Promoting Innovation through Public Procurement

Date: 23 - 24 March 2010

Venue: Centre Borschette, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 Brussels

The conference "Promoting Innovation through Public Procurement: best practices & networking" jointly organised by DG INFSO and DG ENTR invites all policymakers and regional and local stakeholders. The conference has a dual objective.

Firstly, to inform and consult stakeholders about the latest developments for further EC support to pre-commercial procurement networks and cross-border PCP pilots (Day 1 - 23 March)

Secondly, to encourage networking between PCP practitioners as well as with other networks working on public procurement and innovation (Day 2 - 24 March). 

The plenary session on PCP (11-12h, 23 March) intends to stimulate discussion with presentations about further Commission support for PCP, the possibility of EIB loans to public procurers for launching PCP projects, an experience of the Észak-Alföld region in Hungary on using Structural Funds resources to setup PCP programs.

The parallel session on PCP (15h15-16h15, 23 March), where experiences from first PCP networking projects in concrete application areas such a health, energy etc will stimulate discussion with feedback on concrete measures that could help to mainstream PCP more widely across Europe.

Interested networks can also submit requests for slots to meet particular other networks on day 2 of the event.

To express your interest to participate in the conference, please e-mail to lieve.bos@ec.europa.eu (DG INFSO) and bertrand.wert@ec.europa.eu (DG ENTR).
The intention is to collect the majority of registration requests for the conference by end of January.

More information and registration.
Draft Agenda

Promoting Innovation through Public Procurement

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

DRAFT AGENDA

"Promoting Innovation through Public Procurement:

Best practice & networking"

Brussels, 23-24 March 2010

Centre Borschette, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 Brussels

Aim of the conference

In the past three years, the European Commission and several public authorities in Europe have launched a number of initiatives that stimulate the public procurement of innovations and stimulate innovative public procurement itself. These include Green Public Procurement GPP, e-Procurement, social considerations, variants in procurement, technical dialogue or forward commitment procurement methodologies, as well as Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or research oriented public procurements.

Stakeholder and expert communities, training and guidance are being developed. To start building a European critical mass in this field, there is a need to facilitate the networking and exchanging of best practice among public procurers and relevant stakeholders. This conference aims to promote a connected community of stakeholders and identify possible joint actions.

Specific objectives are to:

- Clarify the relationships between networks and stakeholders (existing ones and new ones) that can facilitate/ promote public procurement of innovations: innovation agencies, Enterprise Europe Network partners, experts, industry, procuring facilitators

- Identify what tools are best used to help these people and where there is potential for joint actions

Context

Public procurement was identified as a priority for EU innovation policy under the 2006 Broad Based Innovation Strategy. Since then, the Commission has provided guidance on innovation in public procurement, introduced the concept of pre-commercial procurement and launched calls to support trans-national networks of public procurers in the lead market areas1 and for pre-commercial procurement2. In parallel, innovative approaches in public procurement have been already developed.

Despite these policy initiatives, the vast majority of public procurement in the EU does not purchase enough innovative solutions. This is of particular concern with public procurement representing around 17% of EU27 GDP (around 2000 billion euro a year

¹ Refer to: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/lead-market-initiative/public-proc_en.htm

² Refer to: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/pcp/home_en.html 2

- DG MARKT 2007 data), the rising pressures on public expenditure and the growing demands for better public services. Access to public procurement remains difficult for many companies, particularly small and innovative ones, and this issue is being considered in the context of the future European Innovation Plan.

³ Small Business Innovation and Research programme developed by the USA and replicated by several European Member States.

Innovation in public procurement can be envisaged from two complementary and interlinked perspectives:

1/ on how public procurers are buying and

2/ on what public procurers are buying.

The "how" is mainly related to innovative methodologies promoted or allowed by the current Directives on public procurement.

The "what" concerns the products or services purchased which are innovative or new by nature. Pre-commercial, research oriented public procurements or SBIR3 type methodologies are particular tools dedicated to the "what".