Functional public procurement for low-carbon innovations in the Swedish municipal sector

Edquist and Zabala-Iturriagagoitia (2012) introduced public procurement for innovations as a potentially very powerful policy instrument for solving major societal challenges. Public procurement in Sweden amounts to approx SEK 700 billion annually, about 15% of GDP.

In addition to its direct purchasing power, public procurement has enormous potential to become an important instrument for achieving a fossil-free society.

Despite this transformative potential, research and practice on public procurement that stimulates innovations, both generally and related to fossil-free innovations, is still in its infancy. Two major research problems can be related to this situation.

First, the lack of a conceptual framework for understanding public procurement of fossil-free innovations as a way to support innovation-based transformation into a climate-neutral society.

Secondly, there is a lack of empirical knowledge about the governance, organization, and procurement practices of public procurement of fossil-free innovations.

The project aims to describe, analyze, and support the public procurement of fossil-free innovations with a focus on societal planning sectors in the municipalities.

This takes place in three steps:1) development of a conceptual framework that distinguishes between product and functional procurement, 2) empirical studies of Swedish municipalities´ governance, organization, and procurement practices of fossil-reducing innovations and 3) dissemination of best practice.