EcoQUIP (2012-2016)
Members of the EcoQUIP Plus consortium have been involved in Innovation Procurement projects for many years
EcoQUIP set out to demonstrate how to improve the efficiency, quality and environmental sustainability of healthcare using innovation procurement. An ‘Innovation Procurement Leaders Group’ of individuals was created to support this vision. Members have competence in innovation procurement and the capacity to pioneer new approaches to procurement and initiate new projects.
The EcoQUIP project started with austerity measures in full swing across Europe and when the healthcare sector was already facing huge challenges with an aging population, increasing expectations and demands as well as enormous cost pressures.At such times, hard-pressed budget holders can see sustainability as a costly luxury and innovation an unnecessary risk. The EcoQUIP consortium and the EU Commission funders therefore showed great foresight and courage to embark on a project with sustainability and innovation at its core.
Dr Jonathan Frost OBE, EcoQUIP Steering Committee Chairman, October 2016
The project consortium comprised national partners from England, Netherlands, Norway and Poland and a pan-European network (the European Health Property Network). It was coordinated by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that is leading a pioneering national programme to help the public sector better meet its policy goals through new approaches to procurement of innovative products and services.
- 10 Messages from the LCB-HEALTHCARE Pilot Projects: A guide to innovation procurement for the healthcare sector
- LCB-HEALTHCARE Creating the Conditions for Innovation: Towards a Good Practice Guide
- Case Study: Innovative procurement for a sustainable solution; cleaning beds: Erasmus University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
- Case Study: Front End Planning for Energy Efficiency in Hospitals: The ‘Nye Østfoldsykehuset’ Project, Norway
- Case Study: An Integrated Ultra Low Carbon Energy Solution: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
- Case Study: Introducing innovation procurement methods: Rawicz County Hospital, Poland
- Case Study: Ultra Efficient Lighting for Future Wards: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, UK
The Energy4Health project is one of six that are being carried out in support of the EU Demand-Side Action Plan. It was carried out by a project team that was able to build on the knowledge gained in two related European projects: RES-Hospitals and the EcoQUIP predecessor LCB-Healthcare.
The project commenced in January 2014 and concluded in March 2015. Its aim was to develop a policy roadmap to improve the main factors (framework conditions) that influence the demand for innovative energy solutions in the healthcare sector.
This was delivered through four main activities:
- Generate baseline scenarios to 2020
- Create policy action roadmaps for more favourable scenarios
- Engage with influential stakeholders
- Develop implementation strategy
We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the Energy4Health project, which was co-financed by the European Commission. A strategic policy roadmap has been published which identifies eight operational objectives, that if realised will improve the framework conditions influencing the demand for and market uptake of innovative solutions in the healthcare sector. This work was the result of extensive consultation with stakeholders in the healthcare and energy technology sectors, funding agencies and investors, government agencies, and trade and professional associations.
The Strategic Policy Roadmap and the associated Monitoring and Evaluation Plan are both available to download.
Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) is a crucial challenge for public bodies to be implemented during next years. The “usual” way of purchasing goods is based solely on the price of the product. Life cycle costing, supply chain analysis or group purchase are rarely used, which means missing some opportunities to get innovative products that would give purchasers competitive advantage. Therefore, there is an urgent need to start developing networks of procurers.
Such networks will enable them to identify common needs, conduct market analysis, understand supply chain, use these tools to comprise a higher procurement volume, and achieve bigger impact on suppliers. It will allow them voice out their unmet needs, create a new demand to access sustainable products of higher quality, and develop new applications with lower life cycle costs. This can be obtained through PPI.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has equally become an essential tool used in nearly all areas of society. Health sector, which is the core of this proposal, is no exception to this regard. The target of the project is to understand health care public procurers unmet needs, particularly in eHealth. That is why a network of procurers will be developed within the scope of the project. The network will allow the consortium to identify common needs, explore the best available solutions and stimulate the market with the aim of creating a PPI/PCP procurement strategy for the eHealth sector.
In order for the EPP-eHealth consortium to be able to achieve the mentioned objectives, a set of 4 workshops aimed at project members and potential stakeholders will be developed. Three of these workshops will train attendees in public procurement while a 4th workshop will be used as a market test.
Finally, aiming to widespread project results, a comprehensive set of dissemination activities will be carried out.
Express interest in the EPP-eHealth Joint Statements of Unmet Needs
Download the EPP-eHealth PPI/PCP Strategy for eHealth
More information on EPP eHealth is available here
Visit the EPP eHealth website here