Innovation transformation evangelist
Olman Elizondo Cordero – Innovation and Strategic Futures manager
Olman Elizondo has been deeply involved in shaping the trajectory of demand-driven innovation procurement in the healthcare sector through his leadership and contributions to various European innovation projects. Representing the Unit of Innovation and Strategic Futures at AQuAS, he has played a key role across different levels, both within the Catalan Innovation Ecosystem, at the national level in Spain as a public servant of the Catalan Public Health System, and as a committed European citizen, fostering resilience and transformation efforts for a more equitable and sustainable future.
One of his key contributions has been as the author of the HIPSS proposal and the work package led by AQuAS, playing a vital role in designing and co-creating the impact and excellence that underpin the project. His leadership in the HIPSS project began as early as July, even before the formal initiation of the project, continuing through its official start in September. Throughout, he has been instrumental in designing, implementing, and refining the work plan that is currently in execution. His engagement has demonstrated a commitment to strategic project evolution and maximizing impact, by transferring the knowledge developed in AQuAS to the co-design of systemic policies, initiatives, and mechanisms that can strengthen the impact of innovation-driven transformation across EU and the world.
Leadership in Work Packages and Coordination
Olman has taken on leadership roles in multiple work packages (WP) across various projects, always ensuring alignment with strategic objectives at the regional, national, and European levels:
- Up-rAIHSe: Leading the communication and dissemination WP, supporting the administration and coordination WP, and contributing to the exploitation and sustainability WP.
- PiPPi: Leading the exploitation WP, focusing on ensuring project impact beyond its funded period.
- RaDAR PPI: Leading the monitoring WP, ensuring systematic assessment of project progress and outcomes.
- Harmonics: Leading the economic analysis WP, integrating financial and systemic insights into stroke care interventions.
- HIPSS: Leading the workshop in charge of the System Level services design, through the inception of the HIPSS Systemic Policy Framework.
Legal Coordination and Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI)
In HIPSS, Olman has played a critical role in fostering coordination with the legal services WP, led by U. Hasselt, to facilitate knowledge-sharing on legal practices surrounding PPI in healthcare. In RaDAR, his contributions have included participation in legal debates with institutions such as Resah, ICO, UNINA, Osakidetza, Bioguipuzkoa, CSC, and LdR. These discussions have been instrumental in developing and validating legal frameworks for RaDAR’s PPI implementation, covering six different administrative procedures, further solidifying the Catalan Health System’s role as an innovation leader in Europe.
Co-Creation and Innovation Impact Enhancement
A strong advocate for collaborative European efforts, Olman has contributed significantly to the development of a service catalogue aimed at enhancing the impact and adoption of PPI within PiPPi. His leadership extended to the coordination of the PiPPi Community of Practice (CoP), ensuring its sustainability beyond the project’s completion. He has also played a key role in the service design for PPI support, co-creating training structures and educational content within iRaise, tailored to various stakeholders and institutions, reinforcing Europe’s commitment to capacity-building for systemic change.
Scholarly Contributions and Publications
Olman’s research contributions have resulted in multiple co-authored publications, further embedding Catalonia’s and Europe’s influence on innovation strategies:
- “Theory of Change: Neutral Outcomes Concerning Unmet Needs and Permeability of PPI to Value in Health”.
- “Permeability to Value: A Methodological Framework for Designing Demand-Driven Value-Based Innovation Procurements”.
- “The Catalan Health Innovation Ecosystem Case”.
- “Evaluation and Monitoring Framework for Value-Based Procurement and its Application to the RaDAR-PPI Innovative Procurement”.
These publications contribute to advancing the methodological and theoretical foundations of innovation procurement strategies in healthcare, supporting Europe’s ambition to drive sustainable, high-impact innovation.
Strategic Communication and Dissemination Efforts
Beyond academic contributions, Olman has been actively involved in strategic communication initiatives, reinforcing the importance of transparent and widespread knowledge-sharing:
- Co-designing the iRaise website.
- Coordinating dissemination strategies for beta events, feedback sessions, and the launch of ADD4kids.
- Coordinating dissemination strategies for the HIPSS Systemic Policy Framework workshop series.
- Structuring the graphic design of the iRaise White Paper.
- Designing the PiPPi platform launch campaign.
- Proactively contributing to the PiPPi webinar series.
These efforts have ensured that Catalonia’s and Europe’s health innovation initiatives remain visible, accessible, and impactful, fostering an ecosystem where knowledge-sharing drives transformation.
High-Level Representation and Conferences
Recognized for AQuAS’s role in RaDAR, Olman was invited by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a speaker at the High-Level Meeting of the Spanish Presidency (coordinated by EMA and AEMPS). In this role, he represented the RaDAR project, discussing AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance) and One Health and highlighting how the European Commission supports innovative AMR detection mechanisms emerging from unmet healthcare needs. Additionally, he contributed in describing the PPIs at Resah (France), Osakidetza (Basque Country), ICO (Catalonia), and UNINA (Campania), and describing AQuAS role and Catalonia’s adoption of value-based procurement as way to introduce value and impact, that is now being transferred to other health systems.
Project Coordination and Financial Management
Olman has actively supported the coordination of several high-impact projects, aligning efforts with AQuAS, Catalonia, and Europe’s strategic priorities:
- Up-rAIHSe (AQuAS Coordination)
- RaDAR (including interim coordination responsibilities)
- ADD4kids (coordination support to Sant Joan de Déu Children Hospital)
- PiPPi (supporting coordination led by Karolinska Medical Hospital)
- HIPSS (coordinated by EIT-Health)
His contributions to financial management have spanned annual and final financial reporting across projects, ensuring accountability and transparency in European public funding management.
Conference Presentations and Deliverables
Olman’s contributions to conferences and dissemination efforts have reinforced the Catalan and European innovation agenda, including:
- Co-authoring a poster at EHMA on demand-driven innovation adoption in pediatrics through ADD4kids.
- Authoring an oral presentation for EHMA 2025 on systemic implementation of Harmonics High-Value Integrated Stroke Care.
- Contributing to numerous deliverables, such as:
- RaDAR reports on procurement strategy, market analysis, and technological assessments.
- PiPPi framework deliverables on stakeholder engagement and business models.
- iRaise deliverables, including the White Paper and stakeholder interaction framework.
- Harmonics reports, covering health economic analyses and registry reports.
- ADD4kids contributions, including a solution framework and a White Paper on pediatric innovation adoption.
Education and Knowledge Validation
Olman has played an integral role in developing an evaluation model for validating knowledge across six editions of the iRaise course, ensuring continuous learning and improvement. Additionally, his active involvement in initiatives such as I3A Breakfast with the Industry.
Summary
Through his work in innovation procurement, legal coordination, research, strategic communication, and high-level representation, Olman Elizondo has played a meaningful role in shaping Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) in healthcare. Representing AQuAS and the Catalan Public Health System, he has contributed to Europe’s resilience and transformation efforts, ensuring that public innovation initiatives drive a more sustainable, equitable, and high-value future.
Short bio (311 words)
OLMAN ELIZONDO-CORDERO (INNOVATION & STRATEGIC FUTURES PROJECT MANAGER) at the Unit of Innovation and Prospective at AQuAS, Agency of Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia. Olman holds an undergraduate degree of actuarial science and a master ’s degree in management of health care organizations.
He’s:
- Participated in the design of the proposal ADD4kids, and he’s executiong that aims to co-create a EU-plan to boost demand-driven innovation in paediatrics.
- Participated in the proposal of HIPSS, Health Innovation Procurement Support Services, to design support services to use and deployment of public procurement of innovation.
- Part of the coordination team of the RaDAR PPI, and responsible for the value-based permeability evaluation framework and the coordination of the execution phase of the procurement of innovation project.
- involved in the Harmonics project, an EIT-Health project that aims to harmonise, and improve, the high-value care of stroke patients, taking into consideration the outcomes most meaningful to these patients.
- He’s been involved in the design, management and improvement cycles of the iRaise, an education programme to upskill teams of health care professionals in adoption of innovation, which is now in its 7th edition. He’s is an iRaise mentor, logo designer, and procurement of innovation evangelist.
Short bio for introduction from moderators (75 words)
Olman Elizondo Cordero, actuarial scientist, masters degree in management of health care organizations, Innovation Procurement Management at the Unit of Innovation and Strategic Futures at AQuAS (Agency of Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia), HIPSS Systemic Policy Framework author, part of the coordination team of the RaDAR PPI. Also project manager at Harmonics, a European high-value care project to harmonize stroke care. Participated in the proposal design and execution of ADD4kids, Accelerating Demand-Driven tools for paediatric innovation adoption in Europe and HIPSS, Health Innovation Procurement Support Services. Procurement of innovation evangelist at PiPPi CoP, and as mentor at iRaise. CIMTI and Marató TV3 evaluator and project reviewer. Innofacilitator ambassador.
Short bio (200 words)
Olman Elizondo is a strategic leader in healthcare innovation procurement, currently serving as Innovation and Strategic Futures Manager at AQuAS. He plays a central role in strengthening Catalonia’s leadership in public health innovation and advancing European efforts toward more equitable, sustainable, and resilient healthcare systems.
Olman has contributed to several flagship EU projects—including HIPSS, PiPPi, Up-rAIHSe, RaDAR, Harmonics, and ADD4kids—leading work in legal coordination, communication, sustainability, and economic analysis. His work has been pivotal in developing validated frameworks for public procurement of innovation (PPI), reinforcing strategic alignment and impact across regional and European levels.
He is co-author of key publications such as Permeability to Value: A Methodological Framework for Demand-Driven Innovation Procurement, the Theory of Change: Neutral Outcomes Concerning Unmet Needs and Permeability of PPI to Value in Health, and the ADD4kids white paper Paediatric Innovation: Insights and Strategies (AQuAS, 2025).
Committed to capacity-building, Olman also supports innovation training through the iRaise program. He has represented AQuAS at high-level EU conferences, including EMA and European Commission forums. His work continues to shape integrated, patient-centred, and value-based healthcare by fostering collaboration, system-wide thinking, and innovation with measurable public value.