Innovation procurement in the public sector is not yet a widely established practice in Lithuania. On the one hand, public-sector procurement specialists lack the competencies needed to purchase innovations. On the other hand, the private sector lacks knowledge of public procurement and the skills needed to participate in it.
To address this challenge, at least in the field of health technologies, the iVita cluster, developed by the Lithuanian Innovation Centre, organized the international conference HAePPI project conference: international projects for SMEs – ideas stock exchange, which aimed to identify possible points of connection between the two sectors.
Conference participants discussed the opportunities for suppliers – companies – to offer innovative solutions to the public sector in the field of wellness, the needs and difficulties they face when participating in public procurement of innovation, and possible ways to address the lack of knowledge and competencies. The event also explored what types of procurement are organized by the public sector and how it could be supported in purchasing more innovations.
Justė Rakštytė-Hoimian, Project Manager at the Lithuanian Innovation Centre, who coordinates the European-level activities of the international Interreg Europe iBuy initiative focused on implementing innovation in the public sector through public procurement, presented foreign practices and tools that facilitate both the implementation of public procurement of innovation and participation in such processes.
According to her, public procurement of innovation is still making its way into Lithuania’s public sector, which is why events that seek ways for the public and private sectors to interact are highly necessary. “All countries are currently facing similar challenges and are looking for ways to make public procurement of innovation a common practice. Various competence centres, educational activities, and consultations with stakeholder groups are being developed for this purpose,” said J. Rakštytė-Hoimian.
Asta Noreikienė, consultant at the Lithuanian Innovation Centre, also presented inReady, an online tool developed for young companies and startups. The tool allows companies to test their investor pitch skills, receive feedback, and prepare more effectively both for attracting future investors and for possible innovation procurement opportunities.
“The main advantage of the tool is that companies not only complete highly useful preparation work for the future, but also receive expert feedback on what and how to improve in order to make their presentations more effective,” said A. Noreikienė.
The Lithuanian Innovation Centre, together with the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology, is implementing the InoLink project, co-financed by European funds. The project aims to encourage companies to join clusters, increase cluster maturity, promote growth, and strengthen international cooperation.
As part of this project, the Lithuanian Innovation Centre is also developing the iVita wellness cluster. “We see that our work is delivering results. iVita has not only managed to unite companies from different sectors around shared goals, but is also taking the initiative to act as a competence centre capable of seeking solutions for innovation procurement in the public sector and encouraging SME participation,” said Edvinas Nagulevičius, Lithuanian Innovation Centre consultant responsible for cluster development.
Source: Lithuanian Innovation Centre
