DiSSCo Prepare Milestone report MS4.4 - Requirements for the implementation of PCP

Abstract

The DiSSCo RI will require strategic partnerships with industrial partners, and many of these partnerships will rely upon a procurement framework. DiSSCo will work with partners to co-create services and co-develop products such as software and will contract with third parties for goods and services. A clear procurement strategy allows an organisation to align its long term priorities and objectives with its procurement processes, helping with partnership development, scaling up processes, risk mitigation and cost efficiency. In this milestone document, we aim to provide insight into the opportunities that pre commercial procurement (PCP) could represent for DiSSCo, stemming from the efforts completed during the DiSSCo Prepare project and the internal collaboration with other work packages. We build on the MS 8.41 document that provided background material and kept an eye out on DPP Task 7.2’s analysis on legal entity models for DiSSCo, and their suitability for achieving DiSSCo objectives, as this will have a direct impact on the final procurement framework for DiSSCo. To do this, we first situate pre commercial procurement (PCP), as well as public procurement of innovation (PPI) within the commercial procurement landscape. Both schemes were created by the European Commission to encourage development and its scaling to market. We provide a view of when each applies and specifically for pre commercial procurement, we dive deeper into what steps are involved in preparation and execution of procuring development. We continue with what pre commercial procurement could look like for DiSSCo as an European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). Next to indicating how it builds on the strategic cornerstones of DiSSCo, we show some examples we encountered that already show potential for pre commercial procurement in the DiSSCo Construct project. We wrap up with summarising the progress made at the time of this Milestone. In short, we have created awareness on the topic and its positive potential to drive innovation for the DiSSCo consortium and for its users. In parallel, we’ve highlighted the importance of connecting the dots between strategy, development and procurement in order to build strong partnerships.