European Innovation Procurement Awards 2022: semi-finalists and why innovation procurement matters
- ›Fourteen applicants reached the semi-final stage of the 2022 European Innovation Procurement Awards across three categories.
- ›Semi-finalists include public purchasers, government innovation labs, research centres and purchasing organisations from nine countries.
- ›Winners and runners-up will be chosen after private jury hearings in October and announced at the EIC Summit on 8 December 2022.
- ›Each category winner receives EUR 75 000 and each runner-up receives EUR 25 000.
- ›The awards highlight demand-side innovation but face-to-face follow up is needed to turn recognition into scalable procurement practice.
European Innovation Procurement Awards 2022: semi-finalists and why innovation procurement matters
The European Innovation Council announced the 14 semi-finalists for the 2022 edition of the European Innovation Procurement Awards. The prize recognises public and private buyers that use procurement to stimulate or deploy innovations across Europe. A jury of independent experts selected semi-finalists in three award streams. The selection advances those applicants to a private hearing stage in October 2022. Winners and runners-up will be revealed at the European Innovation Council Summit on 8 December 2022.
Who reached the semi-finals
The jury shortlisted applicants across three categories: Innovation procurement strategy, Facing societal challenges, and Procurement leadership. The list below preserves the names and countries provided by the EIC in alphabetical order under each category.
| Category | Semi-finalist | Country |
| Innovation procurement strategy | AIRBUS | France |
| Innovation procurement strategy | Ente Público Augas de Galicia | Spain |
| Innovation procurement strategy | Fundacio Pac Tauli | Spain |
| Innovation procurement strategy | Nido, Innovation lab of the Belgian federal government | Belgium |
| Innovation procurement strategy | RITMOCORE | United Kingdom & Spain |
| Innovation procurement strategy | YQ Purchasing bv | Belgium |
| Facing societal challenges | Gobierno de Navarra | Spain |
| Facing societal challenges | Iniciativa Social Integral Per Al Benestar | Spain |
| Procurement leadership | Agencia de Qualitat / Avaluacion Sanitaries de Catalunya | Spain |
| Procurement leadership | DMHI | Türkiye |
| Procurement leadership | Dublin City Council | Ireland |
| Procurement leadership | Forschungszentrum Julich GMBH | Germany |
| Procurement leadership | Sardegna Ricerche | Italy |
| Procurement leadership | Agency for Public and Financial Management, National Programme for Supplier Development and Digitalisation Agency | Norway |
Next steps in the competition
Each semi-finalist will take part in a private hearing with the expert jury in October 2022. The hearings follow a structured procedure that gives applicants an opportunity to present and to answer questions tied to the award criteria. The jury will name one winner and one runner-up per category. The awards will be announced during the EIC Summit on 8 December 2022.
Monetary prizes accompany recognition. Each category winner receives EUR 75 000. Each runner-up receives EUR 25 000. Beyond cash and profile, the stated goal is to encourage replication of procurement practices that open markets to innovative suppliers, particularly startups and SMEs.
What the prize recognises and why it matters
The awards are aimed at procurement practices that do more than buy off-the-shelf goods. They reward strategies that actively use public or private purchasing to stimulate the development, deployment and scaling of new solutions. The underlying argument is that demand-side measures can accelerate commercialisation of innovation and help the public sector modernise services and infrastructure.
From a policy perspective, the European Commission and Horizon Europe see innovation procurement as a lever to connect public purchasing power with private sector innovation capacity. That link matters for industrial competitiveness, for giving scale opportunities to European startups, and for addressing systemic societal needs such as climate and health.
Award eligibility and evaluation criteria
The contest is open to public and private buyers and to individuals or legal entities supporting procurement practices established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Eligible procurement practices must have started after 1 January 2019. Applicants must register in the Participant Register and may be asked to provide evidence of eligibility.
Timeline and awards at a glance
| Milestone | Date or detail |
| Private jury hearings with semi-finalists | October 2022 |
| Winners announced | EIC Summit, 8 December 2022 |
| Prize amounts | Winner per category EUR 75 000. Runner-up per category EUR 25 000. |
| Eligible initiatives | Initiatives started after 1 January 2019 and implemented in EU Member States or Associated Countries |
A pragmatic note and what to watch for
Awards provide visibility and can motivate public buyers to experiment with demand-side instruments. They do not by themselves guarantee broader adoption. Monetary prizes are modest compared with the cost of scaling complex procurements that buy R&D or transform service delivery. Public buyers often lack staff with procurement and technical expertise needed to design and manage innovation tenders. Procurement rules, risk aversion and budget cycles are structural barriers.
To convert award recognition into systemic change policymakers need follow-up actions. These could include targeted capacity building for procurement teams, template procurement documents for pre-commercial procurement, cross-border marketplaces that connect buyers with innovative suppliers, and longitudinal evaluation frameworks to measure whether procurement led to sustained market entry for SMEs and measurable societal outcomes.
Contacts and context
The European Innovation Procurement Awards are managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency. For enquiries related to the EUIPA contact EISMEA at EISMEA-EUIPAWARDS@ec.europa.eu. The awards are one of several EIC prizes that aim to promote demand-side innovation alongside initiatives such as the European Prize for Women Innovators and the European Capital of Innovation Awards.
If you follow European procurement and innovation policy, watch the jury decisions in December and any published post-award materials. Those documents typically contain technical notes about the winning procurements and can reveal practical templates and KPIs that other public buyers can adapt.