Taking into consideration the European Commission’s focus on the public procurement of innovative solutions, the new European research and innovation agenda, the guidelines issued to the EU Member States, the establishment of the European Innovation Council (EIC), direct capital investment, through EIC Fund in “highly innovative” start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the public innovation measures provide opportunities for innovative start-ups and SMEs that are agile and flexible enough to meet the specific needs of public authorities.

Start-ups and small and SMEs are leaders in innovation in many markets. Accessing public markets creates opportunities for them because the public purchasers can offer to the innovative companies the opportunity to test new solutions in real conditions and can contribute to increasing their turnover by encouraging other investors to invest in their activities.

In recent years, most Member States of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have developed several policies, tools, and support measures to introduce more public procurement programs in the field of innovation, promoting the role of public administrations as solicitants of innovation.

Taking into consideration the tender book regarding the digital transformation of the Romanian public administration (related to business analysis, technical analysis, software development, functionality testing, security testing, server infrastructure maintenance services, software maintenance services, blockchain, AI, VR / AR-Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality, Big Data) and the IEC Accelerator tool, currently fully operational, start-ups and SMEs will need legal advice to get involved in these projects.

In what concerns the EU funding, there are several types of funding: grants, financial instruments (loans, guarantees, and equity), subsidies, trust funds prizes, and procurements (public contracts). All of them should be accessed by companies after a discussion with a legal consultant.

By using legal services both for matters related to legal provisions in the public procurement sector, procedural issues, and for the conclusion of the agreements, as well as for the clarification related to the obligations within the implementation, the companies are ensuring the success of their projects by eliminating or reducing risks.

NewLegalWay provides legal advice on Public Procurement and Financing Programs on the following aspects:

 

Public Procurement

 

  • Consultancy on public procurement procedures for software (the documentation including tender book, eligibility criteria, drafts of agreements, statements, technical documentation);

 

  • Consultancy on public procurement procedures for hardware (the documentation including tender book, eligibility criteria, drafts of agreements, statements);

 

  • Analysis of tender books in other sectors, the proposed drafts of agreements, drafting statements, comments, and amendments to the proposed drafts of agreements.

 

Financing Programs

 

  • Advice on European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF);

 

  • Consultancy on the Horizon Europe program;

 

  • Consultation on the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF);

 

  • Advice on the Acceleration Program (EIC Accelerator) and the EIC Fund (European Innovation Council Fund), including direct capital investment and grant financing;

 

  • Public procurement programs, co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds;

 

  • Consultancy regarding AGRO IMM INVEST;

 

  • Advice on the beneficiaries’ obligations of the financing programs.