Background CRANE is a Horizon 2020 Pre-Commercial Procurement project. The aim is to develop an integrated and flexible self-management system for treating chronic patients at home in rural areas. Learning and improvements running CRANE have been part of the development process. Objective This Lessons Learned study aims to help the partners with knowledge sharing and improvements in running the early phase of the CRANE PCP process. The suggested learnings and improvements can be useful for other internet and digital-based Pre-Commercial Procurement projects. Methods A Lessons Learned workshop including follow up activities are the basis for the data presented and analyzed in this study. The workshop was conducted digitally and led by the corresponding author. Notes were taken by a dedicated member of the CRANE management team. The participants were CRANE Partners, i.e. professionals working within healthcare. Results Positive- and negative factors are identified connected to cooperation and teamwork, and to the deliverables in the start and first phase of the CRANE Pre-Commercial Procurement process. These were the basis for a list of improvements. Conclusion It is important to make the process flexible and agile in designing and running complex projects like the CRANE project. Including the process itself, the deliverables, and the organization. Several positive and negative factors have been identified during the early phase of CRANE PCP. The main improvement is that it’s important to build a common level of understanding and it’s important to make and adjust detailed plans. This includes having a good follow-up structure. It’s also important to have frequent meetings, especially in the early phase of the process, ensuring trust and a common level of understanding of expectations and roles.
Nils-Otto Ørjasæter (Sun,) studied this question.