Public procurement has been pointed to for years as one of the great levers to drive innovation. However, until now, solid data was lacking to know if it was truly fulfilling that role, and the new index presented by the Cotec Foundation for Innovation fills that void.
When the innovation discourse does not translate into real decisions
The report introduces a pioneering index to measure innovative public procurement (IPP) based on the analysis of 9.5 million European public contracts. Its main conclusion is as clear as it is uncomfortable: only 0.03% of Spanish public procurement shows solid evidence of innovation, below the European average and very far from the 20% recommended at the community level.
The data does not question the potential of IPP, but rather its real application. Innovation appears mentioned, but it rarely becomes a decisive criterion.
Measuring to govern: the great contribution of the index
Until now, IPP operated in ambiguous territory: good intentions, few comparable indicators. The Cotec index changes the rules by proposing an objective and replicable methodology, based on massive data analysis techniques and language processing.
The system classifies contracts into four levels of demand, ranging from minimal mentions of innovation to clear and structural evidence. This gradation allows for the comparison of countries, regions, and sectors, and distinguishes between real innovation and merely declarative innovation.
Innovation vs. Price: The Heart of the Matter
One of the most relevant insights from the report is the persistent tension between innovation and price. Where price continues to dominate the award process, innovation is pushed to the background. When its weight increases, more sophisticated contracts appear, linked to R&D, technological services, engineering, or advanced digitalization.
The index allows, for the first time, to identify where public procurement acts as a driving force for innovation… and where it does not.
Spain: formal presence, limited impact
Spain shows uneven performance. It sits at values close to the European average in low levels of demand, but drops abruptly when stricter criteria are applied. The pattern is clear: innovation is mentioned, but it is rarely integrated structurally into decision-making.
This points to a key opportunity for public policies, administrations, and innovation agents: it is not enough to talk about IPP; it must be designed, executed, and measured better.
