The document discusses DigiOne, a joint platform for education reform in Finland. It was started in 2018 by the city of Vantaa to develop a new digital platform for teaching. The goal is to improve learning and well-being by changing how educational services are produced. It discusses how public procurement can speed up private sector R&D by building open ecosystems and platforms. This allows data sharing, stimulates innovation, and creates opportunities for new businesses. DigiOne aims to create an ecosystem where multiple actors can develop new educational services and content. Challenges include renewing procurement processes to better support platform and API economies. Public sector must address issues like slow pace, complex requirements, and lack of technical

1. Piia Moilanen, Business Finland &
KEINO (twitter @MoilanenPiia)
How public innovative
procurement speeds up API
and platform-based R&D in
private sector?

2. Case DigiOne, Joint Platform for Education
Reform
2018 city of Vantaa wanted to develop a
new digital platform for teaching. Old
systems needed a major overhaul.
2019 funding was granted for the project
This is achieved
by building an open
ecosystem and a national
service platform for
education.
Goal is to improve learning
and well-being
by changing the way
educational services are
produced in Finland.

3. Global edtech market is huge,
growing and in a state of flux…
• Global market is huge, growing and in a
state of flux:
• education: over € 6 000 billion, +5%
• edtech: € 25 billion, +18%
• low degree of digitalisation (2-3%)
• Public sector has huge role in education
• Around the world, governments have
focused largely on
• putting more hardware in classrooms,
• digitizing existing learning resources.
• Schools often pick technology. So they
get the products they need.
• Globally it has had resulted in only
diminishing returns for learning.
• This approach limits also learning about
what works at scale.
…but why platform
reform?
• Finland has high quality public school
system, skilled teachers
• Pretty digitalized public sector

4. DigiOne objectives
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Most of operational objectives
can be achieved only if data is
available and teachers’ time is
freed from routine work
Most of technological objectives
can be achieved only if common
rules and standards for the game
are introduced
Most of ecosystem’s can be
achieved only if platform
scales up and companies
want to join

5. Why public sector should
invest in platforms and APIs?
• APIs and platforms enable/boost
• creation of data
• availability of data
• Innovation is increasingly data-based
• Data enhance information based decision
making of government, businesses and citizens
• Open data creates a window of opportunity for
governments to stimulate new economic
activity

6. DigiOne Management Model
After the project, the responsibility
for ecosystem coordination and the
ownership of the platform will be
transferred from Vantaa to municipal
inhouse company, Kuntien Tiera.
The goal is that in
2028 there will be
~ 70 municipalities
using the service.
The cities of Espoo, Oulu, Tampere,
Turku and Vantaa as well as Kuntien
Tiera Ltd have signed a cooperation
agreement for the long-term
development of the DigiOne service
platform and ecosystem.

7. Organization models of platform and data
services for public actors
Public sector aims legally secure models that allow
Questions and challenges
Predictable and trustworthy ownership
Scaling at least in the public sector
• E.g. Easy entry of public actors into the platform
• Sufficiently low usage fees
• More about procurement in-house status:
http://www.sigmaweb.org/publications/Public-
Procurement-Policy-Brief-39-200117.pdf
The development of a functioning market and
creation of new innovations and businesses
--> platform ecosystem
Motivation and financial model to further develop
the platform to stay competitive & up-to-date
Commercialization of software, its components, data
or other IP, e.g, to the private sector or export
markets
Scenarios e.g for 5-10 years:
• Need for services? Competitive situation?
• Investment needs, financing possibilities?
Business models & opportunity to collect payments
• Need for Inhouse -status?
• Need to scale in / outside public market?
How functions/services should be separated/owned
• E.g. Integration platform? Data infra? API’s ?
• How e.g. state –aid can be used (competitive
neutrality issues)?
Legislation development, ownership policy?

8. DigiOne is Investing in Ecosystem Creation
DigiOne’s ecosystem:
• network of actors
• the data, services, and
know-how they produce
are combined into a whole.
Ecosystem parties include:
• service users, education providers,
research & assessment
organizations, platform owners,
service providers, content producers.
Ecosystem also includes a
variety of background
actors e.g. authorities

9. Need to network: Pioneering procurers should
participate business&innovation ecosystems
Orchestrator:
directs the network and
vision work, activates joint
R&D&I projects.
Ecosystem parties:
companies,
researchers, public
bodies.
The ecosystem seeks
significant new
business, exports
Public sector opportunities
in ecosystem
• increase and accelerate RDI
work?
• Producing references?
Developing the market?
• Help scaling new solutions
Accelerate systemic change
e.g. by creating API-
”standards, data models etc?

10. DigiOne- procurement policy
DigiOne services are developed, built or
tendered by DigiOne. DigiOne is owns
their IPR’s. These services, like teaching
planning, will be the same for all
platform users. DigiOne’s services are
mainly developed with open source.
DigiOne-influenced
commercial services will be
produced in cooperation
with innovative commercial
operators and, the service
provider owns their IPR’s.
Commercial services are
developed & owned entirely
by operators. DigiOne
supports education providers
in procurement e.g. by
including ensuring technical
compatibility

11. DigiOne service model

12. Procurements, many ways to boost innovation
• DigiOne’s service concept includes the service platform and the
services built around it.
• Some services will be produced by DigiOne or strategic partners.
• More often there is room for commercial market players.
• DigiOne compatibility is expected from commercial service providers,
• e.g. through API interfaces, compliance with the rules of the game
of the common ecosystems e.g. security and ethical aspects.
• The goal is for DigiOne’s openly documented interfaces to encourage
the creation of new innovative services.
• DigiOne’s core data and data warehouses will be compiled on the data
platform so that this data can be utilized in the ecosystem.
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Boosting adoption and
scaling of innovations,
market access for
SMEs
Enhancing systemic
change by setting e.g.
”standards”, market
change
Enhancing possibilities
for innovation
Innovating within
procurements
-increasing customer
based R&D

13. Challenges
Platform and API economies
require public authorities to
renew procurement processes
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Esityksen tekijä 13
E.g 69% of French Govtech
startups claim that it is “more difficult”
to work with the public sector than with
the private sector, and 6/10 startups
find it “extremely difficult” to
respond to a call for tenders.

14. 31.3.2021 14
Too slow pace 70%
Too
labourious
38%
Tech skill gaps
60%
Unfavourabale
IPRs 33%
Innovation procurements-special challenges:
how to increase tech know-how and speed up?
Major problem in innovative public procurements?
(n=21 growth AI-companies)

15. Innovation procurements-special challenge:
how to raise interest among companies?
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Are you interested in innovative
public procurements?
(n=21 growth AI
companies)
Do you engage willingly
market
dialogues?
(n=21)
YES 95%
NO 5%
NO 80%
YES 20%

16. 2-5
%
Great Opportunity in Public
Procurement
31.3.2021
Esityksen tekijä 16
• in the EU around 14% of GDP is spend on the
purchase of services, works and supplies.
• In many sectors such public authorities are the
principal buyers.
• The public sector can use procurement e.g. to
boost growth and investment, and to create an
economy that is more innovative
• rasing the amount of innovative
procurement by one percent (1%) could
boost customer based R&D by ~ € 20
billion/year

17. 31.3.2021 17
SCALING !
Scaling up the customer
base for the platform/APIs
I am happy to share my thoughts with you!
You can follow DigiOne http://www.digione.fi/digione-eng/
Scalability of commercial
components and
microservices
Scalable business and
organisation model
Economies of scale –>
cost efficiency for the
public sector