Public Procurement represents approximately 14% of the EU GDP. However, less than half of this budget is purchased from SMEs.
Public procurement of innovation (PPI) broadly refers to any public procurement that has one or both of the following aspects:
- buying the process of innovation;
- buying the outcomes of innovation.
Public procurement of innovation may commence with research and development of products, services or processes that do not yet exist. Public buyers state their need with little to no concrete idea of the solution and support innovative businesses and researchers in finding the perfectly suited product, service or process. In this way, the public buyer effectively becomes part of the innovation lifecycle from the very beginning of product or service development.
Furthermore, public buyers may choose innovative products, services or processes that are new in the market instead of renewing or replicating existing procurement contracts.
The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is EUR 4 000 000.
EASME expects to grant projects co-financing between EUR 800 000 and EUR 1.5 million. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Scope:
The specific objective of this call in relation to SMEs is to improve their access to markets inside the Union. Access to public procurement remains difficult for SMEs, who are only awarded 45% of the value of public contracts above EU public procurement threshold. This share is clearly below their weight in the economy.
The public sector can play a large role in helping companies, and in particular SMEs, overcome a classic market failure: finding a first group of customers for their innovative products and services. Innovation is constrained by a 'chicken or egg problem,' whereby suppliers will often wait until there is a demonstrated demand before they develop new solutions, while at the same time the potential buyers are waiting to see a new product or service enjoying some success in the market before they will risk buying it themselves (Cate et al, 1998)
This call for proposals is expected to contribute to a significant increase in the proportion of SMEs that have access to the public procurement market. It will also increase the visibility and awareness of the advantages of procuring innovation for a constantly increasing greater number of public buyers.
This call for proposals has three main objectives.
Expected Impact:
This call for proposals has three main objectives.
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