Contracting authorities have decided to invest more money in developing and buying innovative products and services to respond to increasingly complex challenges and to pull innovation from the market. The main procedures in this so-called Innovation Procurement are Pre-commercial procurement (PCP) & Public procurement of innovation (PPI).

About PCP

PCP as the first step in innovation procurement starts from relatively low technology readiness levels (TRLs). The public buyer purchases R&D services for a product or a service that is still further away from the market. PCP is divided in three phases: solution design (TRL 3-4), prototype development (TRL 5-6) and original development of a limited volume of first products/services (TRL 7-8).

At least two competitors are needed in every phase of PCP and the general principles of equal treatment, proportionality and transparency apply. As there is a clear separation between the procurement of R&D and the deployment of commercial volumes of end-products, PCP does not fall under the scope of the European Procurement Directive. The main guiding document for PCP is the Commission Communication COM(2007)799 final.

About PPI

PPI comes into the picture when the solution is almost on the market or already on the market in small quantities (TRL 9) so the public buyer purchases innovative solutions that are not yet available on a large-scale commercial basis. In quantified terms it means the public contractor must be an early adopter or one of the first 20% buyers to enter the market. PPI is regulated by the European Public Procurement Directive.

PCP & PPI in Horizon Europe

As investments in innovative procurement are generally lower than other parts of the world, the European Commission has set up an ambitious PPI/PCP strategy spread out over different EU programmes. One of the programmes involved is Horizon Europe.

In Horizon Europe, the funding rates for PCP calls and related activities is maximum 100% while for PPI calls this is 50%.

If you want more information on this topic, you can also watch the webinar about PCP/PPI in Horizon Europe on Youtube and you can also visit the dedicated webpage of the European Commission. Of course the NCP team is also there to help you so do not hesitate to send an email to marie.timmermann@fwo.be. 

In Flanders there is a linked PCP/PPI programma called “Innovatief Aanbesteden” which tries to link up with these calls and can give you more general advice on how to approach a PCP/PPI call. You can contact their director by mail: veerle.lories@vlaanderen.be.