Research and innovation is often related to the idea of greater spending and, perhaps for this reason, we instinctively tend to think that in an economy with limited resources, the promotion of innovation should not and cannot be a priority. However, the promotion of innovation procurement is precisely linked to the objective and the need to optimize costs. Innovation makes it possible to intercept new or inadequately met social needs, helping to effectively support the development and social changes. Another objective that can usefully be achieved through innovation procurement is the promotion of innovative SMEs and start-ups, which often find it difficult to make their innovative products penetrate the market. Public procurement constitutes a policy tool in the field of innovation and sustainable development. Buying innovative products and services creates economic, environmental and social benefits because of the development of new ideas and their transformation into innovative products aiming simultaneously at enhancement of citizens' everyday life and economic development. In this respect, the promotion of innovation procurement has mainly been achieved until now with the development of public procurement tools, such as Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) and Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI). Eventually, the lever of public demand can make the entire system evolve towards innovation, actively contrasting the absence of high quality products on the reference market.

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