The Guide provides practical advice for public authorities on how to
procure in an “innovation friendly” way. It will help you to achieve the most
innovative, energy efficient and cost-effective solutions for your needs.
Recommendations are provided on:
l Engaging the market before you tender – Consulting with suppliers
can help you determine what solutions the market may be able to offer.
Informing suppliers of intentions in advance will ensure the market can
respond effectively to your demands.
l Defining your needs – Don’t tell the market how to achieve your needs,
ask it to tell you. Describing your needs in terms of the performance you
want, and not prescribing the technical solution itself, allows the market
to offer creative, innovative solutions.
l Building the right team – Make sure you have the appropriate technical,
legal and management skills within the procurement team. If not
available in-house, consider bringing in external assistance.
l Evaluate offers intelligently – Use award criteria to encourage suppliers
to offer highly energy efficient performance. Use life-cycle costing (LCC)
to assess not just the purchase price but the total cost of ownership.
l Manage the risks – Ensure the technical, organisational and financial
risks connected with innovative procurement are properly assessed and
minimised.