General conditions

1. Admissibility conditions:

Applications must be submitted before the call deadline 
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are not possible.
Applications (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System (not the documents available on the Topic page — they are only for information).
Applications must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

• Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (to be filled in directly online)
• Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the application (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as PDF in the system)
  
  
• Mandatory document - the awarded procurement practice must relate to completed or ongoing initiatives started after 1 January 2018. In the case of ongoing activities, only work completed by the submission deadline will be considered for the prize. Therefore, the applicant must submit as an annex a supporting document that proves the starting date of the initiative. This document can be, for example tender documents. This document must be uploaded in the system separately from Part B. (Max 10 pages)
  
  

Your application must be readable, accessible, printable.

Proposal page limits and layout: applications are limited to 15 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any additional pages. The maximum of 10 pages related to the mandatory annex do not count towards the limit of 15 pages for Part B. You cannot modify the layout of the template.

2. Eligible participants: In order to be eligible, the applicants must be:

• Eligible applicants are any public and/or private procurer, individuals/natural persons, and/or legal entities supporting those practices established in one of the Member States (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe;
• The awarded procurement practice must have taken place in a Member State (including overseas countries and territories, OCTs) or in an Associated Country to Horizon Europe;
• The awarded procurement practice must relate to completed or ongoing initiatives started after 1 January 2018. In the case of ongoing activities, only work completed by the submission deadline will be considered for the prize;
• Participants can only apply to one of the two categories for the same set of activities. If more than one  applications are  received, only the last  application received will be retained for the competition, and the others previously submitted will be declared ineligible.
• Winners of former European Innovation Procurement Awards editions, as well as runners-up of the 2022 edition are not eligible.
• Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize for the same activities.

3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes

• Award criteria: 

  -       Award criterion 1: Transformation: stimulating the conversion of procurement practices towards innovation procurement with the aim to ensure a sustainable and inclusive growth.

  In this criterion, the applicant should bear in mind that this conversion refers to the shift into (a) buying the process of innovation (research and development services); (b) buying the outcomes of innovation; or (c) the establishment of innovation procurement friendly frameworks which include tools to measure results of support actions.

  -       Award criterion 2: Uptake: the innovative procurement practise is replicable and scalable, and, therefore, contributes to providing more efficient and effective solutions.

  In this criterion, among others, the applicant should provide information (KPIs) about how the practice is replicable and scalable, the number of countries, entities and/or sectors where the solution has been implemented and/or replicated; or about how it has provided more efficient and effective solutions.

  -        Award criterion 3: Collaboration: demonstrated co-operation linked to the innovation procurement practice. Special attention should be paid to the establishment of synergies, to the promotion of best practices, to the support to capacity building and skill development, and to the efforts of knowledge sharing between stakeholders within the different territories, especially among those at different state of maturity in innovation procurement practices.

  In this criterion, among others, the applicant should provide information (KPIs) about the number of partners (including start-ups, universities, academics, public and private organisations) involved in this collaboration; publications; conferences and events organised/attended to share knowledge, actions implemented to foster collaboration; or about the ratio of engagement and influence within the innovation ecosystem.

  -       Award criterion 4: Societal impact: practices with a demonstrated positive quantitative and qualitative impact on society, with special emphasis to achieving the green deal and digital transformation priorities.

  In this criterion, among others, the applicant should provide information (KPIs) about the number of purchased solutions and/or projects implemented that contribute to achieving green and digital transitions; or about concrete positive transformations in the ecosystem.

Submission and evaluation processes. Applications will be subject to a formal evaluation by a jury.
If there are more than 60 applications in one category, there will be a pre-selection phase in that category to select the best 60 applications to pass to the jury review. Otherwise, all eligible applications will pass directly to jury review.
The pre-selection panel and jury usually have a different composition, but jury members may participate in the pre-selection panel.
The pre-selection panel/jury will evaluate each application against the award criteria between July and November 2023.
In addition, the 6 best applications in each category will be invited for a hearing with the jury in Brussels that will take place between November 2023 and January 2024. This hearing may be also organized remotely.

• Indicative timeline for evaluation: August - November 2023

• Indicative timeline for hearings: between November 2023 - January 2024

• Indicative timeline for evaluation results and award ceremony: Q1 2024