Who are the PCP WISE partners driving innovation in water management and climate resilience across Europe through Pre-Commercial Procurement?
Our Partner Interview Series highlights the leading organisations in the PCP WISE consortium, showcasing their expertise, contributions, and key roles in the project.
Each partner also shares its vision of how PCP WISE advances the European Green Deal’s objectives—whether by leveraging Environmental Observation (EO) data to tackle critical challenges or pioneering innovative governance and procurement approaches like PCP.
🔍 Discover our latest interview to learn more about the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic and its impact!
Briefly introduce your organisation
The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej republiky) is the central state administration body responsible for public order, security, civil protection, border management, and crisis management in Slovak Republic. It oversees the Slovak Police Force, Fire and Rescue Corps, and migration and asylum services. As a major public authority, the Ministry operates extensive infrastructure and complex operational systems, making it a natural driver of innovation in security technologies and public safety solutions. In the past years, it has actively participated in innovation procurement projects, driven by the conviction that public procurement can serve as a powerful catalyst for innovation.
Introduce the team working on PCP WISE within your organisation
Karin Janovjaková, Data analyst, Public Procurement Section of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic.
As the data analyst, she is helping to digitalise and improve the procurement processes. In this role, she created a tender-tracking system that has improved reporting and boosted the efficiency of daily workflows. Within the scope of the PCP Wise project she shares her technical expertise during tender preparation and proposal evaluation phases.
Michaela Pukanová, Public procurement methodology specialist at the Public Procurement Section in MoI
She is experienced in the public procurement field, more specifically in the methodology of MEAT criteria and innovative approach in public procurement
Jozef Kubinec, Innovation Procurement Advisor
Jozef Kubinec is a strategic public procurement officer, public buyer, and procurement lawyer with over 15 years of experience in government administration. He specialises in pre-commercial procurement (PCP), as well as the professionalisation and centralisation of public procurement. He is a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Security Research and Innovation (CERIS) and actively contributes to several Horizon Europe projects, including PCP WISE, SHIELD PCP, SHIELD4CROWD, INTERCEPT, and EINSTEIN. His work focuses on innovative procurement approaches and identifying end-user needs.
What is your organisation’s role in the project? What unique contribution does it bring to PCP WISE?
The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic participates in PCP WISE as one of twelve public buyers, contributing its operational expertise in civil protection and crisis management to help shape innovative water management and climate resilience solutions. Facing real challenges from floods and droughts, it brings a frontline perspective on what early warning systems must deliver in practice. Its participation in PCP WISE reflects that strategic commitment — leveraging pre-commercial procurement to develop cutting-edge solutions that address real operational challenges faced by first responders and security professionals.
To what extent do you think PCP WISE will contribute to enhance Europe’s ability to adapt to and mitigate the effect of climate change?
As representatives of first responders and crisis management units, we see the effects of climate change regularly — managing floods and wildfires is part of our reality. We believe the technology developed within PCP WISE can help our end-users build risk indicators that make crisis management more effective. We see PCP WISE as a concrete step toward climate resilience. By using pre-commercial procurement to develop innovative water management solutions tailored to real public needs, it bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and operational deployment.
To what extent do you think Environmental Observation (EO) and Innovation Procurement (IP) can help develop innovative solutions for water management and climate resilience across Europe?
Environmental Observation and Innovation Procurement are a powerful combination. EO provides the data — real-time monitoring of soil moisture, precipitation, and flood risks. But data alone is not enough. Innovation Procurement translates that data into operational solutions built around the actual unmet needs of public buyers. As first responders, we know that generic tools rarely work in the field. PCP WISE brings these two levers together — using pre-commercial procurement to challenge the market to develop solutions that are not just technically advanced, but genuinely usable by crisis management units on the ground.
