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Cleantech Innovations Geelong
Procurement for innovation
One of the game-changing services provided through the City of Greater Geelong, is Procurement for Innovation, also known as forward commitment procurement.

This innovative method stimulates market demand and supply through procurement. Using the substantial buying power of procurement this method is a way to move markets to more sustainable options. Essentially a procurer establishes a forward commitment to purchase a product to respond to a need which is not yet available on the market.

The forward commitment can be up to three years in the future. By making this commitment suppliers on the market are assured that if they invest in research and development for a response to an unmet need theres a commitment to procure when the buyer goes to tender.

In the United Kingdom (UK) Her Majesty’s Prison Service was spending substantial portions of its annual budget on managing the waste generated from routine mattress replacement. A forward commitment was made to procure zero waste mattresses from the market; an innovation which was not already available on the market.

The forward commitment by HM Prison Service had a three year deadline. This gave the market time to research and develop the manufacture of a zero waste mattress which when HM Prison Service went to tender the market was able to respond; and a zero waste to landfill mattress is now being procured under contract.

Age defying bridges for a clever and creative city region

Conducting a similar exercise was inspired when our engineers were invited by CSIRO employee Scott Barnes to tour the CSIRO/Carbon Nexus site at Waurn Ponds. The tour was followed shortly after by a composites conference and meetings arranged with significant players from the composites design and manufacturing space from across Australia.

Following these events our engineers used the Citys procurement processes to establish an innovative solution to solve the annual waste and cost caused by repairing and maintaining bridges in recreational spaces. The engineers worked with colleagues in the Citys Procurement team and Economic Development team to run a tender for  zero maintenance recreational bridges with a 100+ year design life.  The City owns and manage over 160 bridges in recreational spaces.  Many of these are timber concrete and steel pedestrian bridges which are in various conditions and present an ongoing maintenance liability. So we were looking for a solution which could be adapted for a variety of purposes.

The eight suppliers who expressed an interest in this procurement exercise were supported by Cleantech Innovations Geelong to research and develop a solution to the unmet need - zero maintenance bridges with a 100+ year design life. Links were also made with Geelong based engineers designers and manufacturers to stimulate economic growth through this procurement exercise.

Tender result...

Made in Geelong the fibre reinforced geopolymer bridges are the first of their kind.  The bridges were developed through the first Procurement for Innovation project to be successfully tendered in Australia.  Watch a time-lapse video of the construction of the age-defying bridges:

To encourage sustainable innovation in line with its community-led clever and creative vision the City of Greater Geelong tendered for 100+ year maintenance free pedestrian bridges in 2017.  We call then the age-defying bridges. The tender invited companies to come up with solutions to the costly maintenance and waste problem associated with traditional bridges – usually made of timber steel or concrete - which cost around $500 000 to inspect repair maintain and replace each year.

The winning submission came from a consortium led by local manufacturer Austeng and included Deakin University’s cutting-edge researchers who conducted structural testing of the geopolymer material; leading-edge glass fibre reinforcing rods from Inconmat; and Australian engineering company Rocla. The consortium undertook research and then developed an innovative new combination of materials.  The novel building product made from geopolymer (comprising partly recycled materials) and reinforced with glass fibre rods is stronger and significantly longer lasting than existing products.

The first two bridges replaced with the new design were timber structures over Cowies Creek in Deppeler Park (Seagull Paddock).

Pre-construction beam failure testing was conducted in 2019. The testing showed the geopolymer glass fibre reinforced beams are 15 per cent stronger than concrete.  Construction was completed and a site tour was hosted at Seagull Paddock as part of Geelong Design Week 2021. 

The tender was the first in Australia to be offered using a Procurement for Innovation process. The process can be applied to solve any problems and achieve positive social environmental and economic outcomes. In this project we used the Procurement for Innovation process to encourage the development and viability of clean technologies – economically viable products that harness renewable materials and energy sources while reducing emissions and waste – using the substantial buying power of public sector procurement.

Along with a commitment to buy a new innovative product which wasnt available on the market we provided a longer than normal lead time for the tender as well as grants and support for tenderers to invest in research and access international expertise towards their submissions.

The Austeng-led consortium beat seven other tenderers from across Australia as the most competitive on price innovation and local content.

eLearning course available now!

To help others apply the Procurement for Innovation method in their organisations the City of Greater Geelong has developed an e-learning training course. 

The training course is suitable for procurement practitioners specifiers budget holders finance staff senior managers and leaders and anyone responsible for engaging with and understanding markets and suppliers. 

There are five eLearning modules that cover: the Principles of Procurement for Innovation Identification of an Unmet Need Market Engagement Procurement for Innovation Procurement Process and Contract & Supplier Management.  

Each of the five modules will take 30-60 minutes to complete.  Sometimes a little longer depending on how much of the Resources tab you explore.  The Resources tab has tools templates and case studies which we hope will support learning. 

The eLearning modules have been shared with public sector procurement practitioners throughout Australia New Zealand and the UNESCO City of Design network including Curitiba (Brazil) Montreal (Canada) and Kortrijk (Belgium).

If you would like access to the Procurement for Innovation eLearning course please email us at ecodev@geelongcity.vic.gov.au. 

Next steps...

In 2019 the City embarked on a second Procurement for Innovation process looking to apply circular economy principles to road infrastructure products. 

During 2020 and 2021 we conducted the market engagement phase of the process; working with suppliers to create their innovative responses to this need. 

The tender will be released in 2023.  

Awards winner...

The Procurement for Innovation age-defying bridges project: