Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) is an instrument that consists of the acquisition of innovative goods and services using the mechanisms of public procurement to meet a challenge faced by an administration that impacts the welfare and interest of the public. It consists of a public-private formula of cooperation that involves work on the demand side, made up of the public administration that issues the tender, and on the supply side, made up of the companies that compete by offering innovative solutions to the needs proposed by the administrations.

In short, it is a question of using the public sector's purchasing capacity to implement public policies in partnership with the private sector.

In Spain, Galicia is a benchmark and a pioneer in the use of Public Procurement of Innovation. In the 2007-2013 period, it carried out 40% of all PPI contracted in Spain, specifically 122 million euros out of a total of 293 million euros. In the 2014-2020 period, this leadership was maintained, carrying out projects in Galicia worth around 130 million euros.

The Xunta's role in PPI was reinforced thanks to an agreement signed with the Ministry of Science and Innovation in 2015, under which the Galician Innovation Agency (Gain) works together in the selection of PPI initiatives that are candidates to be co-financed with ERDF funds from the Multiregional Operational Programme. Within the framework of this agreement, Gain launched two calls to identify PPI projects in the public administrations of Galicia, including Smartiago and other projects such as Código 100 by Sergas, or Aerospace Pole of Galicia in Rozas (Castro de Rei), the Innovaugas 4.0 project by Augas de Galicia or the Centro de Ciberseguridade promoted by Amtega.

The Innpulsa CPI programme was also launched to promote public procurement of innovation, with the aim of recognising the commitment and innovative attitude of public administration staff.

Since 2019, the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) has opened a new line of CPI funding to acquire R&D services that may result in prototypes of first technologically innovative products or services with the aim of subsequently transferring them to public administrations interested in providing a real environment necessary to validate the proposed technology. In Galicia there are two tenders underway that are organised through this line: the creation of a U-Space simulation environment for Rozas, within the framework of the Galician Aerospace Pole; and Innovatrial, for developing innovative solutions in the field of clinical trials/studies.

Featured projects

The Aerospace Pole of Galicia is the largest project launched by the Xunta de Galicia through this instrument of procurement. The aim is to promote innovative products and solutions using drones to improve the provision of certain public services. Between 2015 and 2020, €164 million of investment was mobilised through public-private partnerships.

In the field of healthcare, two pioneering initiatives in Spain and benchmarks in the European Union in the use of this tool were addressed in Galicia. Hospital2050 and Innovasaúde are two projects that opted for this formula owing to the benefits it brings both to the Galician Health System and to the business fabric.

The Smartiago project, promoted by the Santiago City Council with the support of the Xunta de Galicia, enables progress for the provision of innovative services to citizens through the search for technological solutions in the field of smartcities to improve mobility and rationalise last-mile logistics services in the monumental area; optimising the management of solid urban waste, defining a new decentralised model for the collection and treatment of organic waste; and incorporating more sustainable ornamental lighting in historic sites with biocidal effects.

Finally, the Innovaugas project recently received the award for the best public initiative in the water sector at the 'Water Europe Innovation 2022' awards. Its objective is to achieve innovative solutions for advanced integrated water management and to respond to the demands of different uses, taking into account the scenario of climate change, in balance with the natural environment and river ecosystems.