Functional Procurement as Demand-Side Innovation Policy

Abstract

Public procurement occurs when public agencies purchase products (goods, services, and systems). The rationale, purpose, and starting point of public procurement should always be to solve societal problems, to satisfy human needs, or to meet global challenges, such as environmental and health problems. This chapter discusses how public procurement can influence the direction and speed of innovation processes, as an instrument of innovation policy operating from the demand side. The chapter focuses on four specific kinds of procurement, namely (1) direct innovation procurement, (2) catalytic innovation procurement, (3) functional regular procurement, and (4) pre-commercial procurement. A conclusion is that functional specification is needed for all four of these different kinds of procurement. Questions addressed are: how can we achieve an increase in the use of innovation-enhancing procurement? What types of procurement initiatives have the potential to influence innovations most? And how can these be designed and implemented?