Workshop on Public Procurement for Innovation

Watch the workshop on youtube!

Background and objectives

Innovation policy is increasingly seen as key to both economic growth and to our capacity to tackle grand or global challenges. The main thrust of innovation policy is on the supply side, with investments in R&D and human capital as well as various means to stimulate technology transfer as main ingredients. However, demand side policies are becoming more relevant, and public technology procurement (PTP) (or public procurement for innovation PPI)) is the main candidate.

PTP/PPI is, in brief terms, a policy through which a government places an order or tender for the fulfillment of (technological) functions, typically performance-related, within a given period of time. Hence, PTP/PPI is intended to boost the innovative capacity and ensure the introduction of a new standard of performance in a given area, such as energy efficiency. Governments may in this case exploit their organized purchasing power to create a demand, either for their own use or for widespread use in the economy or society at large. ASEAN countries may find increasing utility in this type of innovation policy instrument to enhance their overall innovation capacity and help address grand challenges.

The objectives of the workshop were to define and clarify the conditions for using PTP/PPI in the innovation policy portfolio, explore key lessons from using it in the European and ASEAN context, and illuminate further options for developing the instrument and associated learning and transnational cooperation. It served as a part of a wider activity to address framework conditions for innovation in ASEAN and help improve the foundations for international cooperation between the two regions. Lastly, the workshop was limited to a roundtable presentation and discussion among experts and invited partners, and video-recorded for later viewing, especially for partners and policy makers in the SEA-region. Dissemination will also take place through publication of a workshop report and included in a wider study on framework conditions for innovation.

Issues addressed

• Types and definitions of public procurement
• The role of PTP/PPI in innovation policy
• The role of PTP/PPI in addressing grand challenges
• Lessons from the EU and SEA
• Transnational cooperation and joint PTP/PPI across countries
• PTP/PPI and the emergence of ASEAN Economic Community
• The role of PTP/PPI in (economic) development

Speakers

The workshop will be based on presentations from 5-6 experienced experts and policy makers in the field (to be announced), with moderated discussion and exchanges of views. Moderator will be Svend Remoe, RCN.

Target Participants

• Invited experts and policy makers
• Workshop organizers
• SEA-EU-NET partners

Main organizer

The event will be organized by the SEA-EU-NET II (http://sea-eu.net/) led by:

• Ebru Imamoglu, Tubitak, Turkey (ebru.imamoglu@tubitak.gov.tr)
• Kai Zhang, SPI, Portugal (kaizhang@spi.pt)
• Svend Remoe, Research Council of Norway (sore@rcn.no)

Programme

• 09:00 Svend Remoe, Research Council of Norway: Why are we here? Introduction and tour the table; Framing the workshop
• 09:30 Jakob Edler, Manchester Centre for Innovation Research: Public procurement for innovation: Characteristics, benefits and risks
• 10:15 Discussion
• 10:30 Coffee break
• 10:45 Max Rolfstam, Associate Professor/Ph.D., Ålborg University, Denmark: Institutional frameworks for public procurement of innovation
• 11:15 Khairul Naim Adham, Malaysia: Promoting innovation through procurement: Ecosystems for local industry
• 12:00 Discussion
• 12:15 Lunch break
• 13:30 Lena Tsipouri, Professor, University of Athens, Greece: Public procurement for innovation: Making the unintentional intentional—lessons from moderate innovators
• 14:15 Discussion
• 14:30 Coffee break
• 14:45 Round table discussion: What lessons can be learned?

Expert’s biographies

Lena J. TSIPOURI is Associate Professor at the University of Athens, Department of Economic Sciences where she teaches Economic Development, European Economic, Integration, Economics of Technological Change and Theory of the Firm. Her scientific research and publications, as well as her presentations at various refereed scientific conferences and policy workshops are about Research & Innovation, Regional Development and Corporate Governance. She is professionally involved in consulting work for EU institutions, the OECD and the UN on the same topics as her scientific research and is a member of several professional associations. She is currently the chairperson for the EU Innovation for Growth (i4g) Group and a member in selected advisory panels and associations.

Max ROLFSTAM is an innovation researcher with a broad interest in how institutions and institutional change affect possibilities for innovation. For more than a decade he has worked together with public agencies on the European, national and regional levels with issues related to how public procurement can drive innovation.

KHAIRUL NAIM ADHAM is an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer with the Government of Malaysia and National Expert under the Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Policy Support Malaysia, EU SWITCH Asia Programme. He has more than ten years of experience in government procurement. He has served in Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Internal Security and Ministry of Home Affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Horticultural Science, Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management and Master of Science (Science Philosophy and Science & Technology Policy Studies). He is currently pursuing his PhD in Environment and Development conducting his research on government green procurement (GGP) as a policy tool towards achieving green growth in Malaysia.