2 October 2017

European Commission issues call for Innovation Procurement Broker pilot

European Commission issues call for Innovation Procurement Broker pilot

Image (https://pixabay.com) , licensed under CC0 Public Domain

The European Commission has launched a call for an Innovation Procurement Broker to develop and implement a sustainable method to facilitate public procurement of innovation (PPI), with a special focus on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency within the European Single Market. The brokers are intended to address a gap in the relationship between those public buyers interested in buying innovative solutions and innovative SMEs, especially startups.

The deadline for proposals is 21 November 2017 and the call is open to consortia coordinated by a public body and involving a public authority. "Innovation brokers" is one of the initiatives suggested in the Start-up and Scale-up Initiative by DG GROW and financed through the COSME programme.

Full details of the call for proposals and guidance for applicants are available online. The successful Innovation Procurement Broker will promote and manage two networks of stakeholders in the European innovation eco-system, advise public buyers on the definition of their actual procurement needs, define innovative products or services which meet these needs, and propose recommendations, provide advice and strengthen knowledge sharing.

For more information, visit the European Commission's Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) website.