About Us
The acquisition of innovation by public and private organisations enables better and more efficient service delivery to citizens and customers. These organisations can acquire innovation via direct procurement from the market when a mature solution is available. However, frequently public and private buyers have unmet needs that require innovative solutions that are not yet in the market.
There are several instruments aimed to design and test innovative solutions in collaboration with external suppliers. Yet, these instruments are oriented towards big groups of buyers and solutions that require big investments. In addition, there is a (big) administrative burden associated with its launch, execution and justification. This discourages some buyers to use them when the solution requires quicker execution times or fewer economic resources, due to the scope and characteristics of the unmet need.
InnoBuyer is a coordination and support action, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, with a total budget of 2 million euros. It aims to become a testing ground and benchmark towards the implementation of a demand-driven methodology that brings together Challengers (public and private organisations) and Solvers (notably European Innovation Council-supported SMEs), to jointly co-create innovative solutions, and speed-up the process leading to a concrete innovation procurement.
Project goals:
- Foster the development of an ecosystem to promote collaborative innovation between the best European public Challenge Owners and Solvers (in particular, EIC-supported companies).
- Launch and validate a support programme to co-create innovation between Challengers and Solvers. The programme will be demand-driven and geared to adoption by design.
- Demonstrate the increase of efficiency of EU public (but also private) services via piloting 15 innovative solutions, notably the ones from the EIC-funded companies.
How it works
Action 1:
Recruitment and aggregation of Challengers
The InnoBuyer consortium will launch a dissemination campaign to recruit unmet needs from Challengers and then select the 15 best candidates. Other interested public and private Challengers will be aggregated to the selected challenges so they can also acquire knowledge along the project.
Action 2:
Buyer-SME matching
The selected Challengers will be supported to launch an Open Market Consultation to receive feedback on their challenges, and recruit and award Solvers to answer the proposed challenges.
Action 3:
Pilot co-creation
Challengers and Solvers will jointly co-create solutions to the challenges. The solutions will be tested and evaluated. Solvers will receive support towards the future commercialization of their solutions.
Action 4:
Terms of Reference delivery
Support the creation of ToRs in collaboration with external experts, as the base for a future tender for the solution by the Challengers.
F6S is a leading global founder and startup network that helps public sector entities around the world to promote, communicate and disseminate technical and research projects. F6S stands for F-ounder-S. Our mission is to help founders and startups grow to solve the world’s pressing social, economic, environmental, sustainability and innovation problems. In addition to F6S’ work with governmental entities, we also work with corporates, investors, research institutions, programs, universities and others in the global startup ecosystem. F6S tools deliver company growth through grants, partnerships, funding, investment, pilot contracts, partnerships, jobs & talent recruitment, company services and more.
CIVITTA helps their clients from private companies to governments, non-profits and startups to challenge their own industries by becoming more innovative, efficient and dynamic. With 380+ consultants CIVITTA is present in 18 European countries.
Its mission is to promote intercultural dialogue, social entrepreneurship and social inclusion through sports, formal and non-formal education including disadvantaged groups such as migrants and people with disabilities.
Join the EIC Community here
The European Innovation Council (EIC) was established by the European Commission in 2021 following a 3 years successful pilot phase. It has a mission to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovation. It has a budget of over €10 billion for the period 2021-2027.
The funding and support is organised into three main funding schemes covering all technology readiness levels: EIC Pathfinder for advanced research to develop the scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies; EIC Transition to validate technologies and develop business plans for specific applications; and the EIC Accelerator to support companies (SMEs, start-ups, spin-outs and in exceptional cases small mid-caps) to bring their innovations to market and scale up. The Accelerator provides a combination of grant support and direct equity investments in companies through a dedicated EIC Fund, which also provides a platform for co-investments with other investors.
For all schemes, the direct financial support is augmented with access to a range of Business Acceleration Services.
The strategy and implementation of the EIC is overseen by the EIC Board of twenty individuals from the innovation ecosystem (academia, business, investment, ecosystem builders). The EIC also employs dedicated Programme Managers with high level expertise in their fields, to set the challenges and proactively manage portfolios of projects towards technological breakthroughs.
The EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS) provides a unique, lifelong gateway to invaluable resources for EIC-funded companies, even after their projects have concluded. By joining the EIC Community, innovators gain access to a dynamic innovation network that encompasses EIC beneficiaries from Accelerator, Pathfinder, Transition projects, Seal of Excellence, Women TechEU, and more. Through this platform, researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs connect with business partners, creating a robust foundation for fostering new partnerships and advancing shared knowledge.
The BAS program is structured around three essential pillars to catalyze growth: Contracts, Contacts, and Skills. Through these, participants can secure key commercial partnerships, expand their networks, and develop tailored skills to drive their ventures forward. Services include corporate partnership opportunities, investor readiness support, international trade fair access, ecosystem networking, and tailored coaching. With over 1,000 corporates, 600 mentors, and 140 ecosystem partners on board, the EIC Community empowers participants to strengthen their global presence and scale their innovations effectively.
By applying through the EIC Community platform, beneficiaries can unlock these services, propelling their innovations to reach new market heights and connect with a wealth of expertise across Europe and beyond.