On Monday 14 January and Thursday 28 February, STEPPIN organised two Stake-holder Workshops in Amsterdam and Brussels. The purpose of these workshops was to discuss the project framework for the handbook and the policy recommendations with experts and practitioners.

The first workshop in Amsterdam brought together procurement specialists and product developers from throughout Europe to discuss the established concept framework. This workshop allowed the project partners to go ahead with its prepara-tion of the dissemination workshops and to agree on the STEPPIN “Framework”. This “Body of Knowledge” consists of some main elements: a theoretical background, practical examples, barriers and enablers, a model for using open standards in ten-ders, Do’s and Don’ts and a tool for purchasers.

A few weeks later in Brussels, the discussion focussed on tailoring the dissemination workshops to the needs of public procurers. Specialists from many European coun-tries gave their input about the tools and the content. The project has gained valuable insights regarding use of language, online availability of the handbook and how best to trigger procurers with “innovation”.