Public Procurement of Innovative Technologies

This report examines why innovative technologies often fail to progress from pilots and demonstrations into routine public sector procurement. It identifies the conditions that help innovative products move from development into adoption. 

The report draws on interviews with public sector, industry and innovation stakeholders, alongside desk research and analysis of UK and international procurement systems. It examines case studies from sectors including defence, health, transport, space, photonics, quantum technologies, and net zero retrofit. 

The main barriers to innovation procurement are organisational and cultural rather than legal or technical. Scotland and the UK are generally effective at supporting pilots, but much less effective at turning successful projects into routine procurement.

The key failure point is often the "handover gap" between a successful pilot and a decision to adopt the technology at scale.

Across sectors, successful adoption depends on clear ownership, sustained demand, and buyers with the confidence and capability to adopt new solutions.

Increasing innovation funding alone is unlikely to improve outcomes without a credible route to a first customer.

The report recommends placing greater emphasis on adoption, including identifying potential customers earlier, creating clearer ownership of adoption, strengthening long-term demand signals, and working with public sector buyers to develop repeatable routes from pilot projects into procurement. Three concrete suggestions for interventions are recommended:

1. Service-over-product pilot, in partnership with a public sector organisation,
2. 'Handover sponsor’ model, and
3. Strategic buyer partnerships.