PUBLIC PROCUREMENT NEWS

  

News

5 February 2014

State and local government overcome limitations to spur innovation in the United States

Frustrated with the complexity and rigidness of federal procurement laws, Philadelphia and North Carolina (United States of America) have set up initiatives to encourage suppliers to develop innovative goods, rewarding them with guaranteed government contracts. The set up marks a win-win situation for both parties: suppliers can innovate with financial risk minimised, and procurers receive an innovative product they were lacking.

Philadelphia’s Fast FWD initiative will select ten entrepreneurs to develop innovative projects that enhance public safety, while North Carolina has launched a new innovation centre, which will allow the state to pilot innovative goods and work more closely with suppliers before committing to large-scale purchases. Suppliers in the information technology sector have been widely supportive of the centre.

Former Oregon CIO and procurement director Dugan Petty believes that the innovation centre will reduce costs and lead to better results, "[At present] there’s no opportunity for an entrepreneur or an innovator to really work with the city to first make sure we are defining the problem correctly, and that we also have access and exposure to the range of potential solutions. This new approach is helping to evolve procurement technology in a way that keeps up with what’s out there on the industry side.”

For more information, click here.