Hashtag Trending: Fixing Procurement and Enabling Innovation: Interview with Laurent Carbonneau, Council of Canadian Innovators for Hashtag Trending, the Weekend Edition April 27, 2024

Apr 27, 2024 Summary Canada is facing a productivity gap and a lack of innovation despite significant investments by government in research and development. The Council of Canadian Innovators has released a report titled ‘Buying Ideas: Procuring Public Sector Innovation in Canada’ that highlights the need to leverage government procurement to drive innovation and productivity. The report identifies several problems with the current procurement system, including over-specification, risk aversion, and a lack of focus on the demand side of innovation. The report makes six recommendations to address these issues, including implementing an SME procurement target for innovation and creating an innovative public procurement program. The conversation explores the importance of innovative procurement in government and the need for improved procurement practices in Canada. Laurent highlights the Finnish model of procurement, which provides funding and expertise to government departments and agencies to pursue innovative projects. Our guest also emphasizes the need for innovative procurement standards and the role of standards in governance. The conversation touches on the challenges in the Canadian healthcare system and the potential for innovation in healthcare procurement. He also emphasizes the importance of spending public money well and the need for more collaboration between government, business, and academia. Some of the takeaways: Takeaways