Open Call: Demand-led Innovation for Civil Security through Pre-Commercial Procurement

Scope

• Proposals should demonstrate interest from a broader community of potential buyers, beyond the direct beneficiaries, who share similar needs and are open to jointly adopting the solutions developed, provided they are proven mature and operationally viable. The proposals must include an analysis of the state of the art and market landscape, aligning research activities with identified needs and presenting a range of technical alternatives to address the challenge. Furthermore, to stimulate dialogue with the supply side, public procurers are required to organise proposals should demonstrate sustainability of the action beyond the life of the project.
• The proposals should build on the outcomes of CSA projects funded under previous work programmes aimed at creating Stronger grounds for pre-commercial procurement of innovative security technologies. The proposals should provide clear evidence to justify and de-risk the PCP action, demonstrating that the identified challenge is significant and necessitates a PCP action to mature certain technologies and compare alternatives. It must be shown that a consolidated group of practitioners and procurers with shared needs and requirements is committed to the PCP process, enabling informed decisions on future joint procurement of innovative solutions. Activities covered should include cooperation with policy makers to reinforce the national policy frameworks and mobilise substantial additional national budgets for PCP and innovation procurement in general beyond the scope of the project. The tendering process must be well-defined, supported by a draft plan, and include readiness of documentation and administrative procedures to ensure a compliant launch of the call for R&D services under PCP rules.
• Proposals must demonstrate commitment to exploiting project results beyond its conclusion, ensuring engagement with stakeholders and implementation of strategies for future uptake. Applicants should also clarify measures to ensure compliance with the principles of the EU Directive on public procurement, particularly those related to PCP. The required open market consultations should be completed in at least three EU Member States. Prior consultations conducted under previous CSA projects may be used, provided they ensured procurement viability and remain relevant to the current state of the art.
• Applicants should propose an implementation of the project that includes:
  • A minimal preparation stage dedicated to finalising the tendering documents package for a PCP call for tenders based on the technical input, and to define clear verification and validation procedures, methods and tools for the evaluation of the prototypes to be developed throughout the PCP phases.
  • Moreover, to ensure the sustainability and uptake of the developed solutions, proposals should outline clear plans for post-PCP activities. As outlined in the general annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, the topic allows public buyers to use the fast-track PCP option when they commit to buying or deploying the resulting solutions after the PCP. However, if such a commitment is not yet in place at the proposal stage, the call requires proposers to include a deliverable outlining concrete activities to prepare the ground for follow-up deployment or procurement after the PCP.
  • Launching the call for tenders for research and development services. The call for tenders should envisage a competitive development composed of different phases that would lead to at least 2 prototypes from 2 different providers to be validated in real operational environment at the end of the PCP cycle.

Funding Information

• Grant amount: 5,500,000

Expected Outcomes

• Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
  • A community of EU civil security practitioners with shared needs for innovative technology solutions, supported by an industrial base in particular SMEs and Startups, to access the public procurement market and scale up their business;
  • Procurers facilitate the commercialisation of innovative solutions by their successful suppliers through providing them with first customer references for the validation and first pilot deployment;
  • Increased opportunities for wide market uptake and economies of scale for the supply side through increased demand for innovative solutions, wide publication of results and where relevant contribution to standardisation, regulation or certification;
  • Supporting public procurers, to collectively implement PCPs to drive innovation from the demand side and open up wider commercialisation opportunities for companies in Europe to take or maintain international leadership in new markets that can deliver innovative solutions.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States: Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
  • Countries Associated to Horizon Europe: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit European Commission.