NACE 72.2 – Research and Experimental Development on Social Sciences and Humanities | Public Tenders

Definition: NACE 72.2 covers research and experimental development activities in the social sciences, economics and humanities. This includes empirical social research, economic research, education sciences, legal studies, political science, psychology and cultural research carried out for public bodies.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: January 2026

What does NACE 72.2 cover?

NACE 72.2 (Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities) classifies institutions that examine societal issues using scientific methods — an area of particular relevance for policy advisory studies, evaluations and impact research in public procurement.

Group 72.2 within Section M and Division 72 comprises a single class:

Economic research institutes (DIW, IHS, Wifo), university institutes for the social and economic sciences, political think tanks and consultancies specialising in societal research typically fall into this area.

Public Tenders: NACE 72.2 in Practice

Public-sector contracts for research in the social sciences and economics serve evidence-based policy-making — ministries, regulatory authorities and EU institutions are the key contracting authorities.

Typical types of contract

• Policy impact assessments and legislative evaluations: Impact analyses of funding programmes, ex-ante and ex-post evaluations for federal ministries
• Labour market and social research: Employment rate analyses, poverty risk reports, basic income research for labour administrations and social ministries
• Educational research: Competence measurements, school quality studies, higher education structure analyses for education and science ministries
• Economic expert reports: Competition impact analyses, subsidy reviews, location studies for economics ministries and regulatory authorities
• Cultural impact research: Cultural economy reports, audience research for public cultural institutions
• Empirical legal research: Empirical impact analyses of legislation for ministries of justice

Procurement law specifics

Social science research contracts are service contracts within the meaning of VgV and are in principle awarded under its rules. The sectoral exemption for R&D under Article 14 of Directive 2014/24/EU applies under the same conditions as for NACE 72.1 (no exclusive usage rights reserved, no purely in-house use). For evaluations and impact research, the exemption often does not apply in practice, because reports are produced for the contracting authority's exclusive use.

Relevant CPV Codes for NACE 72.2

Social science research contracts are published on TED under a combination of general R&D codes and subject-specific service codes.

Current tenders with these CPV codes are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) and on national procurement platforms.

Who is NACE 72.2 relevant to in procurement law?

Public Contracting Authorities

Federal ministries and federal higher authorities are the largest contracting authorities by volume for social science research. In Germany, BMAS, BMI, BMFSFJ, BMBF and BMWi regularly award sizeable research contracts. In Austria, BMAW, BMBWF and the Ministry of Social Affairs are important contracting authorities. At EU level, directorates-general such as DG EMPL, DG RTD and DG EAC award contract research. Statistical authorities (Destatis, Statistics Austria, Eurostat) also commission social science studies.

Companies and Bidders

Research institutions and academic service providers participating in public tenders typically need to demonstrate:

• Scientific qualifications: Relevant academic degrees and publication records of the project leads
• Methodological competence: Experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods, evaluation standards
• Reference projects: Comparable completed research contracts with reports and publications
• Data protection compliance: GDPR-compliant processing of personal research data, ethics approvals

Consortia of university and non-university institutions together with private-sector research companies are common on larger projects.

NACE 72.2 in Context: Section M and Division 72

Together with NACE 72.1, NACE 72.2 covers the full spectrum of publicly commissioned research — the boundary runs along scientific disciplines.

• NACE M – Professional activities: Parent section
• NACE 72 – Scientific research and development: Parent division
• NACE 72.1 – R&D in natural sciences and engineering: Scientific and technical research contracts
• NACE 73.2 – Market research and public opinion polling: Population surveys, statistics

Frequently Asked Questions on NACE 72.2 and Public Tenders

How does NACE 72.2 differ from market research (NACE 73.2)?
NACE 72.2 covers scientific basic and applied research with academic standards (theory building, peer review, publication). NACE 73.2 (market research) refers to commercial surveys aimed at business decision-making. In practice, public-authority surveys and evaluation studies overlap in content — the NACE classification follows the principal activity of the contractor.

Must evaluation studies be tendered EU-wide?
Yes, where the contract value exceeds the EU threshold for services (EUR 221,000 net, as of 2024/2025). Many ministry evaluations fall in the EUR 100,000–500,000 range and are therefore frequently tendered EU-wide using the negotiated procedure.

What ethical requirements apply to the procurement of empirical social research?
Contracting authorities increasingly require an ethics concept and, where personal data are involved, a data protection officer and GDPR commitments. EU-funded projects are additionally subject to the Horizon Europe ethics guidelines.

Can individual researchers participate in public tenders?
Natural persons may bid provided they meet the formal eligibility requirements. In practice, contracting authorities impose institutional requirements (legal entity, professional indemnity insurance) that often exclude individuals. A bidding consortium with an institute can provide a workaround.

Last updated: January 2026
All information is provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.