What is a competence centre for innovation procurement?

A competence centre on innovation procurement is an organisation/organisational structure that has been assigned the task by its government and has a mandate according to national law to encourage wider use of pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and public procurement of innovation (PPI) that includes among others providing practical and/or financial assistance to public procurers in the preparation and/or implementation of PCP and PPI across all sectors of public interest.

 

Where can I find my national innovation procurement competence centre?

The following European countries have established competence centres which can provide a range of services and support public procurers interested in innovation procurement:

 

The Procure2Innovate Network

The EU Horizon 2020-funded Procure2Innovate project aimed to help more procurers access the support they need to conduct PCP and PPI, especially in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. It has done so by supporting the creation of new competence centres in Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal, plus expanding the services of existing competence centres in Austria, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Procure2Innovate is building a permenant network of competence centres for innovation procurement, which will facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration and the exchange of best practices. For more information about how to engage with this Network, pelase visit the Procure2Innvoate project website or contact info@procure2innovate.eu.