radical innovation

Radical innovation refers to groundbreaking change that fundamentally breaks with existing solutions — as opposed to incremental innovation, which involves gradual improvements to what already exists. In public procurement, it means seeking solutions that are entirely new to the market rather than upgrades of current products and services.

How does radical innovation differ from incremental?

Incremental innovation improves what exists step by step — for example, a new version of a case management system with a better user interface. Radical innovation breaks with established systems and requires entirely new technology, business models, or fundamentally different ways of delivering services. The EU Commission's guidance on innovation procurement explicitly distinguishes radical innovation (involving R&D) from other forms, noting that most procurement cases in practice deal with incremental improvements.

Directive 2014/24/EU recognises innovation as a key driver of growth. Recital 47 states that public authorities should make the best strategic use of procurement to spur innovation, and Article 2(22) defines innovation as "the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, service or process."

How can procurement enable radical innovation?

To open the door for radically new solutions, contracting authorities should describe needs rather than detailed specifications. Using functional requirements gives suppliers freedom to propose solutions that might never emerge from a traditional requirements specification. Market dialogue early in the process helps the authority understand what is technologically possible.

Procedures such as innovation partnership and competitive dialogue are particularly suited when the solution requires research and development. Award criteria that weight innovation degree and long-term value over lowest price are essential for radical solutions to succeed. Tools like Cobrief can help suppliers discover competitions seeking innovative procurement solutions, allowing them to position themselves early.

Radical innovation in procurement carries higher risk than incremental improvements. However, to address complex societal challenges — in climate, health, or digitalisation — it is often the radical approaches that deliver the greatest long-term value for the public sector and citizens.