Procurement as an Innovation Lever for Big Science: Mechanisms, Measurement, and an Agenda for Change

Abstract

Abstract Public procurement is one of the most direct and traceable channels through which Big Science investments generate wider socio-economic benefit, yet it remains significantly underexploited as an innovation lever. Drawing on the public procurement of innovation (PPI) literature and on practitioner perspectives from the European Space Agency, STFC/UK Industrial Liaison Office, NWO-I/INPROCAP, and the European Spallation Source ERIC, this paper examines three interconnected challenges: understanding the mechanisms through which procurement generates knowledge spillovers; developing measurement frameworks adequate to capture what matters; and closing the governance and design gap between known good practice and what organisations actually do. The evidence and practitioner perspectives suggest that exploiting procurement more effectively requires attention not only to measurement, but also to organisational capabilities, institutional arrangements and governance. We identify the ERIC governance model, industrial liaison functions and the emerging INPROCAP network as potential levers for addressing these challenges. The article concludes with recommendations for research infrastructure organisations, national intermediaries, and European-level governance bodies, and an agenda for future research.