France, Spain, Slovakia - Research and development services and related consultancy services - Open Market Consultation of SHIELD PCP for the future Pre-Commercial Procurement of R&D services on the security domain

This Prior Information Notice (PIN) announces the Open Market Consultation (OMC) for the Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) in the field of protection of public spaces and crowd management. The OMC will verify the results of a prior art analysis and gather key insights from suppliers on current and emerging technologies that address the needs of the end users. The activities will be designed to facilitate direct communication with industry stakeholders and allow for structured collection of input, ideas and other relevant information. This two-way dialogue will clarify the needs of the procurers as well as the relevant IPR issues and encourage industry active participation to refine tender specifications, which will ultimately lead to prototype and pre-operational solutions. The market consultation sessions will be designed and conducted based on principles of openness, transparency, non-discrimination, and equal treatment, in compliance with European procurement law. In more detail, the main OMC activities will consist of: A Hybrid Central Event: The Central Event will be held in Paris, allowing physical and online participants, and will assist the Consortium to engage with the industry players and research institutions across Europe. Online webinars: 4 online sessions will support the abovementioned efforts. The webinars will be held in English and the languages of the public buyers to promote international engagement. Request for Information: The industry will be asked to provide a written contribution through a Request for Information (RFI) questionnaire, designed with the EU survey tool, aiming to gather market insights on innovative and commercial solutions. The Consortium will actively support interested parties throughout the entire OMC period by responding to their questions, which will be compiled into a Q&A document to be published on the project's website. Information gathered during the OMC period will serve as a foundation for further in-depth analysis, with confidentiality of the information and solutions provided fully safeguarded. The OMC be widely promoted to the project website and social media as well as through National Contact Points, EIC beneficiaries' network and other relevant industry initiatives. The Open Market Consultation document will be published on the SHIELD PCP project’s website at: www.shieldpcp.eu. The registration process for the OMC events along with the Request for Information questionnaire will be detailed in the OMC document. The project has received funding from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) under grant agreement n101225962 . However, the European Union will not participate as a contracting authority in the procurement.