innovation partnership

An innovation partnership is a procurement procedure that allows a contracting authority and one or more suppliers to jointly develop a new solution and purchase it under the same contract. Established in Article 31 of EU Directive 2014/24/EU, it bridges the gap between research and commercial procurement by combining development and purchase in a single process.

How does an innovation partnership work?

Unlike broader forms of innovative procurement, an innovation partnership removes the need for a separate tender after development is complete. The procedure unfolds in three phases:

• Competition phase: The contracting authority publishes a contract notice and selects partners through negotiations. Negotiations are mandatory — unlike in a competitive procedure with negotiation, where the authority may award without negotiating. Contracts must be awarded on the basis of best price-quality ratio.

• Development phase: Selected partners develop the solution in collaboration with the authority. The work is divided into stages with defined milestones. After each stage, the authority can terminate the partnership or reduce the number of partners if targets are not met.

• Purchase phase: Once the solution is developed and approved, the authority purchases it directly — provided the agreed performance levels are met and maximum costs are not exceeded.

When is it used?

The procedure is reserved for genuine innovation needs that cannot be met by existing market solutions. Key conditions include:

• No suitable solution currently exists on the market
• Research and development is required to reach the goal
• The estimated value of the purchase must be proportionate to the investment needed for development
• The authority must clearly describe the unmet need in the tender documents

Selection criteria should emphasise the supplier's R&D capacity, alongside standard qualification requirements. Tools like Cobrief can help suppliers discover innovation partnership notices early, allowing them to assess whether the procedure matches their expertise.

The innovation partnership was designed to bridge the "valley of death" — the funding gap between publicly funded research and market-ready products. By sharing development costs and risks, both public authorities and private companies benefit from long-term collaboration that drives meaningful innovation.