Recognize that you have an unmet need that needs a solution and then decide to do something about it.

• What is the actual, organisational unmet need?
• What is the current state-of-the-art and maturity of on-market/near-market solutions of that unmet need?
• What is the business case, i.e. what is the near-term result and potential long-term impact of a deployed solution addressing the unmet need?
• Who are the (key) stakeholders and what is their organisational readiness?

Choosing the right procurement path requires a well-executed analysis of needs and wider context.

• Is a relevant solution to the identified need available on the market or not?
• Is the main purpose to explore different potential solutions and to gain insights within a specific area related to a need, or to develop and implement a solution to the identified need?
• What technology readiness level (TRL) has the potential solutions reached, in cases concerning technological development?

An appropriate, well-defined process for implementing a procurement (or collaboration) of an innovative solution is key for proceeding from analysis to results.

• What are the end results of the collaboration process, dose it for instance result in a highly mature prototype solution (PCP), or in an implemented and deployed finalised solution (PPI)?
• What functional requirements does the unmet need translate into?
• How is the selection process to be defined, how are evaluations performed (and shared)?
• What type of contractual agreements are necessary and how do they for instance formalise the sharing of generated results?
• What type of legal aspects must be considered in the co-development process, for instance MDR or other regulatory requirements.

This final step in the process focuses on results in terms of deployment, implementation, and utilisation, since it is only when implementation has been achieved that the real values of the innovation can be realised, for the different actors involved but also for society at large.

• Has the target market been re-defined during the collaborative process, are there new actors or stakeholders to consider?
• How do the participants in the process share and exploit the results of the process?
• What is the organisational readiness of the buyer and how can/have change management methodologies affected/improved the deployment?