On 8 April, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) launched the first edition of the EU Innovation Procurement Awards (EUIP Awards).

This is a new European Innovation Council (EIC) prize which rewards public and private buyers in their efforts to promote procurement of innovation. It helps SMEs and start-ups across Europe to bring their innovative products and services to the market.

The prize supports the community of European procurers to share, work together and inspire each other in the design of innovative procurement processes, and in the delivery of modern and efficient public services.

It features three categories:

1. The ‘Innovation procurement strategy’ award, that rewards long-term strategies that support innovation procurement, sustainable solutions and practices
2. The ‘Facing societal challenges’ award that rewards innovative procurement practices facing the COVID-19 pandemic
3. The ‘Procurement leadership’ award that recognises outstanding individuals who empower their team

Each category will reward the winner with €75 000, and one runner-up with €25 000.

The contest is open to any public or private procurer, as well as individuals located in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe.

Criteria

The applications are evaluated and ranked against the following criteria:

• Transformation
• Uptake
• Collaboration
• Societal impact

More information on eligibility and award criteria is available here.

The deadline for applications is 29 July 2021, 17:00 CET. A jury of independent experts will evaluate and select the winners and runners up, who will then be awarded in the last quarter of the year.

Apply here.