Údarás na Gaeltachta and SPIN4EIC: how EIC support helped prepare a Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions

The European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services initiative SPIN4EIC provides targeted, funded support to public buyers who want to procure innovative solutions. Through open calls and a package of services under the EIC Innovation Procurement Programme, public authorities can receive expert help during the preparatory stages of innovation procurement. One documented beneficiary is Údarás na Gaeltachta, the regional authority responsible for economic, social and cultural development in the Gaeltacht, which used the programme to prepare a Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions or PPI.

What SPIN4EIC and the EIC Innovation Procurement Programme offer public buyers

SPIN4EIC aims to boost the capacity of public buyers to identify market needs, design procurement strategies, and draft tender documentation that is accessible to startups and SMEs. The programme offers four main types of assistance funded by the EIC. Support is delivered using the EAFIP methodology and is tailored on a case by case basis. The initiative also connects public buyers with EIC innovators via a dedicated community, matchmaking events and training academies.

Údarás na Gaeltachta: the beneficiary and the use case

Údarás na Gaeltachta is the regional authority responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht. With SPIN4EIC support the authority prepared a Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions. The public record states that the assistance helped Údarás to structure the procurement project and to progress through the preparatory stages that lead to a PPI. The programme described a timeline framework for the preparatory steps but does not publish detailed timelines for every case.

While the published success story is concise, the typical EAFIP based trajectory followed by supported buyers includes the following sequence of preparatory activities. These are the same steps that SPIN4EIC offers to other public buyers: needs identification and assessment, business case development, open market consultation to engage suppliers and test demand, drafting tender documentation and contractual arrangements and publication of notices on the TED portal. Údarás na Gaeltachta used this framework to move from problem definition to a procurement-ready tender.

How to apply and who is eligible

The SPIN4EIC Assistance to Public Buyers is available through an open call mechanism. The programme planned multiple application windows across its lifetime. The overall design included up to eight calls with two calls per assistance type and one flexible open call allowing buyers to apply for any of the four assistance types. Applications are evaluated on a monthly basis.

Selection is based on defined criteria that vary by assistance type. For example assistance for need identification looks for a concrete interest in purchasing R&D or innovative solutions and internal capacity. Business case support requires a predefined procurement need, interest in cost benefit analysis and available budget. Market consultation and tender drafting applications are assessed against criteria that include preliminary business case, defined need, market consultation status and available budget. Evaluators may request additional information and applications are not automatically excluded if all criteria are not fully met.

Important eligibility and exclusion points to note. The open call does not fund preparation of proposals for other EU programmes like Horizon Europe. Activities that are already covered as eligible costs under other EU funding cannot be supported by SPIN4EIC for the same items. Contracting authorities that receive assistance must disclose in their public communications that they benefited from SPIN4EIC support.

Additional features and practical support options

Beyond the four main assistance types SPIN4EIC can offer Phase 0 support for low value procurements to identify potential local suppliers and target them with a Request for Proposal. The programme may also provide state of the art analyses and IP searches on a case by case basis. One to many activities such as training sessions and the semiannual EIC Innovation Procurement Academy are part of the offer. The next academy date announced in the public materials is 17 to 19 November 2025.

Limitations, practical constraints and critical considerations

The support model is deliberately time boxed. For each assistance type selected public buyers typically receive up to five person days of expert assistance. That amount is useful for tactical guidance and document drafting but is limited for complex procurements that require extensive legal or technical work. Public buyers should view SPIN4EIC assistance as catalytic help to accelerate preparatory steps rather than a substitute for in house procurement teams or external long term legal counsel.

Other practical constraints to keep in mind are the competitive selection process and the programme rule excluding funding for activities already covered by other EU grants. Buyers that lack internal capacity to follow up on expert recommendations may not convert assistance into a published tender. The requirement to disclose SPIN4EIC assistance in market communications is intended to ensure transparency but can have reputational implications when multiple support channels are used.

Implications for public buyers and innovators

For public buyers SPIN4EIC offers a low cost way to improve the quality of preparatory steps for innovation procurement. The support can help shape requirements so they are functional rather than prescriptive. That increases the chances of attracting SME and startup bidders. However buyers should align expectations with the modest allocation of expert time and plan internal resources to implement recommendations.

For EIC innovators the SPIN4EIC ecosystem offers routes to procurement markets. The initiative runs matchmaking events, a dedicated online community and an assistance action for EIC innovators that helps them identify and bid for procurement opportunities both in Europe and abroad. Innovators should watch the SPIN4EIC monitored opportunities and engage in open market consultations to influence requirement design early.

How to engage: application steps and contacts

Public buyers interested in SPIN4EIC assistance should apply via the dedicated open call application form. The EIC Community platform hosts the calls and provides application guidance. Buyers can also contact the SPIN4EIC helpdesk for onboarding support and procedural questions. Administratively minded teams should read the programme disclaimers because the assistance cannot cover activities already funded through other EU programmes and beneficiaries must acknowledge SPIN4EIC support in procurement related communications.

To stay informed subscribe to the SPIN4EIC newsletter and join the EIC Innovation Procurement Programme group on LinkedIn. SPIN4EIC also publishes an impact report that summaries the initiative results during its first year and provides practical case material for both innovators and procurement officers.

Practical checklist for public buyers considering SPIN4EIC assistance

SPIN4EIC reduces early barriers to innovation procurement and has demonstrable use cases such as Údarás na Gaeltachta. Public buyers should however treat the programme as part of a larger procurement capability building plan rather than a single solution that will carry a procurement from idea to contract on its own.