The European Union has included the iRAISE programme in the country profile that includes the “Benchmarking of national policy frameworks for innovation procurement”. IRAISE appears as the unique training programme run in Spain on innovation adoption and innovation procurement, targeted at multidisciplinary teams of professionals involved in innovation promotion and adoption within healthcare organizations, aiming to increase their team skills and knowledge on innovating healthcare.
The report points out several activities undertook by the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP) involving the recruitment, training and professional improvement of public employees, but none of these activities cover innovation procurement and iRAISE, organized by the Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS) and the Universitat Politècncia de València (UPV), is the unique training programme highlighted in this sense.
Interestingly, the report also points out that in Spain there are no regular networking activities organized by the country to facilitate experience sharing and networking between procurers in other cities/regions. Besides, it remarks that there are no templates of tender documents, good practice examples. Rossana Alessandrello, scientific director of the iRAISE programme, explains that “all of these ideas are at the base of iRAISE. In healthcare the most complex part is the creation of solid technical specifications that from one side stimulate innovation and, from the other side, stimulate the generation of enough evidence to demonstrate the identified unmet needs are addressed. Risk sharing agreements and value based contracts are instrumental for successful innovation procurements. Good practices, knowledge sharing are key elements in iRaise. During the education programme the participants are provided with examples of good practices and methods and templates to use to arrive to the definition of strong technical specifications. Mentors accompany the participants at weekly bases ensuring their progresses. Once the education programme ends, all the alumni are invited to join their community to facilitate their experience sharing and networking.”
Innovation procurement: a key factor to boost economic growth
Innovation procurement has been recognized as a critical factor to guarantee economic growth and boost the competitiveness and productivity of Spain. The EU report shows that the majority of horizontal policies at a national level embed innovation procurement as strategic tool. Vicente Traver, educational director of iRAISE, points out that “iRAISE bridges the gap faced by healthcare professionals by providing them with essential tools to develop comprehensive action plans. These plans enable professionals to implement sustainable, demand-driven solutions. Through precise needs assessment and appropriate methodology selection, iRAISE supports sustainable digital transformation. This process is strengthened through collaboration with various stakeholders and industry partners within the iRAISE Innovation Institutional Industry Alliance (I3A). As example, the success of this approach is demonstrated by multiple projects from Catalonian healthcare providers who have been trained to accelerate their digital transformation journey last years.”
The country profile of Spain “Benchmarking of national policy frameworks for innovation procurement” was published at the end of 2024 by the European Commission. It is based on the most recent available data reflecting the status of national policies that support innovation procurement at the end of 2023.
