The results of the latest Community Innovation Survey (CIS) pick up where the previous edition left off: with an overall innovation rate of 75% in Flanders’ business environment for the period 2018-2020. More specifically, 69% of Flanders’ companies are working on process innovations, while 37% are focusing on product innovations. The overall innovation rate is highest for large enterprises (93%), but also remains high for medium-sized (85%) and small enterprises (71%).

The most R&D-driven industry in Flanders is by far the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, where 93% of companies report having product and/or business process innovation activities. Other industries in Flanders that commit particularly strongly to R&D and innovation include ICT & electronics (87%), information services (90%), machinery & vehicles (86%), textiles (86%), food & beverages (73%), transportation & logistics (62%) and financial services (62%).

Innovation, of course, comes with a price tag – but companies in Flanders spare no effort in this regard! Together, Flanders-based enterprises channeled a staggering EUR 6.8 billion into R&D activities in 2020. When you take public R&D investments into account as well, the total R&D investment amount for the region of Flanders clocks in at over EUR 9.5 billion. That’s 3.6% of Flanders’ GDP, putting the region at the top of the EU-27 scoreboard for R&D expenditure as a share of GDP.