Curriculum

5 Sections
26 Lessons
20 Hours

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Section 1 — Introduction to Innovation Procurement & Training Manuals
This opening section provides a comprehensive introduction to innovation procurement — what it is, why it matters, and what instruments are available to public buyers. It covers the full landscape of EU innovation procurement tools, from Pre-Commercial Procurement and Innovation Partnership through to market-facing instruments (PMC, functional specifications, value engineering) and flexible procedures (Competitive Dialogue, Competitive Procedure with Negotiation). The section closes with a presentation of the INPROCAP training manuals, the learning pathway, and the certification framework.By completing this section, learners will be able to:- Explain the EU legal definition of innovation procurement and its three interpretations - Distinguish between PCP, PPI, Innovation Partnership, and when to use each - Describe how PMC, functional specifications, and value engineering encourage innovation in procurement - Differentiate between Competitive Dialogue and Competitive Procedure with Negotiation - Navigate the INPROCAP training pathway and understand certification requirementsNumber of lessons: 6Estimated duration: ~45 minutesQuiz: Section 1 Quiz — Introduction Check (5 questions, 70% pass mark)
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Section 2 — Needs Assessment
This section addresses one of the most critical — and most often skipped — steps in innovation procurement: identifying and articulating unmet needs. The section opens with the "innovation paradox" and explains why starting with problems (not solutions) is the foundation of effective innovation procurement. It walks through the EAFIP methodology, the concept of unmet need, key methods for identifying and prioritising needs (Voice of the Client, 5-Step Process, WIBGIF), and the essential role of procurement officers. The second half, delivered by Jan Zahalka, covers the distinction between functional and technical requirements, why functional specifications foster innovation, and a hands-on exercise where participants translate real challenges into procurement requirements.By completing this section, learners will be able to:- Define the concept of an "unmet need" and explain when innovation procurement is justified - Apply the EAFIP methodology step-by-step to a real procurement challenge - Use at least three methods (Voice of the Client, 5-Step Process, WIBGIF) to identify and prioritise unmet needs - Distinguish between functional and technical requirements and explain why functional specs foster innovation - Apply the MoSCoW framework and minimum viable requirement concept to draft procurement specifications - Translate a specific operational challenge into a set of functional procurement requirementsNumber of lessons: 5Estimated duration: ~1 hour Quiz:Section 2 Quiz — Needs Assessment Check (10 questions, 70% pass mark)
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Section 3 — Market Analysis in Innovation Procurement
This section equips learners with the tools and frameworks to conduct market analysis as a prerequisite for innovation procurement. It covers the role of market analysis in the EAFIP methodology, SOTA analysis and prior art research, the TRL scale, informal and formal market research methods, supplier identification, and cost-of-solution analysis. The section closes with a hands-on mini-SOTA exercise using four Big Science procurement scenarios.By completing this section, learners will be able to:- Explain why market analysis is the foundation of successful innovation procurement - Conduct a State-of-the-Art (SOTA) analysis and prior art/IPR research - Identify suppliers and assess market maturity for a defined need - Distinguish between informal and formal market research methods and know when to use each - Apply the TRL scale to determine the appropriate procurement instrument (PCP, PPI, or Innovation Partnership) - Apply the EAFIP methodology to BSO procurement scenariosNumber of lessons:5 Estimated duration:~2 hours (text-based, self-paced) Quiz: Section 3 Quiz — Market Analysis Check (7 questions, 70% pass mark)
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Section 4 — Open Market Consultation (OMC) — Strategy & Practice
Section description:This section introduces Open Market Consultation as the critical bridge between SOTA analysis and the formal procurement procedure. The first half covers the full OMC methodology: the legal basis in Article 40 of Directive 2014/24/EU, the four pillars of a lawful OMC, how to plan, design good questions, execute sessions, and structure the OMC report. The second half features two detailed case studies from the National Centre for Research and Development in Poland (NCBR), showing how OMC works in practice — once as a multi-month multi-round dialogue, and once using the EAFIP methodology with webinars and e-pitching. The session closes with a BigScience.dk perspective on Industry Days as a related but distinct form of early supplier engagement used at major European research infrastructures.By completing this section, learners will be able to:- Define Open Market Consultation and explain how it differs from a formal procurement procedure - Cite the legal basis for OMC under Directive 2014/24/EU and explain the four compliance pillars - Plan and design an OMC — objectives, format, question set, outreach, and timeline - Execute an OMC while preserving equal treatment and competition principles - Structure an OMC report and feed its findings into technical specifications and award criteria - Compare two real OMC implementations (NCBR multi-month and EAFIP-based) and apply lessons learned - Distinguish between OMC and Industry Days and explain when each is appropriate**Number of lessons:** 6 Estimated duration: ~2 hoursQuiz: Section 4 Quiz — OMC Design and Legal Compliance (7 questions, 70% pass mark)
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Section 5 — Building a Business Case for Innovation Procurement
Section description:This section teaches learners how to build a business case that justifies launching a Pre-Commercial Procurement. Starting from the EAFIP Step-by-Step Methodology, it positions the business case as Step 4 — after Needs Assessment, SOTA Analysis, and OMC — and shows how evidence gathered in prior steps feeds directly into economic justification. The core of every business case is a Cost-Benefit Analysis: identifying all cost categories (procurement costs, CAPEX, OPEX), quantifying internal and external benefits, and computing Net Present Value (NPV) at a public-sector discount rate.The theory is immediately grounded in a real PCP case: ARCHIVER (Archiving and Preservation for Research Environments), a CERN-led buyers group that ran a three-phase competitive R&D procurement (Jan 2019 – Jun 2022, €3.4M R&D budget) and produced two commercially viable SaaS services — Arkivum and Libnova — now available through the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). João Fernandes (CERN) presents the full arc: challenge definition, procurement methodology, agile R&D execution, resulting services, and lessons learned.The section closes with a hands-on group exercise: learners build a real NPV business case for Adaptive Legionella Control at CERN using a pre-structured Google Sheet (Years 0–8 timeline, 3.5% discount rate, auto-calculated NPV), then present their results.By completing this section, learners will be able to:- Explain the purpose of a business case in the context of innovation procurement and place it correctly in the EAFIP methodology - Conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis: identify relevant cost categories (CAPEX, OPEX, procurement costs) and quantify both internal and external benefits - Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) and interpret the result as a go/no-go signal for procurement - Assess five categories of risk (technical, financial, operational, market, political/legal) and propose mitigation strategies - Describe how PCP's phased competitive structure inherently reduces R&D risk - Analyse the ARCHIVER PCP as a complete real-world example — from challenge to resulting commercial services - Build a Year 0–8 cost/benefit model using the exercise Google Sheet and present key findingsNumber of lessons:3Estimated duration: ~2 hoursQuiz: Section 5 Quiz — Business Case and NPV (7 questions, 70% pass mark)
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Lesson 2.4 — Functional vs. Technical Requirements

Content

This lesson introduces the distinction between functional and technical requirements, explains why functional specifications are far more innovation-friendly, and presents key methods for developing high-quality procurement requirements.

What you will learn:

— Functional specifications defined: the public buyer sets minimum requirements to avoid abnormally low-performing tenders, but is not overly prescriptive regarding the means of achieving a desired outcome
— Functional vs. technical requirements illustrated with seven domain examples: Authentication (“users must log in securely” vs. OAuth 2.0 + 256-bit encryption), Microscopy (cellular resolution vs. specific camera specs), Reporting (monthly financial reports vs. PDF/SQL/SharePoint), Collaboration (remote team support vs. Zoom + 1080p + 100 participants), Data Storage (10-year patient record security vs. PostgreSQL + AES-256), Energy Efficiency (minimise energy consumption vs. HVAC inverter + LED + R-value), Accessibility (usability by visually impaired vs. WCAG 2.1 AA compliance)
— Why functional specs are far more innovation-friendly: 80% of EC-funded innovation procurement projects used this approach; they shift performance responsibility to the market; economic operators gain openness and flexibility to reach optimal performance
— The nuance: descriptive requirements can attract innovation too, but functional requirements make it significantly easier by leaving the market free to compete with solutions fit for the challenge
— The MoSCoW Prioritisation Framework: Must Have (critical requirements), Should Have (important features), Could Have (nice-to-have), Won’t Have (excluded items)
— Four primary methods for developing requirements: Voice of the Customer (interviews, surveys), Stakeholder Mapping & Inclusion (identify all parties, RACI matrix, multi-stakeholder consultations), Functional Requirement Analysis (define what items must DO, translate functions into measurable criteria, validate with users), Minimum Viable Requirement — MVR (define minimum acceptable performance, prevent over-specification, separate must-have vs. value-add)
— Four additional methods: Total Cost of Ownership (durability, maintenance + ops cost, warranties), Risk-Based Specification (high-impact risks, risk-based criteria prioritisation, mitigation through specs), Benchmarking & Market Research (industry standards, peer organisations, PMC/RFI market sounding), Iterative Drafting & Validation (draft → review → market test → refine, ensure realism and clarity)
— Why functional specifications foster innovation across seven dimensions: creative solutions, open competition, adaptability, focus on value not compliance, stimulate collaboration, reduce obsolescence risk, drive continuous improvement
— Niguarda Hospital (Italy) case study: WIBGIF need — automated system to move hospital beds avoiding accidents and injuries to nursing staff; functional specs for life cycle 1 (easy to learn, install without calibration); outcome — new cost-effective automated universal medical device for moving hospital beds

Address:

BigScience.dk, Danish Technological Institute, Gregerensvej 1, 2630 Taastrup, DK- Denmark,

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Innovation Procurement in Big Science: From Needs to Award