Supporting BSR cities to implement public procurement of innovation while providing practical tools created using AI technologies and gamification methods

PPI4cities

PPI4Cities Showcased at the International Event on Digital Transformation of Public Sector Services in Vilnius

06 June 2024

Technical details

The Lithuanian Innovation Centre (LIC), the lead partner of the international initiative PPI4cities, had the opportunity to highlight Lithuania and its digital solutions to a diverse group of European stakeholders during the Interreg Europe event, Digital Transformation of Public Sector Services, held in Vilnius this week.

This event marks the first time the Interreg Europe programme has selected Lithuania as its transnational event venue, making it particularly significant that LIC was invited to collaborate and present the international initiative PPI4cities as the best practice example in the field. The importance of public procurement of innovation in advancing the public sector cannot be overstated, which is why we emphasized this topic and shared success stories observed during the creation of the platform:

“As part of the international PPI4cities initiative, alongside our partners in the Baltic Sea Region, we have developed a platform for cities, procurement professionals, and businesses to offer innovative solutions for the public sector. It is an informative and multifaceted virtual space designed to build competencies, share best practices, and find partners for new innovative projects,” said Povilas Bacevičius, Project Manager for PPI4cities at LIC.

The event also included several workshops where attendees from across Europe discussed trends in public sector digitisation and shared best practices from their regions. Participants concurred that innovation sandboxes, hackathons, and design thinking methodologies are excellent tools for fostering innovation and experimentation in the public sector when developing and implementing digital solutions.

A significant portion of the event focused on the role of European Digital Innovation Hubs in public sector transformation, emphasizing the need for their role to expand. In the context of rapid technological advancements, enhancing the competencies and skills of public sector workers in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics was identified as a crucial factor for the digital transformation of the public sector.