Pre-Commercial Procurement
Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) is an approach to public procurement of research and development (R&D) services that is outlined in the PCP communication and associated staff working document. Pre-Commercial Procurement challenges industry from the demand side to develop innovative solutions for public sector needs and it provides a first customer reference that enables companies to create competitive advantage on the market.
procuRE drives innovation from the demand side by acting as technologically demanding customers that buy the development and testing of new solutions. PCP enables public procurers to compare alternative potential solution approaches and filter out the best possible solutions that the market can deliver to address the public need. This enables European public authorities to modernize public services faster and to create opportunities for companies in Europe to take international leadership in new markets.
How does PCP work?
Competitive development in phases:
Encouraging the creation of growth and jobs in Europe:
Risk-benefit sharing under market conditions:
Separation from the deployment of commercial volumes of end-products / services:
PCP is for both, buyers and suppliers, a successful instrument benefiting SMEs in particular:
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Opening a route-to-the market for new market players
73.5% of PCP contracts are won by SMEs, 61.5% of total values of PCP contracts, more than twice the average in public procurement across Europe (29%)
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Impact on stimulating cross-border company growth
33.1% of PCP contracts are awarded cross-border, 20 times more than the average in public procurement across Europe (1.7%)
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Bringing research results to the market
30% of contracts have universities or research centres as partners in the winning consortia (often together with university start-ups)
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Contribution to growth and jobs in Europe
Nearly all bidders (99.5%) are doing 100% of the R&D for the PCP contract in Europe
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Steady business growth
~50% of all companies are already generating revenue from commercialising their PCP solution
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Deployment of solutions by procurers from the project
Procurers from 55% of the completed PCPs have already deployed developed solutions
The procuRE Timeline
procuRE follows the stages of the PCP process as set-out by the European Commission, i.e. work will be divided into four subsequent phases:
Phase 0
The Open Market Consultation (OMC) represents a specific phase during the overall Pre-Commercial Procurement preparation. The objective is to actively approach the market to learn more about the state-of-the-art, as well as about envisaged future developments on operating buildings only with renewable energy. A series of OMC events will be organised and announced in section events, newsletter etc.
[Phase 1]
The Solution Design Phase is a 3-month phase in which selected suppliers will refine their proposed concept designs, solution architecture and technical specifications, in accordance with the input provided by the Buyers Group. It is expected that eight suppliers will be selected to take part in this phase. The total procurement budget for this phase is 1.15 million euro.
[Phase 2]
The Development of Prototype phase is an 8-month phase in which selected suppliers are expected to deliver their prototypes in two iterations. It is expected that out of the total number of suppliers in the previous phase, four suppliers will be selected to take part in this phase. The total procurement budget in Phase 2 will be 2.3 million euro.
[Phase 3]
The Development and Testing of Pilot Systems phase is a 16-month phase in which selected suppliers will implement and test their pilot systems in a set of six selected pilot buildings (one per procurer). Out of the suppliers involved in the previous phase, two suppliers are selected to take part in this phase. The total procurement budget in Phase 3 will be 4.22 million euro.
