1 Precommercial procurement in the Netherlands Carla Dekker, manager Netherlands SBIR programme SenterNovem, Dutch government agency promoting sustainable innovation, agency of the ministry of Economic Affairs

2 Challenge of SenterNovem: “Turning policy into practice” Promote innovation Combat climate change Switch to sustainable energy Improve our living environment

3 Case precommercial procurement The Netherlands: 40% below sea level km of dikes made of clay, sand, peat experience with high water visual inspection

4 Unexpected dike problems Dike burst in Wilnis (August 2003) caused by dry period that weakened peat dike Leak in the dike in Spijk (January 2004) caused by broken water pipe inside the dike along the Juliana canal. ⃗ Start programme Improvement inspection of dikes and dams: –Need for new techniques for real time visual dike inspection and early warning systems

5 How solving this public issue? Ask for an inventory of possible solutions: report Ask researchers what went wrong: report with probable conclusion: more research is needed … Ask – the usual – companies and research institutes for developing a solution: a traditional (expensive) solution

6 Simultaneous development Ministry of Economic Affairs set up and experimented with precommercial procurement programme (SBIR) –Develop solutions for public concerns –Stimulate innovation in (small) companies –Valorisation of knowledge SBIR: concept from US translated to European context –competition, two phases (lower risk), address starters and smaller companies, IPR for companies (under conditions) ⃗ Can we combine precommercial procurement and the need for new techniques for real time dike inspection and will it give added value?

7 Added value precommercial procurement New parties: from other sectors and starting companies Budget for best 5 feasibility studies (phase 1) – 250,000 euro Most recent knowledge by cooperation with research institutes Budget for development of best 2 prototype systems (phase 2) – 850,000 euro Prospect of solving our problem: 2 systems with the potential to enter the market within 5 years Follow development projects closely Close participation of problem owners: dike managers

8 When precommercial procurement? Government / society has an actual problem 1.inspection of dikes and dams 2.cleaner equipment for work on the road 3.equipment for less damage to nature due to human activities Or … the government wants a certain change 1.transition to bio based economy 2.transition to more energy efficient society 3.more transport on waterways (cleaner, congestion) No cut-and-dried solution available Speeding up development of new products and services Government is willing to assist to make projects successful –give new companies a chance, solve potential policy and regulatory issues, partner search, …

9 Concluding remarks COM(2007) 799 is a recognition of our programme. Thank you! Observations from our SBIR programme (June 2007) –83% of proposals from companies with less than 50 employees –All contracts rewarded to companies with less than 100 employees –Rewarded companies cooperate in phase 1 with 1.Other (small) companies (42%) 2.Research institutes (18%) 3.Both companies and research institutes (29%) –Cooperation with partners from other EU countries in at least 3 out of 11 development projects ⃗Precommercial procurement matches very well with SMEs Time for a European dimension to precommercial procurement?

10 Thank you for your attention More information