Public procurement can stimulate the market towards innovation with a number of tools and methods. On the other hand, an innovating market will produce better and more competitive products, and more effective services at lower prices for public organisations.

This equation is central to the STEPPIN project. The incorporation of standards into procurement is one of these tools.

Each of the two sides of this equation are going to be explored in depth by the STEPPIN project. First, an assessment of which standards do stimulate innovation and which not and an assessment of how (process, people, organisations) standards used in public procurement can stimulate innovation will elucidate the impact of public procurement in the encouragement of innovation.
Second, by means of a handbook, practical guideline and workshops STEPPIN will involve public procurers and their organisations and translate the theory into action points and concrete benefits.

Especially the second point we will deepen further. The importance of innovation for the market is well known: more economic growth, increase of employment, more competitiveness. But what is the added value of innovation for public organisations? How can a public organisation benefit from the innovations triggered by standards? Without anticipating the results of the project’s research some apparent answers can be made already:

• Innovative products and services are best responding to the definition of value for money: “the optimum combination of life cycle costs and quality to meet the user requirements”.
• The purchase of innovative products and services is a criterion to differentiate the procurement policies of public organisations and – hence – to prove the organisation’s contribution to the public interest.
  

Contact:  Mr Joep Frijdal, Coordinator of STEPPIN - 'frijdal@belmont.nl'