European Innovation Council launches European Innovation Procurement Awards to reward buyers of innovation
- ›The European Innovation Council launched the first European Innovation Procurement Awards to recognise public and private buyers that use procurement to stimulate innovation.
- ›Three award strands were announced: innovation procurement strategy, response to societal challenges including COVID-19, and procurement leadership.
- ›Each category offers a winner prize of EUR 75 000 and a runner-up prize of EUR 25 000.
- ›The awards aim to help SMEs and start-ups bring innovative products and services to market by creating demand from buyers.
EIC launches European Innovation Procurement Awards
On 14 April 2021 the European Innovation Council announced the first edition of the European Innovation Procurement Awards. The prize is targeted at both public and private buyers that use procurement strategically to promote innovation. The stated objective is to encourage demand for new products and services and to create routes to market for European SMEs and start-ups.
What the awards are and who they target
The awards recognise buyers who deliberately use procurement to stimulate innovation rather than simply buy off-the-shelf solutions. The organisers say the awards will reward procurement initiatives that create favourable conditions for innovative suppliers to scale and commercialise solutions across Europe. Both public authorities and private procurers are eligible to apply.
| Category | Purpose | Winner prize | Runner-up prize |
| Innovation procurement strategy | Rewards long term strategies that trigger different innovation procurements and sustainable solutions | EUR 75 000 | EUR 25 000 |
| Facing societal challenges | Rewards procurement practices aimed at responding to the COVID-19 pandemic | EUR 75 000 | EUR 25 000 |
| Procurement leadership | Recognises outstanding individual(s) who empower teams to adopt innovation procurement practices | EUR 75 000 | EUR 25 000 |
Why procurement matters for EU innovation
Public and private procurement can be a powerful tool to create early demand for novel technologies and to de-risk market entry for SMEs and start-ups. In Europe there has long been a policy focus on aligning public procurement with strategic goals such as green transition and digitalisation. The awards are an attempt to put a spotlight on good practice and show how buying organisations can act as intelligent customers for innovation.
Money, recognition and limitations
Each award category includes a cash prize for the winner and a runner-up. The money is intended as both recognition and a practical incentive, but it is modest relative to the scale of public procurement budgets in Member States. The main value of such prizes is often reputational and the policy examples and networks they create. Whether that translates into systemic change depends on follow up actions, capacity building and changes to procurement rules and practice in procuring organisations.
How this fits with EIC and EU support for innovation
The European Innovation Council administers a range of instruments intended to support breakthrough technologies and scaling companies. The procurement awards sit alongside grants, investments and ecosystem measures that aim to mobilise both supply and demand for innovation. Procurers who engage with schemes like the EIC can potentially link procurement to other support measures for SMEs and start-ups.
Practical next steps and application route
The announcement invited interested public and private procurers to apply. The EIC published related guidance and application links on its website. Applicants were expected to consult the rules and submit entries through the official EIC channels. The award intends to highlight procurement practices that can be copied and scaled across the EU.
Implications and a cautious view
Spotlighting procurement that supports innovation is sensible because demand-side measures are underused in many parts of the EU. However the real barriers to innovation procurement are often institutional and legal rather than a lack of recognition. Effective change requires training procurement officials, adapting procurement procedures to manage risk, providing budget certainty and creating repeatable models that reduce transactional cost for buyers and suppliers. A prize alone is unlikely to remove those barriers, but it can complement larger policy efforts if paired with capacity building and knowledge sharing.
For more information and to access official guidance and application forms consult the European Innovation Council pages on the European Commission website. The EIC and EISMEA contact points publish full rules and application procedures for those interested in submitting entries.