Public procurement of innovation for security

¿De qué trata esta convocatoria?

The action procures innovative civil security solutions that are nearly market-ready but not yet produced at scale, after open market consultations with suppliers and end users.

¿Qué financia esta convocatoria?

Scope

This Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI) action advances the adoption of innovative civil security solutions. It targets solutions that have been partially demonstrated on a small scale and are nearly or already available in small quantities, but are not yet widely adopted or produced at scale. They should show clear market potential, be new to the procurers, their market segment or the internal EU market, and be relevant to procurers across Member States and Associated Countries. Solutions should meet requirements for operational and environmental sustainability, interoperability and adaptability, and be commercially viable while still carrying residual market risk, such as not yet being made in large quantities or at market-ready quality and price. The aim is to support early adoption of innovation rather than the purchase of fully mature or mass-market technology.

How the procurement works

In line with the specific conditions for pre-commercial procurement and public procurement of innovative solutions in the Horizon Europe work programme, the action will hold open market consultations with potential tenderers and end users to find gaps between perceived procurement needs and industry developments, and the feedback will shape the tender specifications. Market readiness can be verified through conformity testing, certification or quality labelling. Evaluation will use best value for money rather than lowest price alone. Contract notices will be published EU-wide, offers will be assessed on objective criteria, functional or performance-based specifications will define the challenges rather than prescribe solutions, conflicts of interest will be avoided, and the distribution of intellectual property rights will be set out in the call for tenders.

Expected outcomes

Contributions to some or all of: last-mile support to earlier pre-commercial procurement actions; development and deployment of innovative security solutions for emerging threats, including post-quantum cryptography against quantum threats, to make public security services more effective and efficient; and pilot projects and real-world testing that ensure scalability. Proposals should address the applicable considerations in the introduction to the Strengthened Security Research and Innovation destination.

¿Cuándo termina el plazo?

5 de noviembre de 2026

5 November 2026.