Abstract:

Barriers to innovative procurement, arising both from demand and supply side, are mainly related to the fact that innovative PreCommercial Procurement (PCP) and Public Procurement for Innovation (PPI) methods demands for new mind-sets, skills and resources (both for public procurers and for suppliers) when compared to traditional procurement approaches. Based on the experience and lessons learned from the IMAILE project, LEA consortium will empower a network of procurers to use more efficiently these procurement tools, including preparatory activities related to the market analysis and dialogue with industry, enabling them to act as pivots and prepare simpler and innovative procurement processes and calls attracting European companies and start-ups in the education and learning technology sectors.

By gathering 8 public procurers from 6 EU Member States & a EU network of procurers facing common challenges in education and learning technology area in need of innovative answers, LEA aims to facilitate the access of innovative companies and start-up’s to the market as procurers will act as first costumers, and undergo in a structure dialogue process with industry to define a demand roadmap for education and learning technology needs, creating a global think thank where increase dialogues demand/supply side will be stimulated and opportunities for business partnerships and collaborations will arise. All the tools and resources (demand policy roadmap on education and learning technology 2030, training materials for capacity building on PCP and PPI, channels and tools for demand-supply dialogue, terms of reference for PCP and PPI procurement calls, etc.) which will be created under LEA implementation are aimed to remain available during and after the project ends, disseminated at large at national and European levels to all relevant stakeholders, contributing to increase awareness for PCP and PPI.

The overall objective of LEA is then to “speed up” knowledge transfer, dialogue and awareness rising of innovative procurement within the LEARNING TECHNOLOGY sector.

Based upon the finding from IMAILE PCP of Innovative STEM/PLE (www.imaile.eu), LEA will take a quantum leap from being one standalone project to critical mass of European procurers who will:
1. Create a LEA procurers network and "LEA Followers "
2. Implement IMAILE PCP lessons learned as LEA baseline
3. Recommend a LEARNTECH Demand policy - 2030 to reduce fragmentation of the public sector
4. Enable increased dialogue between demand/ supply side
5. Provide transfer of knowledge for the LEARNTECH community (other procurers, industry, start-ups , end users)
6. Prepare one PPI (based upon IMAILE) and one additional future PCP
7. Speed up awareness rising of innovative procurement including cross sectorial value chains

“LEA Followers” which will consist of procurers, suppliers, learn tech experts and schools, who are all invited to join the project as observers, following the project activities and results, sharing their experiences and talking about lessons learned. Followers receive updates on the project through newsletters and the LEA website and they are welcome to participate in LEA capacity building seminars & other networking events.

In addition to this, LEA will carry out a "school-Lab methodology". Schools will validate and rank their current needs and analyse the results to create a PPI application.

LEA is a H2020 EU funded project - www.learntechaccelerator.eu

Keywords:

Learning technologies, learn-tech, user-driven innovation, innovative procurement, PPi, PCP.