IPEC > Resources – Guidance > Innovation procurement support tool

INNOVATION PROCUREMENT SUPPORT TOOL

A tool designed to support informed decision-making for transport managers, local planners, service owners, and other public-sector professionals. It provides practical guidance, actionable insights, and real-world examples of various procurement routes, empowering non-procurement professionals with a deeper understanding of innovation-friendly procurement practices that align with the new Procurement Act 2023, launched in February 2025.

The challenge of harnessing innovation to drive change at speed and scale is twofold. First, innovators need support in bringing their products and services to market. At the same time, public-sector professionals must be empowered to make informed decisions about the procurement of innovation. Additionally, there is a need to raise awareness within the public sector about the new regulations in the Procurement Act 2023, which introduce greater flexibility and transparency in innovation procurement.

The Innovation Procurement Support Tool has been developed in direct response to this challenge. Its goal is to support informed decision-making among public-sector professionals, including transport managers, local planners, and service owners. The tool will help users become more confident and capable customers of innovation, unlocking new revenue streams to fund innovative activities and suppliers.

What it aims to do

The Innovation Procurement Support Tool enables users to:

Generate market intelligence – the tool can be used to create new insights into current and future demand for innovation, as well as the support needs of public-sector bodies to guide investments;
Reduce barriers to innovation – the tool serves to minimise procurement risks, enhancing the user experience by making the process easier and building confidence;
Signpost existing guidance – the tool helps connect users to available resources for effective contract delivery and innovation integration;
Provide case studies – the tool offers examples of past successes and challenges to give users actionable insights into practical approaches to new solutions;
Promote innovation-friendly procurement – the tool fosters widespread adoption of best practices, boosting awareness of additional and alternative routes to market;
Raise awareness of the Procurement Act 2023 – the tool helps public-sector professionals understand and navigate the new regulations, ensuring they can take full advantage of the increased flexibility and transparency in procurement;
Boost efforts to decarbonise – the tool helps local economies improve public services and strengthen the supply chain on the journey to Net Zero.

How it works

The tool guides public-sector users in selecting the most suitable market engagement methods for procurement based on their stage in the innovation process. This helps reduce risks and overcome common market barriers.

The tool also provides targeted guidance on critical topics, including: Challenge Definitions, Preliminary Market engagement, Grant Funding, Pre-Commercial Procurement, the Procurement Act 2023, and the Competitive Flexible Procedure, among other procurement processes.

By equipping public-sector professionals with knowledge of diverse procurement approaches—complete with practical and actionable insights—the tool supports effective responses to emerging challenges in innovation.

Additionally, the tool helps users navigate key platforms and access existing resources, guidance, and case studies from GOV.UK, IUK’s Contract for Innovation, the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre (IPEC), Connected Places Catapult, Crown Commercial Services, and other relevant sources.

How to navigate the guidance content in this tool:

All guidance content aligned with the 2025 regulations following the launch of the Procurement Act 2023 will be displayed in black.
Guidance on previous regulations will be greyed out but will remain readable for reference. This content will also be included in the appendix, located at the bottom of each page where necessary.

Project partners and process

This project is grant funded by the Department for Transport, run by Connected Places Catapult, supported by the Transport Research Innovation Board (TRIB) and is integrated onto the Innovation Procurement Enterprise Centre (IPEC) website.

Following initial discovery work, the project team undertook a programme of user engagement to better understand the key procurement challenges and needs. Combined with a review of existing resources, this research informed the creation of an Innovation Procurement Support Tool comprised of dedicated guidance content and case studies.

The tool is specifically tailored to meet the needs of public-sector users. While the case studies focus on the transport sector, the guidance is valuable and applicable across the broader public sector. In addition, widespread promotion of the tool on project partner platforms will optimise uptake, plus help to gather feedback and recommendations for a potential Phase 2.

Please note that DfT is not responsible for the accuracy of the information on this tool.

Start exploring Guidance and Support on different ways to procure innovation.