Public procurement of innovation: Analysis of the experience of Galicia in health care

Abstract

The public sector is a strategic consumer that can use its procurement power for achieving different socio-economic aims. This is the case with the public procurement of innovation (PPI), a tool that attempts to promote innovation from the demand side. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the experience of PPI in Galicia, focusing on the health field. This is due to the relevance of the public sector as a consumer and service provider in the health sector. In addition, Galicia is a reference in the implementation of PPI in health care. A central issue of this research is to identify the main drivers of this pioneer experience. The results suggest that some elements are crucial: the availability of public funding, the participation of different types of stakeholders, the public-private interaction, the precise identification of needs and the proper planning. Furthermore, the ef-fectiveness of demand policies is affected by other elements, such as the territorial productive and innovative capacities, which suggests the need to coordinate demand- and supply-side innovation policies. The role of the public sector as a catalyst of innovation seems to be more relevant in less innovative regions, such as Galicia.