Description
Start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are innovation leaders in many markets. They develop new products and services which strengthen the competitiveness of European enterprises and create jobs. However, they can be faced with the challenge to develop products that meet the needs of the demand side and fit the right clients. Here, innovation procurement comes in. In innovation procurement, SMEs face a similar challenge when they are called to come up with innovative solutions to meet the needs of a buyer. The acquisition of innovative solutions by public and private organisations enables better and more efficient service delivery to customers and citizens. For example, at the level of the EU, the purchasing power of public buyers accounts for around 14% of the GDP. In many parts of Europe, it represents a considerable share of local economies. Therefore, there are considerable amounts of public financial resources available for SMEs to develop innovative solutions by participating in innovation public procurement procedures.
But how do start-ups and SMEs ensure that their innovative solutions will meet the needs of public buyers? And what has been the experience gained by our guest speakers of today: how can innovation procurement procedures aim at better targeting the demand-side needs?
To answer these questions, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, on behalf of the European Commission, DG GROW, organised the EU Clusters Talk “Innovation procurement: How to best match demands and solutions” on 13 September 2023, 8:30 – 9:45 CET, to discuss how to bring together the demand-side needs and the development of new products or services by innovative suppliers and to learn from the experience of the projects BRINC, InnoBuyers, and Procure4health.
Speakers included:
- Anita Poort, Innovation procurement policy officer, DG GROW, European Commission (tbc);
- Carlos Larrañeta Gómez-Caminero, Project Coordinator, Public Procurement Innovation Office, Regional Government of Andalusia;
- Joan Juul, Project Manager, International Cleantech Network;
- Jorge González, Director, TICBIOMED.
This event is part of regular online meetings brought to the cluster community by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform. They offer up-to-date insights into the latest industrial policies and clusters’ involvement, projects, and best practices, the latest ECCP news, and funding opportunities. The EU Clusters Talks are a space to exchange knowledge and to discuss cluster-relevant topics, which will change with every meeting.
Watch the full recording of the webinar:
Prior registration to this event is compulsory before 13 September 2023, 7:30 CEST.
This EU Clusters Talk is open to participants from the European Union and SMP/COSME countries. Approval for attending the session will be given individually.
Summary
Please find below the event summary and the slides of this EU Clusters Talk which includes the key takeaways from the session.