Central London is a hotspot for culinary institutions, bringing together cuisines from around the world for people to relish. However, the deceptively sweet smells from these establishments might be more harmful than we think.
Commercial cooking is the third-largest single source of Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) in London, originating from cooking fuels and food preparation methods like frying and grilling. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that are small enough to travel deep inside the lungs, heart and brain. Long-term exposure has been linked to serious health conditions such as heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and even cognitive decline.
When the Westminster City Council endeavoured to tackle this problem through a trial of a new air purification system, the secret ingredient in their recipe for delivery was a process of procurement that allowed the council to find, pilot and scale innovation.
When used effectively, procurement can be the key ingredient that gives local government programmes more impact. The Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre, an initiative by government-supported Connected Places Catapult focused on merging innovative solutions and procurement, was brought in this case to support the council.
IPEC is funded by Innovate UK specifically to help public bodies develop the skills and capability for innovation through procurement to be successful. By empowering the council’s procurement, we were able to de-risk the process and speed up delivery, allowing the programme to bring forward an innovative solution that will improve the wellbeing of citizens of Westminster.
If we’re serious about delivering public value – whether on net zero, housing, adult social care or local economic growth – then we need the UK’s public sector to use procurement more effectively. There is now a growing recognition across local and national government that procurement is not simply a back-office function, but a powerful and under-used lever to drive innovation, create new markets and achieve mission-led public policy outcomes. Smarter, more collaborative public procurement has a unique potential to scale up innovation, if organisations can solve key challenges.
First, there’s a cultural challenge. Many public sector organisations are still rightly cautious about risk, but this often translates into a default to “safe” procurement: choosing the lowest bid, sticking to established frameworks or over-specifying solutions. That risk aversion, often compounded by a lack of senior leadership support, can kill innovation before it starts.
Second, there’s a capability gap. Even when there is appetite to try something new, many local authorities lack the in-house skills, training or confidence to engage the market differently. Often, procurement teams are not embedded in service delivery or policy discussions early enough and innovation teams may not fully understand procurement rules or flexibilities.
Third, there’s a data problem. We cannot improve what we do not measure. The new Procurement Act and its accompanying digital platform are already making improvements, but many public bodies still lack consistent, well-structured data on how much their organisation spends on innovation (internal resources or procurement spend). They are not able to assess where innovation is required or the level of effectiveness and the return on investment achieved on any innovation activity.
Lastly, the rate of technological change has never been greater. We are seeing new advances coming out incredibly quickly from quantum, AI, connectivity, cloud, new materials, IoT devices and much more. The public sector needs to quickly assess what is market hype and what can actually add value. The ability of public bodies to adopt new tools through pre-market engagement, pre-commercial procurement and experimentation has never been more necessary. Solving these challenges can fundamentally change results.
IPEC has now worked with public authorities across the UK on embedding mission-led procurement incorporating many of the capabilities needed. Other examples in the UK include Dorset Council’s work who wanted to better harness local SMEs and tech innovators to improve frontline services. IPEC set about getting them a start-up award for public procurement of innovation for their development of a digital innovation dynamic purchasing system – an agile, flexible route to market for emerging suppliers with fresh ideas.
Rather than locking innovation out with rigid specifications, this new DPS allows for rapid onboarding of suppliers, fostering experimentation in areas like adult social care and community engagement. At the leadership level, we’re supporting senior leaders to create the “air cover” needed to back innovation, even when outcomes aren’t guaranteed. That means helping chief executives, finance directors and political leaders understand how to manage failure, reward learning and shift from one-off pilots to embedded, scalable change.
And to keep on getting better at using procurement, we need better information: standardised data, shared defi nitions, and better categorisation – so that we can meaningfully track whether innovation is having the desired effect. The new Procurement Act is a step in the right direction, and IPEC’s work supports organisations in making use of the new opportunities in the act. Over 3,000 people across the UK, from local authorities and NHS trusts to suppliers and academics, are actively engaging with IPEC to share knowledge, test approaches and build confi dence in innovation-led procurement.
Now we want to see more authorities embedding a “test, learn, grow” approach into their procurement strategies, where market engagement is iterative, evidence-led and mission-aligned. Regulation and high level policy alone can’t deliver the potential of procurement: culture, skills and capability all need to evolve. With the right tools, leadership and support, procurement can go from an overlooked process to one of the public sector’s most powerful instruments for change.
Rikesh Shah is chair of the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre Advisory Committee. Shah will be be speaking at Public Procurement Conference 2026 on 25 February. Sign up to join him here