PPI4MED (2020-2023)

Project Name : Technological transfer and commercialisation of public research results through PPI in the Mediterranean region (PPI4MED)
Thematic objective:A.2 Support to education, research, technological development and innovation
Priority: A.2.1 Technological transfer and commercialisation of research results
Countries: Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Egypt, 
Jordan
PROJECT DURATION :Start 1 October 2020 - End 31 March 2023

About the project

National Research Centres (NRCs) are the main producers of R&D results in the Mediterranean region, whose results are transferred to the society through different instruments but not through Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI), although public procurement makes up a large share of public spending and at least 17% of the GDP of most Mediterranean countries. The PPI4MED project aims to create and demonstrate a model to transfer results from NRCs to public buyers, industry, SMEs and people through the co-design of solutions in 5 national and 1 cross-border living labs and the implementation of 12 real PPI processes to raise awareness of policymakers to include PPI as a strategic instrument to transfer results as part of the science policy in each concerned country. PPI can be a transformational instrument for scientific policy and R&D results financed by the public sector. The pilots to be implemented in 5 countries will demonstrate the potential of PPI to address the major challenges of our societies.

Objective
To boost the commercialisation of research results from public research institutions through Public Procurement of Innovation programmes and projects, as well as private-public commercialisation partnerships

What Will Be Improved?
Cooperation between NRCs is a strategic component of science, technology and innovation diplomacy. The European Union has developed a successful framework for Innovation Procurement and the project will transfer it to Mediterranean Partner Countries, creating a cross-border market for R&D results and enabling deeper links based on knowledge sharing and cooperation in the whole area. The project will have tangible long-lasting impacts in the technical, socio-economic and policy-making fields. Commercialization of results will improve the focus of future research on tangible results for society. A better interaction between industry- academia and public sector, allowing market knowledge transfer to procurers, will be fostered. Partner countries will benefit from the access to a huge knowledge repository of 5 NRCs with technology to find solutions to cross-border issues (water management, agroindustry, etc.) and commercialize their results.

Who will benefit?

  • 35 public bodies (Ministries and other public procurers from national, regional or local government)
  • 40 research units from National Research Centers and their researchers
  • 90 companies and SMEs 
  • 50 Civil Society Organisations
  • 35 public buyers and policy-makers

Expected achievements

  • 5 national and one cross-border Living Labs on Innovation Procurement
  • 10 training programs for national public procurers and national sellers
  • 10 national and 2 cross-border platforms for precompetitive analysis of the products
  • 30 agreements to commercialize results from NRCs to public buyers
  • 8 spin-offs created by researchers from the NRCs
  • 4 co-patents registered

Contribution to policy-making

The project includes the creation of five National Policy-makers Groups to elaborate five White Papers on PPI as an instrument to transfer results from public research centres and the creation of five policy-makers platforms to deliver the roadmap included in the white papers to implement PPI as a systematic and holistic instrument in each NRC participating in the project.

Link for project : http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/ppi4med