Government, education and healthcare in Spain

As a general rule, the public sector buys technology through public procurement. The Public Sector Contracts Act, which transposes the European directives, sets the procedures; tenders are published on the Public Sector Procurement Platform and on regional platforms, and bidders must prove their economic, financial and technical capacity and, for works contracts above a certain value, hold the required contractor classification. For technology services, compliance with the National Security Framework (ENS) may be a requirement. Companies from the European Union can usually access public procurement on terms similar to Spanish companies; companies from outside the EU may face additional requirements, such as showing reciprocity for their country. We help you prepare entry before the first tender, choose local partners and sequence your relations with government.

Edtech sells to public, publicly funded and private schools, to universities and to training companies, and each channel decides differently. Education is largely managed by the regions; official qualifications require authorisation, and processing data about minors carries stricter data protection requirements. We help you distinguish between selling to the education authorities, to schools or to families; sequence, with your advisers, the authorisation your offer may need if it leads to an official qualification; and identify the partners and associations that bring credibility in the sector. If entry runs through acquiring a company or forming a joint venture, we test the thesis through our M&A service before capital is committed.

Digital health combines a regulated product, a public buyer and specially protected data. Software and devices with a medical purpose may be medical devices under the EU Medical Devices Regulation (MDR); they require CE marking and, except for some lowest-risk products, the involvement of a notified body, and the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) keeps its own registers and notifications. Purchasing is largely decided by the regional health services, and health data carries enhanced protection. We help you sequence the regulatory route with your specialists, understand how each health service buys and prepare the relationship with health authorities through our licensing and authorisations service.