Commission publishes guidance on procurement of innovation

The European Commission has just published earlier today a lengthy guidance document on procurement of innovation. It is welcome since procurement of innovation is the kind of approach (policy? idea?) that is useful mostly for the top 1% of procurers and even then, just some of the time. As such, guidance is required to make it easier for it to be deployed.

Here's the blurb:

"The 2014 modernised public procurement directives 2 adjusted the public procurement framework to the needs of public buyers and economic operators arising from technological developments, economic trends and increased societal focus on sustainable public spending.

Public procurement rules are no longer only concerned with “how to buy” – they provide scope for incentives on “what to buy”, without prescribing them. The objective of spending taxpayers’ money well is gaining new dimensions, beyond merely satisfying the primary needs of public entities. With each public purchase, the public opinion is rightly interested to know whether the procured solution is not only formally compliant, but also whether it brings the best added value in terms of quality, cost-efficiency, environmental and social impact and whether it brings opportunities for the suppliers’ market."

The more we try to achieve with procurement the more complex it becomes. Remember when the next cycle of complaints about procurement complexity comes about.