On-going Innovation Procurement projects exhibit evidence that the procurers acquire best value for money solutions to face their challenges fostering at the same time growth and creating jobs in Europe through the commercialization of the innovative products or services. H2020 support to Innovation Procurements covers many domains of public interest. Innovation Procurement can be also a very useful tool in the hands of the regional stakeholders to achieve innovation goals set in the context of the Structural Funds. Synergies between H2020 and Structural Funds on Innovation Procurement are not only allowed but encouraged as they offer to the local key players the possibility to tackle public needs by benefiting from the R&D development or the deployment of innovative solutions that takes place in H2020 projects
Ms Lieve Bos (European Commission DG CONNECT) presented the importance and potential of pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI) to modernize public services in Europe while creating market opportunities for companies. She presented the funding schemes in H2020 that co-finance the preparation, coordination and the execution of PCP and PPI Procurements. 130M Euro of EU funding is currently available (deadlines for proposals in 2015) to support Innovation Procurements implementation in many domains of public interest.Mr Vasileios Tsanidis (European Commission DG CONNECT) presented the role Innovation Procurement can play in Structural Funds. He explained its importance for regional stakeholders and presented ways of how Structural Funds budget can be effectively used to support Innovation Procurement implementation and enhance the administrative capacity of the Procurement officers in the Regions. Mr. Tsanidis also referred to the possible synergies between ESIF and H2020 and presented concrete scenarios to combine ESIF and H2020 funding for implementing Innovation Procurements.
Mr Peter Asché (Uniklinik Rwth Aachen, Germany) presented the Thalea Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) project that is challenging providers to develop new innovative solutions for remote decision support to intensive care units through an interoperable telemedicine platform. Mr.Asché stressed that the project attracted considerable market interest with 23 companies from 5 different Member States participating to the open market consultation that preceded the publication of the Thalea PCP call for tender.
Mr van Berlo (Smart Homes, The Netherlands) presented the Stop and Go Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) project that aims at deploying cost-effective, sustainable and innovative solutions for telecare for elderly. A transnational procurement in four Member States will enable the participant organizations to purchase innovative solutions with clear clinical and social outcomes creating in that way economies of scale that will benefit the procurers and the market and contributing at the same time to standardization.
The chair person Ms Anne Müngersdorff (ZENIT, Germany) concluded that Innovation Procurement is a powerful tool that helps drive Innovation from the demand side in Europe. In periods of economic crisis Innovation Procurement offers unique opportunity to optimize the public expenditure in an effective way that will result to the modernization of the public services providing also support to the companies to gain leadership in new markets. The momentum could not be more appropriate for the regional stakeholders to benefit from the available H2020 and Structural Funds co-financing opportunities as well as the synergies between those two funding Programs to boost innovation in Europe through Innovation Procurement.