The PREPARE project is an EU funded joint initiative led in the region of Oulu by Oulun Kaupunki and Council of Oulu Region. The project is coordinated by Ticbiomed and counts with strategic partners from Skåne (Sweden), Oulu (Finland), Bucharest Ilfov (Romania) and Murcia (Spain) is starting to bear fruit after the first months of collaboration.
PREPARE aligned well with Oulu’s city strategy and new Procurement Program. One of the objectives of the project is to prepare concrete innovative procurement after PREPARE. Several potential funding programmes were identified, but the most suitable ones will be found in the future.
Identification of stakeholders for interviews and mapping of survey participants
- Interviews started in March and ended in April. Interviewees were split between different stakeholders (2 funders, 2 instrument manager and 5 policy makers including Region Mayor). The same template was used in each interview which usually took 1,5, hours. The overview and evaluation of the interviews were made in April and were included in regional insights. The main intention for innovation adaption was: Funders prioritized economic growth, enhancing competitiveness, and promoting sustainability. Policy makers and persons who are closer to the end of the innovation chain prioritized improving public services.
- Survey was sent to over 30 solvers and supporters. Finally, 9 answers were received. Companies were not active in answering, They see their role more in solving challenges than in strategic planning. End-users and citizens voice could also have been partly missing.
- First workshop was held in 12.2 Oulu Innovation Alliance (including participants from the University of Oulu and the University of Applied Studies of Oulu) in February. The workshop started with presentations by experts in VTT and KEINO-network. In the teamwork phase, the objective was to find innovative solutions to procurement and obstacles. Results and outputs of teamwork have been utilized in regional conclusions of PREPARE. There were 24 participants.
- Focus group came together in a hybrid meeting in 4.4. In the Council of Oulu Region were 7 participants and 4 online. The meeting started with the presentation of the PREPARE project. The focus group shared their ideas on procurement and innovation adoption. During the discussion, the group offered many ideas on how innovation stakeholders and players could become more aware of each other at the regional level.
- Second workshop was held in 15.5.2024. The focus of the workshop was the effectiveness of the procurement in employment services. Key note presentations and moderation of the workshop were made by the national non-profit procurement organisation Hansel. The teamwork phase focused on effectiveness in procurement (operative and tactic) and challenges and opportunities that change can expose. Several participants represented Oulu’s neighbouring municipalities which is ideal for disseminating PREPARE objectives. Altogether both workshops 42 gathered participants.
Activities in May and June
After reviewing the data collected from the interviews, the results of the surveys, the focus groups and the workshops, the overall conclusion in Oulu Region is that while the importance of public procurement is recognized, much remains to be done to achieve adequate innovative or demand-driven procurement. . PREPARE can bridge the gap between the existing situation and future objectives.
Recommendations for the future
The findings from the PREPARE Project so far point to several areas where targeted action could significantly enhance the innovation ecosystem in Oulu and stimulate innovation procurement:
- Lack of funding consensus: even if there has been implemented a successful regional innovation system, there still is a lack of regional consensus on prioritising innovative procurement or demand-driven innovation in funding.
- Strick and complex funding regulations: in the Oulu region, there are different funding sources that have relatively strict rules. In addition, these founding regulations change when funding periods change making the process more complex for stakeholders and innovators.
- Continue to foster a change of mindset to enhance the adoption and implementation of innovation procurement by changing outdated working methodologies, reducing micromanagement, and restructuring the decision-making hierarchy in administration.
In conclusion, the interaction with innovation procurement stakeholders has provided valuable insights into the state of innovation in the Oulu region. By addressing the identified challenges and capitalizing on the region’s strengths, there is a strong potential to enhance innovation procurement and drive economic and social development. e stored in a common repository.
