Research Line: Circular Safe Hospitals / Seed Call: i4CS October 2024
The Dutch healthcare sector contributes 7% of national GHG emissions and 13% of material extraction. Procurement significantly impacts this footprint; for instance, England’s NHS attributes 60% of emissions to procurement. Increasing reliance on disposable medical devices, such as PPE, has escalated waste, underscoring the need for sustainable healthcare procurement to reduce emissions and material use.
At UMCU, the implementation of circularity related activities within the procurement is still in its early phase based on initial discussion with Anne Marie van den Berg (Strategic buyer and Sustainable Procurement Advisor) and Cedric Koolschijn (Project Leader Sustainability). Furthermore, the use of innovative procurement instruments such as true pricing, pre-commercial procurement, innovation-oriented procurement and partnerships can be a potential avenue to achieve circularity and foster circular innovation by suppliers, as they can facilitate collaboration between buyers and suppliers to research and develop circular solutions. However, the knowledge and skills related to these kinds of procurement instruments at UMCU is lacking.
Objectives and Route to Impact
This project aims to enhance circularity in hospitals by identifying and integrating innovative procurement instruments into UMCU’s purchasing processes. The research will address existing barriers and knowledge gaps, focusing on how procurement can drive sustainability within the hospital.
The key research question explores how UMCU’s procurement processes can be enriched with circular procurement tools. Sub-questions investigate stakeholder involvement, available procurement instruments, and their adaptability to UMCU’s context.
The project will assess potential improvements in two areas:
- The integration of innovative procurement instruments within UMCU’s procurement department.
- Strengthening collaboration among key stakeholders to leverage these tools effectively.
By tailoring procurement instruments to UMCU’s specific needs, this research provides actionable design principles that link literature, best practices, and operational realities. The findings will support UMCU’s sustainability vision while offering insights applicable to hospitals and healthcare settings across Europe.
Methods and deliverables
This project aims to assess and improve UMCU’s procurement practices by exploring how innovative procurement tools can facilitate circularity. The research will begin with an assessment of current procurement processes across relevant departments at UMCU, identifying barriers and opportunities for circular procurement. Key stakeholders, including procurement professionals and sustainability teams, will be engaged in workshops, interviews, and focus groups throughout the project to provide insights and feedback.
A design science approach will guide the research, focusing on creating practical solutions tailored to UMCU’s specific context. The study will include a literature review, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and data analysis to identify challenges and opportunities. The project will then develop design principles for innovative procurement instruments and validate these through a focus group with UMCU stakeholders.
By integrating theoretical research with practical applications, the project will produce actionable guidelines for implementing circular procurement practices at UMCU. The results will not only support UMCU in its sustainability goals but also provide generalizable recommendations for other hospitals and healthcare institutions across Europe. The project aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice, delivering tangible, impactful solutions for circular procurement in healthcare.
Objectives
- Identify innovative procurement instruments to help buyers to better define procurement needs with better collaboration with internal departments at UMCU
- Determine the relevance of these instruments to facilitating circularity by UMC, and when possible, and suggest how buyers can modify or deploy these to facilitate more circular products and services
- Identify relevant sustainability strategies driving circularity at the UMC level, based on a vision for circularity, and required changes in hospitals to enable buyers-suppliers to consider circular innovation
- Motivate more circular decisions in hospital procurement that also incentivizes more circular business models by suppliers
Contribution to Cross-EWUU Collaboration
The interdisciplinary team brings a diverse range of expertise crucial for addressing the knowledge gap in “Circularity in procurement and contracting in hospitals.” The team’s strengths span managing innovation processes and circular value chains (TU/e), public-private collaboration and sustainability (TU/e), and public procurement and circular economy (UU). Complementary methodological skills in qualitative interviewing, co-creation, and design science further enhance the team’s ability to carry out data collection, analysis, and research dissemination.
The team’s combined technical and social science expertise provides a comprehensive approach to improving collaboration with suppliers, public procurement, and circular economy practices. This expertise informs how hospitals can integrate circularity into procurement and contracting processes using innovative instruments, focusing on bringing together buyers and suppliers to support demand-driven innovation. Incorporating stakeholder interests, such as those of end-users and patients, ensures solutions are practical, implementable, and aligned with public goals.
This project aligns with the Circular Society theme within the Circular Economy alliance, involving UU, TU/e, and UMCU, and contributes to Utrecht University’s new hub, Towards a Circular Economy and Society, promoting interdisciplinary research.
Team
- Anne Rainville – UU
- Vikrant Sihag – TU/e
- Duygu Keskin – TU/e