Pre-Commercial Procurement

PCP related Projects funded under EU programs

In response to the positive reactions from the EU Council and Parliament on PCP, the Commission started in 2009 to open calls for proposals (in RFEC, FP7 and CIP programmes) to support the establishment of networks of public authorities on pre-commercial procurement. These actions intend to promote awareness-raising and experience-sharing on PCP, as well as encourage cooperation among public procurers from different Member States in specific public sector domains that could lead to jointly implemented pre-commercial procurements.

I. Projects undertaking cross-border joint PCPs

EC co-financed PCPs follow a similar format because of the common set of requirements for joint cross-border PCP procurements that are applicable to all PCP calls for tender carried out under EC co-financed projects (listed in Appendix 6 of the FP7-ICT 2011-12 work programme). The following doc summarises how these requirements intend to help innovation thrive, whilst respecting the conditions for the R&D services exemption in the WTO GPA and EC public procurement directives, the Treaty principles as well as the competition rules.

SILVER – Supporting Independent Living for the Elderly through Robotics

Partners: Technology Strategy Board (UK), Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation and Agriculture (NL), Brainport Development (NL), VINNOVA (SE), Forum Virium (FI), Region South Denmark (DK), Odense Commune (DK), Aalto (FI), Västerås Commune (SE)

Objective: The SILVER project has two concrete primary objectives. The first is to establish and validate a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process in the participating countries. The second is to use that process to identify new technologies and services to address the challenge of Supporting the Independent living of the Elderly through Robotics. By the completion of this project there will be a fully documented PCP process, capable of being run as a joint cross-border PCP call for tender with the participating countries. For addressing the independent living of the elderly a number of pilot R&D projects will be executed to develop innovative new solutions and technologies. These projects, identified through an open call for tender using the PCP process, will run through a 3 phased life-cycle. This life-cycle will start with short feasibility studies to allow selected highly innovative ideas to be tested in a controlled way to mitigate the inherent risk that innovation brings. Out of those ideas that prove their viability, the most promising projects will then be selected to develop prototypes and the most promising of those further again into small scale test series of first end-products and thus accelerate their route to commercialisation. Involving purchasers of care services for the elderly as partners within the SILVER project will provide these R&D pilots with intelligent lead customers able to assess and shape the solutions. This, together with the enhanced awareness that these purchasers will gain through their involvement, will greatly increase the chance that the ideas will be purchased when they become commercially available products.

Planning: The project starts with a preparation phase, in which the consortium of public procurers will draw up a common requirements specification for the desired solution and setup the process for executing the joint cross-border PCP call for tender. In the execution phase of the project, expected to start mid 2012, the lead contracting authority designated by the consortium of public procurers in the project will launch a European wide published open PCP call for tender – jointly financed by the public procurers in the consortium using co-financing from the EC. Project SILVER foresees to launch a PCP call for tender for the value of €2M, envisaging approximately 8 to 10 companies to participate in phase 1 (budget phase 1: 500.000 EURO, duration: 6 months), up to 5 companies in phase 2 (budget phase 2: 800.000 EURO total, duration: 1 year), up to 3 companies in phase 3 (budget phase 3: 700.000 EURO, duration: 1 year).

 

Fact sheet: SILVER factsheet

Project Website: SILVER website

Project Timing: start date: 1 Jan 2012, duration: 45 months

Contact: Stephen Browning – TSB, stephen.browning AT tsb.gov.uk

 

II. Projects focusing on Networking / Awareness Raising related to PCP

Projects funded under FP7

In Call 4 of the ICT FP7 Work Programme for 2009 (Nov 2008-April 2009) the European Commission invited consortia to submit proposals for Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) on Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) in areas of public interest related to ICT. This could relate to for example public sector needs for new ICT solutions in healthcare, inclusion, e-government, transport, improved energy efficiency, environment, security etc.

Three such FP7 CSA projects are: P3ITS, PRECO and PROGR-EAST (leaflet on those three PCP networking projects, pdf). A short description of the projects' objectives and partners can be found below.

P3ITS – Pre-commercial procurement for ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) innovation and deployment

Partners: European Road Transport Telematics Implementation Coordination Organisation ERTICO (BE), Promotion of Operational Links with Integrated Services POLIS (BE), Ministry of Transport V&W (NL), North Denmark Region (DK), Foundation Connekt ITS (NL), Federal Agency for Technological Measures Austriatech (AU), Departement Mobility and Public Works - department of traffic control Flanders (BE), Egis Mobilité (FR), Centrum dopravního výzkumu (CZ), Italian ITS Association TTS (IT), ITS Bretagne(FR), Evolving Systems Consulting (CZ)

Objective: With cooperative ITS systems, drivers’ vehicles will “talk” directly with the traffic management system. Speed limit and other road sign information, weather alerts, warnings of approaching emergency vehicles and other urgent messages, will be sent wirelessly to an in-vehicle display. The timely availability and deployment of these services depend furthermore greatly on the Public Authorities in the establishment of national cooperative infrastructure (road side systems). In the context of P3ITS it will be investigated specifically how the existing but underutilised opportunity of pre-commercial procurement can stimulate innovation and help advance towards market conditions for large scale introduction of cooperative ITS services.

Fact sheet: P3ITS factsheet

Project Timing: start date: 1 Jan 2010, duration: 18 months

Contact: Rasmus Lindholm, ERTICO - ITS Europe, r.lindholm AT mail.ertico.com

Website: http://www.p3its.eu

PRECO – Enhancing innovation in pre-commercial public purchasing process

Partners: Culminatum Helsinki Region Centre of Expertise (FI), Alfamicro (PT), European Projects and Management Agency (CZ), Vysocina Kraj Region (CZ), Foundation of Community of Valencia (ES), Sønderborg Participatory Innovation Research Centre (DK), Helsinki School of Economics (FI), Copenhagen Living Lab (DK), Amsterdam Innovation Motor (NL), Union of the Chambers of Commerce of Veneto Region dept Eurosportello Veneto (IT)

Objective: The public sector in Europe is facing immense pressures for change. The local authorities play a key role in implementing public procurement policy and legal framework. A city or a region may therefore become an important test market in implementing new and innovative products and technologies. In this context, there is an urgent call for action. The overall objective of PreCo is to support public authorities in undertaking pre-commercial procurement (PCP) actions which stimulate innovation by engaging the suppliers in the market as well as the end-users (Living Labs). For this purpose, PreCo brings together a thematic network for the development and adaptation of European wide models, frameworks and policy recommendations in the domains of eHealth and eEnergy.

Fact sheet: PRECO factsheet

Project Timing: start date: 1 Nov 2009, duration: 24 months

Contact: Rikka Ikonen – Culminatum, riikka.ikonen AT culminatum.fi

Website: http://preco.share2solve.org/main/

PROGR-EAST - Innovative PROcurement techniques to support the GRowth of competitiveness for public services in EASTern Europe

Partners: INNOVA (IT), University of Ljubljana (SL), PTA (HU), BIC-Bratislava (SK), INNOVATIKA (PL)

Objective: The goal of PROGR-EAST is to encourage the use of Pre Commercial Procurement (PCP), in 5 targeted European Countries (PL, CZ, SK, HU and SL), taking into consideration the specific needs and constraints for public procurement and in particular for the procurement of R&D existing in Eastern Europe. The aim is to introduce innovative PCP strategies to public authorities, universities and industrial stakeholders, and transfer successful experiences implemented in other European and external regions to implement innovative public services. In particular the project is focused on PCP for eGovernment, and for other innovative on line services for citizens and business.

Fact sheet: PROGR EAST factsheet

Project Timing: start date: 1 July 2010 - 1 July 2012, duration: 24 months

Contact: Alberto Sciuto, INNOVA, a.sciuto AT innova-eu.net

Website: http://www.progreast.eu

Projects funded under INTERREG IVC

INTERREG IVC Regions For Economic Change (RFEC), the 2007-2013 interregional cooperation programme, also offers opportunities for regional public authorities to submit proposals for establishing networks on pre-commercial procurement. More specifically pre-commercial procurement was included for the first time as one of the topics for networking proposals under the theme 2.2 "bringing innovative ideas to the market more quickly" of the RFEC call that closed end of January 2009.

The project RAPIDE - Bringing innovative products and services to the market more quickly- was an example of a RFEC project active on pre-commercial procurement. The RAPIDE Innovative Procurement Working Group led by Észak-Alföld Region (HU) pilots the application of structural funds resources to setup pre-commercial procurement programmes. October 2009 the Hungarian National Development Agency announced to include pre-commercial procurement in its future strategy and to launch a call to start pre-commercial procurement projects in Hungary.

Fact Sheet: October 2009 RAPIDE newsletter related to PCP

Website: www.rapidenetwork.eu

Projects funded under CIP

Under the CIP ICT Policy Support Programme, public authorities can also submit proposals for networking on PCP or public procurement of innovative solutions under the form of "thematic networks". For the moment no such projects have been selected for CIP PSP funding.