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European Innovation Council
StartOff

Startups are a source of innovation that the public sector needs. They have knowledge of the latest technology and have new solutions that can help solve public needs. At the same time, traditional procurement processes are often complicated and resource-intensive, and the public has little overview of what startups can offer.


StartOff is a tool to address this. Through a fast, simple and predictable process, StartOff brings public clients and startups together to solve challenges in the public sector and helps growing new businesses. StartOff has in its short lifetime produced extra-ordinary results with 7 of 8 completed projects seeing continuation in the form of scaled up development, testing og procurement. Customer satisfaction rate among participating suppliers is 8.8 out of 10.


The StartOff-programme offers a new standard model for 6 months fast-track pre-commercial procurement inspired projects. With the help of the StartOff-team, the public sector clients reach out to the startup market, inviting it to help solve unmet needs and challenges. This takes place across all sectors. The end project is a minimum viable product (MVP). Commercialisation potential is at the core both when selecting projects and in the selection of suppliers and their proposed solutions. After project end the StartOff-team assists both the supplier and public sector client to implement and commercialise the solution, overcoming the valley of death.


The result is:

  • A new model challenging the complexity, time and cost in innovation procurement and getting a new supplier segment involved.
  • A standardised model which is equally adapted for innovation needs across sectors and actors, inspired by best practice in Europe.
  • A truly collaborative effort, among its partners, in the way we run projects, and in the continued building of partnerships in the public and private sector.