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.

The new European Innovation Agenda highlights the importance of innovation procurement for the modernisation of the public sector but also for securing Europe’s strategic autonomy and strengthening the European industrial competitiveness globally.

The European Innovation Procurement Awards 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 innovation procurement and the innovative ways the solutions are procured.

In 2023, the European Innovation Procurement Awards is featuring two categories:

• Innovation procurement initiative category: to reward actions, and mid/long term strategies and action plans that trigger different innovation procurement and sustainable solution and practices.
• Facing societal challenges “green energy transition” category: to reward those innovative procurement practices aimed to support the green energy transition.

Each category will reward the winner with EUR 75 000, one second place with EUR 50 000, and one third place with EUR 25 000.

Participants can only apply to one of the two categories with the same application and set of activities.

The calls are closed. The deadline was 17 August 2023, 17:00 CET.

You can consult the EIC Work Programme 2023 featuring the full EUIPA Awards call text. 

The contest is open to any public and private buyers, natural persons and those legal entities supporting these practices located in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe.

Eligibility criteria

1. Eligible applicants are any public and/or private procurer, individuals/natural persons, and/or legal entities supporting those practices established in one of the Member States (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe;
2. The awarded procurement practice must have taken place in a Member State (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or in an Associated Country to Horizon Europe;
3. The awarded procurement practice must relate to completed or ongoing initiatives started after 1 January 2018. In the case of ongoing activities, only work completed by the submission deadline will be considered for the prize;
4. Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.
5. Winners of former European Innovation Procurement Awards editions, as well as runners-up of the 2022 edition are not eligible;

Award criteria

1. Transformation – stimulating the conversion of procurement practices towards innovation procurement with the aim to ensure a sustainable and inclusive growth.
2. Uptake – the innovative procurement practice is replicable and scalable, and therefore, contributes to providing, 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 practices.
4. Societal impact – practices with a demonstrated positive quantitative and qualitative impact on society, with special emphasis to achieving the green deal and digital transformation priorities.

Please consult the following document before submitting your application through the links above.

• Rules of contest

On 31 May 2023, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) organised an informative webinar to learn more about the third edition of the European Innovation Procurement Awards (EUIPA). 

The presentations from the webinar is available below. The recording will shortly follow.

Check full details of the previous editions:

EUIPA 2022

EUIPA 2021

For more information please contact us at EISMEA-EUIPAWARDS@ec.europa.eu

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