17 May 2018

European Commission publishes innovation procurement guidance

European Commission publishes innovation procurement guidance

Image (pixabay.com) by "Hans", licensed under CCO Creative Commons

New guidance has been published by the European Commission's DG GROW, addressing the fundamental aspects of innovation procurement - why it is important, who should be interested, and most importantly, how it can be done.

The guidance is based around good practice examples, and aims to help public procurers with a range of practical issues, including reducing administrative burdens, using selection criteria effectively, mobilising innovation brokers, and implementing SME-friendly payment schemes. It covers a range of alternative public procurement procedures - such as competitive dialogue, design contests and innovation partnerships - providing inspiration and advice for implementing these.

In addition to practical examples, the guidance also highlights wider innovation procurement initiatives, such as the Procure2Innovate project on establishing and expanding innovation competence centres in 10 EU Member States, and draws attention to important points for sharing and learning about international experiences in innovation procurement, including the Procurement of Innovation Platform and the Procura+ European Sustainable Procurement Network.

This guidance is released as part of the Renewed Agenda for Research and Innovation, and is available here.