Local governments play a critical role in ensuring the physical, emotional and societal health of their residents during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Local leaders and communities have been key to introducing early restrictive measures, as well as approaches to mitigate the impact of the restrictions for people and to support those at the highest risk. Public procurement has to support the emergency response and the adjustment to this new and extraordinary situation.  

To support procurers who are facing this challenge, later this month, ICLEI alongside the EIC Accelerator is organising an online market engagement e-pitching event to connect public and private procurers from the health sector with EIC companies providing medical supply (e.g. personal protective garments, medication, test kits, respiratory machinery, etc.) and innovative technologies (e.g. tele-medicine, remote solutions, artificial intelligence for data analysis and prediction, etc.).

The online event, which will bring together European procurers and up to 40 EIC companies, will provide procurers with the opportunity to outline their needs and the challenges and problems they face in relation to COVID-19. The EIC companies in attendance will then be able to pitch solutions to these challenges.

As part of the EU-funded LEA project, ICLEI is also offering a new webinar series, from April-June, which will explore the procurement of resilient education technology during the COVD-19 pandemic. With schools and universities closing and classes moving online, this five-part webinar series will hear from both teachers and innovation procurement professionals and explore how procurement can learn from this current crisis and procure effective learn-tech now and in the future. 

Learn more about the e-pitching event here.

Learn more about the webinar series here.