroCities partner responsible for coordinating the work. In the case of the Republic of Croatia, this role is fulfilled by Energy Cities. A strong coordination between the selected provider, Energy Cities and the NetZeroCities team is requested throughout the whole contracting period.
Scope
In the context of the efforts of Croatian cities within the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, and specifically the opportunity identified to provide additional support to the community of cities working toward the mission’s objectives within the Croatia’s national ecosystem, NetZeroCities / Climate KIC is requesting a quotation for services from a supplier able to operate within this national context. The role involves supporting teams from NetZeroCities, as relevant, to take charge of and facilitate the process described below.
The following is a general description of the services and actions to be provided by the awarded supplier, followed in subsequent sections with detailed information.
- Expert support, namely collective support, aimed at fostering radical collaboration between cities, increasing their capacities and improving the cooperation of the community of practice of cities with national authorities, and different stakeholders within the Republic of Croatia. The support will be directed towards cities that are already part of the Mission in the Republic of Croatia – Mission Cities, Twin Cities, Mission Minded Cities, cities participating in online discussion groups and in the Community of Practice of Cities in the Republic of Croatia and other interested cities wanting to achieve climate neutrality.
- Coordination support aimed at establishing coherent collaboration processes for Croatian cities, regular meetings, feedback loops, process documentation, meaningful links to national authorities and other relevant stakeholders.
- Organization of two “EU Cities Mission events” (one during the last quarter of 2026 and one in 2027) to support cities, promote co-implementation of projects and enhance collaboration between cities, national and regional authorities, and other stakeholders. The services will also include encouraging the participation of CIVINET partners or similar initiatives in these events.
As part of the organization of the two EU Cities Mission events, the supplier will support the implementation of Better Funding Dialogue (BFD) activities, in coordination with NetZeroCities partners: The BFD’s aim is to enhance financial flows to cities, mobilize private stakeholders, and drive systemic change in financing structures to achieve climate neutrality. The supplier is expected to play an active support role in conducting the necessary groundwork, including stakeholder outreach, coordination, and preparation, to deliver the EU Cities Mission events. This entails integrating the BFD within the events’ framework and ensuring close coordination with the respective initiative leads.
This support is also intended to catalyse longer-term cooperation between national authorities, cities, private sector actors, and financial institutions. The events won’t be designed as standalone activities, but act as key milestones of a broader, structured multi-stakeholder engagement process. The supplier will be expected to design and implement preparatory activities at national and local levels to identify and address key challenges, opportunities, and priorities related to the selected thematic focus. The supplier is asked to strategically leverage existing events and platforms (e.g. sectoral fairs, national conferences) to organise complementary sessions or engagement moments, to maximise participation and cost-efficiency.
Presentations and technical support will take place predominantly in Croatia; therefore, presenters must be fluent in Croatian. The collaboration and interaction with NetZeroCities partners will be in English.
The general objective of the described support is to enhance collaboration between cities in the same national context through the facilitation of training and peer-to-peer learning activities, the provision of specialized assistance, and other initiatives. Specifically, it aims to strengthen the community of practice for cities within the national platforms, creating collaborative spaces where Mission cities and other cities committed to decarbonization goals can receive support, work on common challenges, share learnings and make progress toward these objectives.
Additionally, this targeted support is intended as seed funding with the primary objective of maximizing impact by strengthening collaborative networks within each country. Therefore, this initiative also aims to serve as a kick-start and to encourage the continuity of funding once the support described in this procurement is completed.
The selected supplier is expected to engage collaboratively with experts from the NetZeroCities consortium, as well as to create synergies with the cities and key stakeholders of the Croatian national ecosystem. It is expected to build a strong basis for a constructive and sustainable multi-level dialogue involving national and regional stakeholders, cities, policy makers, research centres etc. NetZeroCities representatives (who are resourced already and do not have to be represented in a financial offer) and Mission Cities are to be engaged on a day-to-day basis where needed, on baseline briefings, the overarching strategic approach within which this assignment takes place, as well as for sharing good practices/learning from other Mission and Mission-Minded cities, where relevant.
Timeline and additional information
Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals by 29 September 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) to [CESF@netzerocities.eu]. Proposals should include and address all specific requirements related to the request which can be found below.
