Objectives and scope

Innovation procurement boosts the process of transforming research results and ideas into innovative solutions. It represents an untapped potential to stimulate the demand for innovation. Moreover, it appears to have a positive impact on private spending on research and innovation activities and innovation commercialisation success.

By putting in place dedicated strategies aimed to lift and enhance the use of innovation procurement, the public and private sectors can provide state-of-the-art services and goods to the society and, at the same time, offer new growth and commercialisation opportunities for suppliers of disruptive solutions, particularly start-ups and SMEs.

The European Union has recognized the importance of innovation procurement as a tool for modernizing the public sector, strengthening Europe's industrial competitiveness, and addressing key societal challenges such as climate change and the transition to a sustainable, net-zero economy. The New European Innovation Agenda[1] sets out a vision for harnessing the power of innovation to drive economic growth, social progress, and environmental sustainability in Europe. The Agenda emphasizes the need for strategic investments in key technologies, including deep tech, and for stronger collaboration between public and private sector actors to foster innovation and promote the uptake of new solutions.

In this context, it is proposed that the European Innovation Procurement Awards 2025 societal challenge would focus on the theme of net-zero, in line with the EU's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and the recent proposal for a Net-Zero Industry Act[2]. The awards would recognize public and/or private procurer, individuals/natural persons and/or legal entities that are using innovation procurement to support the transition to a sustainable, net-zero economy, and are driving innovation across key sectors such as energy, transportation, construction and manufacturing.

The European Innovation Procurement Awards 2025 challenge would provide an opportunity to reward the procurement of innovative solutions and /or innovation procurement practices that are driving Europe's transition to a sustainable, net-zero economy, and to recognize the outstanding efforts of those leading the way in this critical area.

The European Innovation Procurement Awards 2025 aim to recognise public and private buyers, natural persons and those legal entities supporting these practices across Europe in their efforts to promote and stimulate both procurement of innovative solutions and the innovative ways the solutions are procured.

The Awards also aim to demonstrate how innovation procurement positively transforms society and the economy by not only creating new and sustainable markets, but also by tackling societal challenges such as green energy transition.

These Awards complement and encourages synergies with other EIC initiatives aiming to support and foster innovation procurement in the European Union (i.e EIC Business Acceleration Services Innovation Procurement Program).

Categories

In this edition, the European Innovation Procurement Awards will feature the following two categories:

• Innovation procurement initiative (including implementation) category: to reward actions, and mid/long-term strategies and action plans that trigger different innovation procurements as well as to reward procurements of R&D services and/or procurements to buy and deploy innovative solutions. Special focus will be placed on the facilitation of the access to procurement markets to innovative SMEs and start-ups including EIC beneficiaries.
• Facing societal challenges category: - “Net Zero Industry Procurement” to reward procurement practises and/or the procurement of R&D services and/or the procurement and deployment of innovative solutions that contribute to achieving the goals set out in the Net Zero Industry Act. This may include solutions that promote circularity, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy in industry, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote sustainable and responsible production and consumption. Special focus will be placed also on the facilitation of the access to procurement markets to innovative SMEs and start-ups including EIC beneficiaries.

Each category will reward the winner with EUR 75 000 (1st ranked) and one runner-up (ranked 2nd) with EUR 50 000, and one runner-up (ranked 3rd) with EUR 25 000.

Eligibility criteria

• Eligible applicants are any public and/or private procurer, individuals/natural persons and/or legal entities supporting the use of innovation procurement established in one of the Member States including overseas countries and territories (OCTs) or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe;
• The awarded procurement/procurement practice must have taken place in a Member State (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or in an Associated Country to Horizon Europe;
• The awarded procurement /procurement practice must relate to completed or ongoing initiatives started after 1 January 2019. In the case of ongoing activities, only work completed by the submission deadline will be considered for the prize (Applicants will be required to prove the starting date of the practice by providing supporting documents);
• Applicants can only apply to one of the two categories for the same set of activities;
• Winners of former European Innovation Procurement Awards editions, as well as runners-up of the previous edition are not eligible;
• Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.

Award criteria

The award is launched and managed by the Agency. The prize will be awarded after closure of the yearly contest to the applicants who, in the opinion of the jury, best address the following cumulative criteria:

1. Transformation – stimulating innovation procurement with the aim to ensure a sustainable and inclusive growth. In this criterion, the applicant should bear in mind that this transformation refers to the shift into (a) buying the process of innovation (research and development services); (b) buying the outcomes of innovation; or (c) the establishment of innovation procurement friendly frameworks which include tools to measure results of support actions.
2. Uptake – the innovative procurement practice or action is replicable and scalable, and therefore, contributes to providing, more efficient and effective solutions. In this criterion, among others, the applicant should provide information (KPIs) about how the procurement practice/action is replicable and scalable, the number of countries, entities and/or sectors where the solution has been implemented and/or replicated; or about how it has provided more efficient and effective solutions.
3. Collaboration – demonstrated co-operation linked to the innovation procurement practice. Special attention should be paid to the establishment of synergies, to the promotion of best practices, to the support to capacity building and skill development, and to the efforts of knowledge sharing between stakeholders within the different territories, especially among those at different state of maturity in innovation procurement. In this criterion, among others, the applicant should provide information (KPIs) about the number of partners (including start-ups, universities, academics, public and private organisations) involved in this collaboration; publications; conferences and events organised/attended to share knowledge, actions implemented to foster collaboration; or about the ratio of engagement and influence within the innovation ecosystem.
4. Innovative SMEs and start-ups access to procurement markets – how the innovative procurement practise or action facilitates the access of innovative SMEs and start-ups (including but not limited to EIC beneficiaries) to procurement markets. Complementarity and synergies with other EIC initiatives aimed at supporting and fostering innovation procurement in the European Union must be taken into account.
5. Societal impact – procurement practices/actions with a demonstrated positive quantitative and qualitative impact on society, with special emphasis to achieving the green deal and digital transformation priorities. In this criterion, among others, the applicant should provide information (KPIs) about the number of purchased and deployed solutions and/or projects implemented that contribute to achieving green and digital transitions; or about concrete positive transformations in the ecosystem.

The jury will review and score eligible applications and will invite the shortlisted applicants to a hearing in front of the jury members to defend their application. This hearing may take place remotely.

Further details on the evaluation process and award criteria, as well as promotional activities, will be specified in the rules for this contest published at the launch of the yearly contest. For the common rules of contest for prizes, please see the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal.

Expected results

The awards aim to:

• Stimulate the innovation procurement uptake;
• Acknowledge and support the efforts done by public and private procurers, and legal entities supporting them, to deliver better services and/or to bring products to the market in an innovative way, while facilitating the access to procurement markets to innovative SMEs and start-ups including EIC beneficiaries and;
• Build a diverse European community of public and private buyers to share, work together and inspire each other in the design of innovative procurement processes, and particularly in the delivery of public services.

More information can be found in the EIC WP 2024.

[1] A Communication from the Commission on a new European innovation agenda adopted on 5.07.2022 (COM(2022)332 final)

[2]COM(2023) 161 - Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act)