Strengthening Innovation ability by public contracts
About this good practice
As an augmented reality agency, the company "Sensape" develops solutions for your modern storytelling. For example, the company offers interactive screen surfaces for rent that support the consultation of customers. Due to the Corona crisis and the resulting closures of businesses and cancellations of trade fairs, the company lost its main source of income.
With the support of government funds from a contract awarded by the Leipzig Public Library, the company was able to further develop its innovative facial recognition system. For this order, the company developed interactive screens that were used by the public library to recognise the correct wearing of mouth-nose coverings and to control customer traffic (traffic light system).
On the one hand, this provided solutions to new problems for institutions and companies with customer traffic that first arose as a result of the Corona crisis. On the other hand, it was possible to promote the innovative capacity of a company that had been severely affected by the crisis. This has also strengthened the company's crisis resilience.
Implementation is largely straightforward. Public institutions use their budgets to promote innovative technologies and not only to digitalise their own work processes, but also to develop crisis resilience themselves.
Resources needed
There is no extra funding needed, as the public institutions get the service and technology for their own needs.
Evidence of success
The effected company was able to continue to participate in the market and was also able to avoid insolvency by being able to build up another foothold. In the long term, the company was able to acquire further orders from private companies, which were convinced by the positive use-case of this system. In addition, the work of the public institution was facilitated and improved and a contribution was made to the digitisation of the institution.
Potential for learning or transfer
The promotion of innovations through state contracts is particularly interesting for the transfer to other regions, as all regions have public institutions that are facing new challenges due to the Corona crisis. This can accelerate digitisation processes of public entities and at the same time strengthen the innovation capabilities of companies. These technologies remain important tools that can be used even after the end of the corona pandemic.
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Public Library of Leipzig