Study on the Value of the Innovation Partnership

This study aims to propose a methodology that public buyers can use during the evaluation and negotiation phase of a contract based on the innovation partnership (IP) procedure, to ensure that no undue price is paid and to compare the offers of different suppliers. After outlining the objectives and organisation, Section 1.2 briefly summarises the elements that characterise – from an economic point of view – an IP-based supply and the related implications that make it difficult to determine a market price. Section 1.3 explains how these issues can be addressed through a methodology, based on the concept of strategic option, and highlights the information needed to apply it in practice. Section 1.4 introduces the operating methods that can be used for the evaluation of these elements; for each of them, it indicates which solution should be chosen according to the characteristics of the specific supply. Section 1.5 addresses some special cases. Finally, the last section identifies a few possible safeguard clauses to be adopted to protect the administration from the risk of a breach of State-aid rules, starting from the proportionality tests provided for in the European Union directives.