Discover the latest trends

Innovation has always been the catalyst for societal progress, propelling economies, industries, and nations forward. It ignites a spark of transformation, opening doors to new possibilities and solutions to complex challenges. Traditionally, the onus of driving innovation has primarily fallen on the private sector, with governments playing a supportive role through policy frameworks and incentives.

However, in recent years, a new approach has emerged, shifting the dynamics of innovation. Public procurement for innovation has gained momentum as a powerful tool for governments to directly contribute to fostering cutting-edge solutions, driving economic growth, and addressing pressing societal issues. This dynamic approach brings together the public and private sectors, creating a collaborative ecosystem that harnesses the potential of innovation for the greater good.

Stay with us to delve into the fascinating world of public procurement for innovation. By leveraging its purchasing power, governments can not only obtain goods and services but also stimulate research and development, promote entrepreneurship, and shape the direction of technological advancements. 

To grasp the essence of public procurement for innovation, it is imperative to familiarize ourselves with related concepts. 

While public procurement entails the procurement of goods and services by government agencies, public technology procurement refers to the purchasing of a product that is currently non-existent, but holds the potential for development within a reasonable timeframe through additional or new work undertaken by the government agency responsible for producing, supplying, and selling the product. On the other hand, conventional public procurement takes place when government agencies acquire off-the-shelf products that do not need research and development efforts. The procurement decisions, including purchasing and supplier selection, are made based on readily available information such as price, quantity, and performance. Another scenario arises when government agencies directly procure research and development to bolster governmental activities and decision-making processes. Finally, public procurement for innovation encompasses the advocacy for utilizing public procurement as a means to foster innovation, an approach gaining momentum among proponents in recent times.

Adriana Salazar Cota, IDB Senior Procurement Specialist, refers to public procurement of innovation as “the public procurement process aimed at promoting the development of markets innovative from the demand side of public procurement.” 

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said that it “consists of an administrative procurement procedure, through which the government buyer can tender the procurement of a product or service: (a) due to its functional specificities; (b) that do not exist in the market, and (c) for which it is necessary to develop R+D+i activities.”

Sandra Sinde Cantorna, an international pioneer in the design and implementation of innovative public procurement systems and founder of LASINDE, considers it “a public policy tool that uses the purchasing power of the government to stimulate companies to innovate, responding to the challenge of offering better services to the people, promoting technological development and strengthening ecosystems of innovation.”

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed out that “the strategic use of public procurement for innovation is defined as any kind of public procurement practice (pre-commercial or commercial) that is intended to stimulate innovation through research and development and the market uptake of innovative products and services.”

For us, public procurement for innovation is like a superhero team-up between the government and innovation-driven companies, working together to create mind-blowing solutions for the world's challenges. It's a cutting-edge approach where the government uses its purchasing power to buy goods and services and ignite a spark of innovation. By teaming up with visionary entrepreneurs and startups, the government becomes a catalyst for revolutionary ideas, turning the wheels of progress and creating a world that's cooler, smarter, and more awe-inspiring than ever before.-