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An improved and more sustainable waste management system is required for successful development of technologies based on renewable sources. Rice straw is submitted to controlled combustion reactions and the produced ashes are chemically treated to produce silica. After a chemical activation step, the activated silica shows potential as an adsorbent agent and will be used to remove the excess of nitrates in groundwater and wells in the area of Alginet (Valencia, Spain), selected as a vulnerable zone within the Nitrates Directive. The demonstration activity aims to have a local impact on municipalities of 200 inhabitants or fewer, decreasing from current nitrate concentrations close to 50 mg/L, to a target of 25 mg/L. In a successive step, the methodology will be transferred to other municipalities with similar nitrate problems (Piemonte, Italy) and replicated to remove different pollutants such as manure (the Netherlands) and waste waters from the textile industry (Italy).

The objectives of this guidance developed during PROMINENT MED is not to reinvent the wheel but to offer practical assistance to procurement officers working for small municipalities and dealing with building projects. It is recognised that small authorities frequently lack expertise and experience with complex purchases. There is a gap between the capabilities held by small municipalities and the skills required for procuring innovative solutions. Due to this lack of knowledge, aspects such as delivery period and price becomes priority when awarding contracts for equipment or renovating public buildings. The concept of “the economically most advantageous tender” is seldom at the agenda. The use of external expertise could be one solution to overcome this capability gap. However, small municipalities seldom buy immaterial services. Similarly, private consultants prefer to work with large municipalities that have larger resources. Consequently, their offers are seldom adapted to actors with limited resources. This guidance aims at reducing the capability gap by providing small public authorities guidelines to ease the adoption of innovative procurement practices. The pilot projects will serve as case studies. The presentation of the cases will be instrumental. It will provide insight into PPI and play a supportive role to any future contracting authorities by facilitating their understanding of the process to follow and the pitfalls to avoid. Each case will not be presented in detail. The goal is twofold: to illustrate each step of the PPI by an exemplary approach followed by one of the municipalities involved in Prominent MED; to provide a good framework for public procurers who lack experience and intend to develop decision making skills. Project PROMINENT MED: Public Procurement of Innovation boosting green growth in the MED area (1MED15-1.1-M12-070)

The aim of these guidelines is to lessen these traditional barriers faced by local authorities and to help them in adopting innovation procurement practices. It will present the key steps to design and implement an innovation procurement process. Four municipalities involved in PROMINENT-MED launched PPI for the renovation of their public building: • The municipality of Alzira in Spain: the pilot project focuses on the refurbishment of an old (1891) orange storage building (“magatzem de cucó”); • The municipality of Koprivnica in Croatia: the pilot project involves the energy efficient renovation of a prefabricated kindergarten building. • The municipality of Mértola: the pilot project concerns the renovation of the city hall that also hosts the Roman part of Mértola’s museum. • The municipality of Narni in Italy: the pilot case is applied for the refurbishment of a kindergarten hosting children from 6 to 36 months. The objectives of this guidance which is addressed to public authorities and small municipalities, is to provide a comprehensive overview of the key steps to follow in order to implement an innovation procurement process. The guidelines will not only be a step by step approach to innovation procurement, it will also outline the specificities of small public authorities and the peculiarities of the renovation projects. Prominent MED project (Public Procurement of Innovation Boosting Green Growth in the MED area, 1MED15-1.1-M12-070) Interreg Mediterranean, Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4250528

This report is aimed primarily at municipalities who are responsible for planning and delivering the purchase of public works in an efficient way. The total value of public procurement in the EU represents about 19% of European GDP. However, public procurement is often neglected while it can strongly drive the future growth and stimulate innovation. Public procurement and the way procurement processes are shaped provide local authorities with significant opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of their aging infrastructure. By orienting their procurement strategies toward new solutions that improve the energy efficiency of buildings / public lighting, local and regional authorities can reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to sustainable development. Public Procurement of Innovation is one solution for Mediterranean municipalities to address the challenge of climate change by purchasing products, services, and works with high environmental performance. Prominent MED focused on small municipalities which were considered as buyers and users of existing technology solutions / systems which were not well diffused yet. The four municipalities involved in the project launched PPI for the renovation of their public buildings: The municipality of Alzira in Spain: the pilot project focuses on the refurbishment of an old (1891) orange storage building (“magatzem de cucó” – 992 m²); The municipality of Koprivnica in Croatia: the pilot project involves the energy efficient renovation of a prefabricated kindergarten building (820 m²); The municipality of Mértola: the pilot project concerns the renovation of the city hall that also hosts the Roman part of Mértola’s museum (685 m²); The municipality of Narni in Italy: the pilot case is applied for the refurbishment of a kindergarten hosting children from 6 to 36 months (1 248 m²). The aim of this report is to illustrate with these case studies the proceedings of public procurement of innovation (PPI). Prominent MED project (Public Procurement of Innovation Boosting Green Growth in the MED area, 1MED15-1.1-M12-070) Interreg Mediterranean, Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Public procurement and the way procurement processes are shaped provide local authorities with significant opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of their aging infrastructure. By orienting their procurement strategies toward new solutions that improve the energy efficiency of buildings / public lighting, local and regional authorities can reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to sustainable development. Public Procurement of Innovation is one solution for Mediterranean municipalities to address the challenge of climate change by purchasing products, services, and works with high environmental performance. One of the obstacles to implementing measures for improving energy consumption in small municipalities is often that there is nobody at municipal level with sufficient knowledge to assess, propose and decide on actions in the energy field. Due to this lack of knowledge on energy issues, aspects such as delivery period and price becomes priority when awarding contracts for equipment or designing new public buildings. This way of operating hinders the diffusion of innovation while selection criteria established in terms of energy efficiency would have promoted innovation. This benchmark aims at contributing to the resolution of this problem It gathers, analyses, and further develops existing know how on PPI and its application to the field of energy efficiency underlining strategy and opportunities both for local authorities and innovative clusters. The analysis includes a literature survey and a review of successful case studies in PPI. For these cases of excellence, fields of application of PPI and related opportunity for public authorities and SMEs are identified. Then these elements will be used for the development of the guidance for innovation procurement selection. Prominent MED project (Public Procurement of Innovation Boosting Green Growth in the MED area, 1MED15-1.1-M12-070) Interreg Mediterranean, Project co-financed by the European Regional Development

SUSTAGRI4.0 will bring digital and marketing skills to small-scale farmers and agribusiness owners towards a sustainable and community-driven future. SUSTAGRI4.0 core aim is to promote a more sustainable agriculture and support sustainable agriculture businesses in their transition to Agriculture 4.0. This report, comprised from three clusters, the highlighting results of the study, focusing on the professional skills of the future European farming community build on the cornerstones of sustainability, digitalization, and entrepreneurship: Best practices at consortium level; digital survey; focus groups. The country analysis is based on critical research of relevant open sources, including, inter alia, data from national and regional/municipal organizations, law enforcement practice, formal education curriculum, scientific publications and NGOs reports. These desk studies have been of high importance for us, balancing academic findings, correcting views and seriously expanding our understanding of youth issues and related processes of digitalization. Moreover, they have served as a pool for ideas, inspiration and practical models for partner organizations [Cluster I]. Digital Survey recap the desk and case studies, providing valuable insights from our target groups – both from youth and stakeholders and enriching us with clarifying first-hand knowledge for preparing the next steps of our project [Cluster II]. Development of focus groups: Research on local producers & sustainable agricultural business owners and VET. After finishing the research phase (national level) has been completed, a number of best practices has been identified and described in order to compare official data and statistics with real implementation of abovementioned tools [Cluster III] Erasmus + project: 2021-2-IE01-KA220-VET-000049494

SUSTAGRI4.0 will bring digital and marketing skills to small-scale farmers and agribusiness owners towards a sustainable and community-driven future. SUSTAGRI4.0 core aim is to promote a more sustainable agriculture and support sustainable agriculture businesses in their transition to Agriculture 4.0. This report, comprised from three clusters, the highlighting results of the study, focusing on the professional skills of the future European farming community build on the cornerstones of sustainability, digitalization, and entrepreneurship: Best practices at consortium level; digital survey; focus groups. The country analysis is based on critical research of relevant open sources, including, inter alia, data from national and regional/municipal organizations, law enforcement practice, formal education curriculum, scientific publications and NGOs reports. These desk studies have been of high importance for us, balancing academic findings, correcting views and seriously expanding our understanding of youth issues and related processes of digitalization. Moreover, they have served as a pool for ideas, inspiration and practical models for partner organizations [Cluster I]. Digital Survey recap the desk and case studies, providing valuable insights from our target groups – both from youth and stakeholders and enriching us with clarifying first-hand knowledge for preparing the next steps of our project [Cluster II]. Development of focus groups: Research on local producers & sustainable agricultural business owners and VET. After finishing the research phase (national level) has been completed, a number of best practices has been identified and described in order to compare official data and statistics with real implementation of abovementioned tools [Cluster III] Erasmus + project: 2021-2-IE01-KA220-VET-000049494

This document provides brief information on implemented Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) process starting from needs analysis to results of implemented innovation in four partner countries: Croatia, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Most of the PPI process is already documented in "Deliverable 3.4.1 Innovation Procurement Procedure Selection Report". That deliverable was completed in May 2018, before the beginning of any of four national tenders which in 2019 and 2020 resulted with innovative investments. While it covers majority of PPI process carried out in all four countries such as needs identification, market sounding and open market consultation, it lacks the description of final phases of PPI process such as the selection of the procedure, the tendering (public procurement procedures) and finally the implementation of innovative solution. Prominent MED project (Public Procurement of Innovation Boosting Green Growth in the MED area, 1MED15-1.1-M12-070) Interreg Mediterranean, Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4250528