KIEHKURA project focuses on promoting the circular economy use and product development of machines and equipment through public procurement. This approach extends the lifespan of equipment, improves utilization rates, and supports the research and development efforts of SMEs. At the same time, it reduces waste generation and increases the use of recycled materials, components, and parts. Sustainable product design is a priority in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP, 2020). The goal is to have sustainable and circular economy-compliant machines and equipment in the EU internal market. The extension of the Ecodesign Regulation came into effect on July 18, 2024, increasing sustainability requirements for various product groups and material cycles. In the KIEHKURA project, the principles and solutions of circular economy business models are incorporated into public procurement of machines and equipment through collaboration between universities and SMEs. The circular economy compliance outlined by the EU must be included already at the procurement stage of machines and equipment to ensure long lifespan, reparability, functional and updatable long-life software, and post-use reuse of components and materials, as well as high recycling rates of materials in accordance with the circular economy. Currently, the purchase price of machines and equipment is high, utilization rates are low, and lifecycles are short. Universities of Applied Sciences have a large number of machines and equipment for research and teaching purposes, and significant amounts are purchased annually. In the project, these machines and equipment will be put to more efficient use by intensifying regional R&D cooperation between SMEs and universities and creating shared-use ecosystems. This way, the regional availability of machines and equipment can be increased, as well as their utilization rates through new shared-use experiments and gradually increasing shared use. The project’s measures will reduce unnecessary new machine and equipment purchases and thus also the environmental burden caused by their production. The goal of the KIEHKURA project is to create basic procurement criteria and an innovative procurement process in line with the circular economy to promote the circular economy in public procurement of machines and equipment. This will benefit not only the higher education sector nationally but also research institutions, welfare areas, and other entities that procure machines and equipment. By developing market dialogue methods, circular economy criteria will be created for the procurement phase, including the lifecycle of the equipment, the availability of critical spare parts and software, and the long-term use and functionality. This will change the current market for machines and equipment so that the lifecycle of the equipment does not end due to issues with the availability of spare parts or software updates before the actual technical lifespan comes to an end. The project will examine the requirements of EU legislation (sustainability reporting, Ecodesign Regulation, the EU and national Circular Economy Green Deal agreement, and other similar regulatory tools) that particularly affect the markets for machines and equipment. The project will promote sustainable and circular economy-compliant machine and equipment deliveries and public procurement through co-development with SMEs. The project will pilot regional machine and equipment procurements together with SMEs and business networks. Additionally, it will develop cooperation between public actors and companies by finding ways to promote shared use. The project will prepare new procurement criteria for the national criteria bank, including the obligations and requirements brought by the national Circular Economy Green Deal agreement, EU regulations, and other regulatory tools. Furthermore, the project will develop the procurement process through innovations and market dialogues. Results include: -A report and guidance on the impact of changing EU legislation on public machinery and equipment procurement. -General basic-level circular economy procurement criteria for public machinery and equipment procurement. -Eight circular economy public procurements (or public circular economy procurement demonstrations) implemented in the regions. -Mapping and initiation of a shared-use ecosystem for R&D machinery and equipment in the regions, directly serving the development and research activities of SMEs. -Preparation of a preliminary project plan for follow-up projects to scale the results nationally (innovation partnership procurement procedure, market dialogue methods, circular economy criteria, new circular economy business models, new R&D projects, new companies, new circular economy products and services). With the support of the KIEHKURA project, the circular economy expertise and competitiveness of SMEs offering machinery and equipment, as well as their ability to resp