One month after the successful InnoHSupport Final Event “Advancing Healthcare Innovation Procurement in Practice Through Specialised Support and a Stronger Ecosystem", held on 9 June 2026 at IESE Business School in Barcelona, the project continues to build on the momentum generated by a day of inspiring discussions, knowledge exchange, and collaboration among healthcare innovation leaders from across Europe. Organised jointly with the HIPSS project and endorsed by the Innovation Procurement Task Force (IPTF), the event highlighted the importance of collaboration and collective action in advancing innovation procurement across European healthcare systems.
Bringing together 59 participants from healthcare providers, public authorities, academia, industry, and innovation organisations, the event marked the culmination of two years of collaborative work to strengthen innovation procurement in healthcare across Europe.
The Final Event provided an opportunity to showcase the project's key achievements, while creating a space for participants to exchange experiences, discuss implementation challenges, and identify opportunities for future collaboration.
The programme featured keynote presentations, panel discussions, and practical experiences from healthcare organisations across Europe, demonstrating how capacity building, advisory services, matchmaking activities, and cross-sector collaboration can support the successful adoption of innovation procurement in healthcare.
Throughout the day, speakers shared experiences and good practices, highlighting how innovation procurement can become a strategic driver of organisational transformation, accelerating the adoption of innovative healthcare solutions while improving patient care and the sustainability of healthcare systems.
“InnoHSupport has been an invaluable opportunity to bring together the healthcare innovation ecosystem, fostering collaboration, mutual learning and a shared commitment to making innovation procurement a reality.
While public procurement has enormous potential to accelerate healthcare innovation, significant barriers remain, making it essential for procurers to focus on defining their needs, embrace more flexible approaches, and trust innovators to transform challenges into impactful solutions.”
— Diana Cortés (SILO), InnoHSupport Project Coordinator
One of the central discussions of the event focused on a simple but fundamental question: How can Europe move from successful innovation procurement pilots to the systematic adoption of innovation across healthcare systems?
| A strong consensus emerged among speakers and participants. Europe does not lack innovative ideas, technologies, or talented innovators. Instead, the challenge lies in creating the organisational conditions that enable innovation to be continuously adopted, scaled, and integrated into routine healthcare practice |
Several priorities emerged throughout the discussions:
Participants agreed that innovation procurement is not simply about purchasing innovative products or services, it is about creating the right conditions for innovation to solve real healthcare challenges and deliver meaningful impact for patients and
A distinctive feature of the Final Event was its joint organisation with the HIPSS project, demonstrating the value of collaboration between complementary Horizon Europe initiatives. By joining forces, the two projects offered participants a richer programme, combining complementary expertise and perspectives while maximising stakeholder engagement.
During the opening session, Christine Kriza, Project Officer for InnoHSupport at the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), and Silvi Serreqi, Project Officer for HIPSS, highlighted the importance of creating synergies between European-funded projects. They emphasised that collaboration across projects helps maximise impact, avoid duplication of efforts, and strengthen the long-term sustainability and uptake of project results. The joint Final Event provided a practical example of this collaborative approach.
Beyond celebrating the project's achievements, the Final Event reinforced the importance of maintaining collaboration after the project's conclusion.
Over the past two years, InnoHSupport has developed a comprehensive portfolio of resources to strengthen innovation procurement in healthcare, including the Innovation Procurement AGORA, the Executive Education Programme, Advisory Services, practical procurement tools, matchmaking activities, and a European community of healthcare procurers. Together, these outputs provide a lasting legacy that will continue supporting healthcare organisations, innovators, and policymakers beyond the project's lifetime.
Equally important are the relationships established among healthcare providers, innovators, policymakers, researchers, public authorities, and industry representatives, which will continue to support knowledge exchange and collaboration across Europe.
_________________________________________________________________________
About InnoHSupport
The InnoHSupport project is built on a collaborative vision, leveraging the expertise of 9 partners . Together, these organizations will develop tailored advisory services, training programs, and procurement tools to guide healthcare procurers and suppliers through every stage of the innovation procurement process.
Key objectives of the project include:
For more information on the InnoHSupport project, please visit our website and LinkedIn page.
Contact:
Diana Cortés - Project Coordinator [email protected]
Federica Porcu - Communication Lead [email protected]
InnoHSupport Partners:
Science and Innovation Link Office (SILO) - Coordinator (Spain)
University of Twente (Netherlands)
Servicio Madrileño de Salud (Spain)
Fundación para la Investigación e Innovación Biosanitaria de Atención Primaria (Spain)
ECHAlliance (Ireland)
TechTour Global (Bulgaria)
TechTour Europe (Belgium)
TICBioMed (Spain)
Health Proc Europe (United Kingdom)
