Radical Innovation for Places post COVID, is a concise report that reflects on the benefits of ambitious post-pandemic innovation programmes, innovation procurement and the methods that place leaders can use to realise impact for their local businesses and citizens.

Fulfilling the expectations of citizens and tackling global challenges is a shared challenge facing public authorities everywhere. Ask pioneering place leaders why they are not harnessing the creativity of the market to solve their pressing service and policy challenges and you will often get the response –“procurement policy doesn’t allow it”. However, studies of best practice across the UK, Europe and the world show that many novel approaches are used to access innovation in the marketplace.

That’s why Connected Places Catapult is engaging with experts and representative bodies from across the public procurement ecosystem to challenge the myths surrounding public procurement, share pioneering practice, set out new pathways and outline best practice for the procurement of innovative solutions by the public sector.

The COVID 19 crisis has amplified the need for innovation programmes and innovative solutions and shown that the public sector already has the ability to deliver. Many organisations are responding to the epidemic by deploying innovative procurement tools, and there is an opportunity to translate this increased openness to innovation into a “new normal”.

The strategic deployment of innovative procurement is indispensable to the delivery of robust and high quality public services. It is also a powerful catalyst that can energise innovation through the whole economy.

Many of our city partners have difficulty in engaging innovators and translating ideas into next generation products and services. To support accelerating the benefits of innovation to citizens, the report focuses on the six fundamental principles of:

• Strong Leadership to Drive Strategic Procurement
• Exploiting the Freedom to Innovate
• Boosting the Innovative Economy
• Procurement to Engage Citizens
• Learning from Case Studies
• Cities as Drivers of Innovative Procurement

The Challenging Procurement team within Connected Places Catapult are looking to work with leaders across this field and are keen to hear your contributions. Additional information can be found here.