Finding first customers is one of the main barriers that is hampering access to market and commercialisation of innovative solutions developed by innovative SMEs. Public sector buyers that hold a significant purchasing power can help increase the uptake of innovations in Europe by acting as early adopters, helping to validate innovative solutions all while innovating their service offer through breakthrough technologies. Procuring innovation is characterised by an inherent risk, both for the procurers who lack quality assurance of newly developed solutions, and for the innovators who need to invest scarce resources in the necessary customisation and pilot testing. To decrease these risks and to increase the use of innovation procurement in Europe, this action aims to support the pilot testing or proof-of-concept demonstration of EIC supported innovations for potential public and private procurement customers.

The winner of this call (hereafter ‘project beneficiary’) can be a single legal entity or a consortium of legal entities. The project beneficiary will receive funding to, in turn, allocate grants to EIC Awardees selected through open, competitive calls managed by the project beneficiary to test innovative solutions developed by EIC Awardees in the services or premises of committed buyers that are aiming at procuring innovation. Buyers include contracting authorities as defined under the EU Public Procurement Directives (public buyers) as well as private entities that engage in purchase contracts (private buyers).

Synergies with networks, associations etc. of public and private buyers at European, national and regional levels, as well as synergies with EU Programmes and initiatives (e.g. the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Horizon Europe Mission) should be sought. In addition, synergies with other relevant activities within the EIC (including but not limited to corporates) should be ensured.

The project beneficiary must allocate the grants to EIC Awardees following a competitive, transparent and fair procedure based on equal treatment and non-conflict of interest.

1. Calls without any predefined thematic area where an EIC Awardee must apply with the clear commitment of a pre-identified buyer.

2. Calls with predefined challenges where the EIC Awardee must apply with a solution to the predefined challenge(s). In this case, the project beneficiary must organise an expression of interest exercise prior to the call, to identify challenges which have the commitment of at least four separate and independent buyers. The EIC Awardees selected through the call will then be matched with the pre committed buyers to implement the testing of the innovation.