Deadline: January 20, 2026
The European Commission invites proposals to establish and strengthen a European network of national competence centers for innovation procurement to enhance collaboration, capacity, and innovation uptake across the EU.
The focus areas of this opportunity include enhancing the capacity of public procurers to carry out PCPs and PPIs, increasing the number of PCPs and PPIs conducted at both national and cross-border levels through transnational buyer groups, and raising awareness among companies, particularly startups and SMEs, of the business growth opportunities offered by innovation procurements by promoting national innovation procurement opportunities across other EU Member States and Associated Countries. It also aims to increase the publication of EU-wide preliminary market consultations and calls for tenders for PCP and PPI procurements, actively promoting these business opportunities to innovators, as well as to strengthen the recognition of the strategic importance of PCP and PPI among policymakers and within national policies to boost innovation procurement uptake. Additionally, the initiative seeks to expand and intensify the support measures provided by innovation procurement competence centers across Europe.
Many public buyers in Europe still lack experience in innovation procurement and require training and guidance. To address this, several countries have established national competence centers that collaborate with policymakers to implement capacity-building measures. The initiative aims to set up a European-wide network of competence centers, extending the previous Horizon 2020-supported efforts, and reinforcing their activities across additional countries.
The network’s activities include the creation of new competence centers and the expansion of existing ones. At minimum, the project will involve ten existing centers and five public bodies establishing new centers in different Member States or Associated Countries, with at least two located in emerging or moderate innovator countries. The network will initially include participation from at least fifteen different EU Member States or Associated Countries, with the goal of eventually including all Member States.
Experience sharing on pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI) across Europe will be central to the network’s operations. Activities will also promote Horizon Europe funding and synergies with ESIF funding while supporting public procurers in launching innovative procurements. Cooperation among public procurers is vital for scaling market impact and ensuring wider diffusion of innovations. Strategic technologies essential for Europe’s economic security will receive particular focus.
The network will also collaborate with national policymakers to support the uptake of innovation procurement by implementing action plans, targets, and incentive schemes. It will maximize synergies with national and ESIF funding, focusing Horizon Europe resources on activities not covered by other funding sources, and coordinate with other EU-funded innovation procurement initiatives to optimize impact. The expected duration of the action is four years.
The funding for this opportunity under HORIZON-EIE-2026-01-CONNECT-01 is 4,500,000 euros for a single-stage call, with an indicative number of one grant.
For more information, visit EC.
