Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) is essential to upgrade the public sector efficiency and effectiveness, facilitating a wider diffusion of innovative solutions on the market and accelerating growth.
Besides encouraging the public sector to adopt innovative solutions to modernize public services, PPI is also responsible for many other benefits such as:
- Providing new opportunities for small and medium-sized companies that will encourage job creation, leading to Economic Growth.
- Creating innovative procurement practices that will provide a route to solutions of quality and efficiency, Enhancing Public Services.
- Enabling public authorities to take advantage of groundbreaking solutions and original and creative technologies to Tackle Important Societal Changes, such as environmental sustainability, healthcare and urban infrastructures.
To improve PPI, several strategies should also be considered. It is crucial to encourage more advanced initiatives in order to simplify procurement procedures, as well as it is essential to educate procurement professionals and to invest in training so that these procedures can be appropriately implemented.
Moreover, the use of digital tools and platforms must be stimulated, as it can improve processes and accelerate implementation, while also showing transparency. Additionally, PPI has the power to engage research institutions, private companies and even other public entities, which will promote the co-creation of solutions that are innovative, but also more complete and, consequently, more prepared to meet the real needs.
After this and other relevant strategies are taken into account, monitoring and evaluation are vital to identify what went well, what should be improved and how to ensure the objectives are met.
In Europe, PPI is key, and this was the reason behind the creation of the Innovation Procurement Task Force. Initially founded by four EU-funded projects—PROCEDIN, BUILD, Health InnoFacilitator, and InnoBuyer—the IPTF brings together expertise in various aspects of innovation procurement to drive progress and promote sustainable practices across the European Union.
Now, the Task Force has gained interest from other stakeholders and initiatives such as Procure4Health and Prepare projects, and the Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative & Responsible Public Procurement, reflecting continuous expansion and development, welcoming diverse partners.
To better explore the subject, IPTF organises a conference with the topic focused on Scaling-up Innovation Procurement in Europe, that will take place next Tuesday, June 18th, in Brussels. Stay tuned for the highlights about this event!
