NACE 70 – Activities of Head Offices; Management Consultancy Activities | Public Tenders

NACE 70: Management consultancy and holding companies in public tenders. CPV codes, contracting authorities and typical types of contract.

Definition: NACE 70 covers the administration and steering of corporate groups (holding companies) as well as management consultancy services including public relations activities. The division is part of Section M (Professional, scientific and technical activities) and is among the highest-volume consultancy areas in public procurement.

What does NACE 70 cover?

NACE 70 classifies holding companies as well as management consultancies that provide management consulting, strategy consultancy and public relations services — a central procurement area for public bodies.

Group	Title	Typical services
70.1	Activities of head offices	Holding management, group steering, internal shared services
70.2	Management consultancy activities	Strategy consultancy, organisational consultancy, PR services

Public Tenders – Management Consultancy

Management consultancy services are among the most frequently awarded professional services in the public sector — from individual projects to multi-year framework agreements.

Typical types of contract

Strategy consultancy: Development of digitalisation strategies, reform programmes, organisational development for ministries and authorities
Process consultancy and optimisation: Business process analysis, lean management, administrative modernisation
IT management consultancy: IT governance, project management for major IT projects, IT security strategies
Change management: Support of restructuring, cultural change processes, employee communication
Public relations: Communications strategies, crisis management, public relations for public institutions

Relevant CPV codes

CPV Code	Title	Application
73200000	Research and development consultancy services	Innovation consultancy, R&D management
79400000	Business and management consultancy and related services	General management consultancy
79410000	Business and management consultancy services	Strategy consultancy, organisational consultancy
79416000	Public relations services	Communications, public relations
79420000	Management-related services	Financial consultancy, controlling consultancy

Contracting Authorities

Typical public contracting authorities in NACE 70 are:

Federal ministries and federal authorities: Reform programmes, administrative modernisation, strategy projects
Regional governments and regional authorities: Organisational projects, e-government schemes
State-related enterprises: Rail, postal, energy utilities with consultancy needs on transformation
Municipalities and districts: Budget consolidation consultancy, inter-municipal cooperation projects
EU institutions: Extensive framework agreements for policy consultancy and technical assistance

FAQ

Are special procurement rules applicable to management consultancy contracts? Management consultancy services are service contracts and are, from the EU threshold (EUR 221,000 for top federal authorities, EUR 443,000 for others), subject to EU-wide tendering. Generally, the open procedure or the negotiated procedure with prior selection is applied.

Can small consultancies participate in EU-wide tenders? Yes — public contracting authorities are obliged to divide contracts into lots where this is economically reasonable. In addition, bidding consortia allow small companies to combine capacities and jointly meet eligibility criteria.

NACE M – Professional, scientific and technical activities: Parent section
NACE 69 – Legal and accounting activities: Related division
NACE 71 – Architectural and engineering activities: Related division
NACE 70.2 – Management consultancy activities: Subgroup

Last updated: January 2026