Periodic Reporting for period 1 - InnoFacilitator (HEALTH INNOFACILITATORTHE EUROPEAN FACILITATOR COMMUNITY PROMOTING PUBLIC PROCUREMENT OF INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-09-30
The **Health InnoFacilitator** project addressed barriers to adopting PPI in healthcare, tackling inefficiencies and limited collaboration between public buyers and innovative providers, such as SMEs. Funded by Horizon Europe, it aimed to foster innovation, enhance procurement processes, and promote value-based approaches. Through tailored training, coaching, and matchmaking events, the project equipped public buyers with the skills to navigate PPI while increasing opportunities for SMEs to access markets. It established a sustainable stakeholder community on a dedicated platform to ensure ongoing knowledge sharing, collaboration, and access to resources. By fostering partnerships and addressing systemic challenges like limited cross-sector collaboration, the project encouraged co-creation of innovative procurement strategies. Matchmaking events connected buyers with innovators, promoting insights and partnerships to address healthcare challenges. It also empowered SMEs by making procurement more accessible, fostering equity and innovation in public services. Dissemination of value-based practices set a benchmark for efficient healthcare procurement, establishing a foundation for systemic change and paving the way for a dynamic, innovation-driven ecosystem across Europe.
The Health InnoFacilitator project achieved significant milestones in advancing Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) in healthcare by fostering collaboration, building capacity, and creating sustainable resources for stakeholders. A key achievement was the establishment of the Health InnoFacilitator subgroup within the broader Healthcare Buyers Community platform, providing a dedicated space for over 80 members, including public buyers, SMEs, and innovators, to share knowledge and collaborate on innovative procurement strategies. The project’s training and capacity-building activities, including workshops, webinars, and personalized coaching, empowered public buyers to design and implement PPI processes while equipping SMEs and start-ups with the tools to navigate procurement opportunities effectively. The matchmaking event served as a cornerstone for fostering partnerships, connecting public and private actors through success stories, presentations, and 27 B2B meetings, which sparked actionable collaborations. Additionally, the project promoted best practices and value-based procurement through a rich repository of resources, ensuring long-term accessibility and knowledge sharing. These efforts not only enhanced stakeholder skills and confidence but also addressed systemic barriers to innovation procurement, paving the way for a more dynamic, efficient, and sustainable healthcare ecosystem across Europe. By creating a thriving community and embedding innovative practices, the Health InnoFacilitator project has left a lasting legacy in driving systemic change and fostering impactful collaboration in healthcare procurement.
The Health InnoFacilitator project delivered transformative results with significant potential impacts on the healthcare innovation ecosystem. By fostering a sustainable community of stakeholders and equipping them with knowledge and tools, the project addressed systemic challenges in Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI), paving the way for its broader adoption across Europe. Key results include the creation of a robust community platform integrated into the Healthcare Buyers Community, providing a long-term space for collaboration and access to a repository of resources such as case studies, training materials, and best practices. The project’s training programs, webinars, and coaching sessions enhanced stakeholders’ skills and confidence in managing PPI processes, empowering public buyers to adopt value-based approaches and enabling SMEs and start-ups to participate in procurement opportunities more effectively. Collaborative events like matchmaking sessions strengthened connections between public and private sectors, promoting co-creation of innovative solutions to pressing healthcare challenges.
The project’s impacts are profound, including improved efficiency in healthcare procurement, enhanced market access for innovative SMEs, and a shift toward value-based procurement models. However, to ensure further uptake and success, key needs must be addressed. These include continued research and demonstration projects to validate and refine innovative procurement approaches, expanded access to markets and financing for SMEs and start-ups, and stronger IPR support to safeguard intellectual property during collaborative innovation. Additionally, the establishment of a supportive regulatory and standardisation framework is critical to align procurement practices across EU member states and encourage broader adoption of PPI. Enhanced internationalisation efforts could further amplify the project’s impact by connecting European stakeholders with global innovation ecosystems.
In summary, the Health InnoFacilitator project not only achieved its immediate objectives of empowering stakeholders and fostering collaboration but also created a foundation for systemic change in healthcare procurement. Its success underscores the importance of sustained efforts in research, capacity building, and policy alignment to scale its impacts and drive innovation in public procurement practices across Europe and beyond.
The project’s impacts are profound, including improved efficiency in healthcare procurement, enhanced market access for innovative SMEs, and a shift toward value-based procurement models. However, to ensure further uptake and success, key needs must be addressed. These include continued research and demonstration projects to validate and refine innovative procurement approaches, expanded access to markets and financing for SMEs and start-ups, and stronger IPR support to safeguard intellectual property during collaborative innovation. Additionally, the establishment of a supportive regulatory and standardisation framework is critical to align procurement practices across EU member states and encourage broader adoption of PPI. Enhanced internationalisation efforts could further amplify the project’s impact by connecting European stakeholders with global innovation ecosystems.
In summary, the Health InnoFacilitator project not only achieved its immediate objectives of empowering stakeholders and fostering collaboration but also created a foundation for systemic change in healthcare procurement. Its success underscores the importance of sustained efforts in research, capacity building, and policy alignment to scale its impacts and drive innovation in public procurement practices across Europe and beyond.