Overview
Pre-commercial public procurement is an approach for procuring Research and Development (R&D) services.
The public sector in the EU, as elsewhere in the world, is faced with important societal challenges, in particular in the transport sector. Addressing such challenges requires new and innovative solutions, such as the development of cooperative mobility systems. Some of the required improvements are so technologically demanding that either no commercially stable solution yet exists on the market, or existing solutions show shortcomings which require new R&D.
By developing forward-looking procurement strategies that include R&D procurement to develop new solutions that address these challenges, the public sector can have a significant impact on the mid to long-term efficiency and effectiveness of public services as well as on the innovation performance and the competitiveness of European industry. Thus, by acting as technologically demanding first buyers of new R&D, public procurers can drive innovation from the demand side.
Developing a strong European home market for innovative products and services is the key for Europe to create growth and jobs - quickly evolving from R&D to markets in fields like Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
The P3ITS project aimed to start a dialogue between procurement experts, agencies and industry professionals from the ITS sector, with the aim of building a network of procurers and industry experts as consultation partners.
P3ITS focused first on the needs and requirements for the innovation and migration from R&D towards large scale market of cooperative ITS services. Secondly, P3ITS focused on the options and mechanisms that pre-commercial public procurement - as a special structure for procurement - provides for risk sharing and stimulating innovation.
Following the identification of requirements from industry and analysis of mechanisms for pre-commercial public procurement (PCP), the project consolidated the results and extended the individual conclusions.
The project began by focusing on the needs and requirements of innovation and deployment of ITS services. This steps included a series of questionnaires and a workshop for external stakeholders.
This was followed by a task investigating how pre-commercial procurement can help stimulate innovation and improve market conditions for ITS. This led to another workshop and a report on PCP opportunities and constraints.
Finally, the project brought together a set of recommendations for stakeholders and a roadmap for best practice PCP implementation.
Funding
Results
The project has resulted in:
- better understanding of the socio-economic benefits of pre-commercial procurement (PCP), as well as difficulties and barriers to wider use of PCP in Europe;
- higher level of awareness about what PCP really is and how it can be launched (among others for ITS actors and stakeholders);
- support to public authorities in their task of deploying ITS through a new tool for public support to innovation;
- indentify which actions or initiatives are still needed to result in common use of PCP for ITS deployment.
On a mid to long term perspective, these P3ITS results will facilitate and accelerate the use of PCP for ITS deployment. Thus:
- reinforcing the ICT incentive framework for innovation in Europe;
- improving access to finance to innovative SME's;
- improving the market conditions for the innovative ITS technologies and services in Europe.
Policy implications
The EU (and elsewhere) is faced with important societal challenges. In particular in the transport sector. Addressing these challenges requires new and innovative solutions: e.g. the development of cooperative mobility systems.
Development of a strong home market for innovative products and services, is of key importance to Europe with respect to growth and creating jobs.
Other results
The public sector can have a significant impact on the mid to long-term efficiency and effectiveness of public services. And also on the innovation performance and the competitiveness of European industry.
Policy objectives
An efficient and integrated mobility system: Promoting quality jobs and working conditions