It’s no secret that Flanders is among Europe’s finest for innovation. In the European Commission's 2019 Regional Innovation Scoreboard, the region even ranks second in the top 10 of strong innovators. What is the basis for this success?

Mark Andries: “There are few regions where research institutes and private companies cooperate as closely as in Flanders. The accessibility of our local knowledge system has grown somewhat out of necessity. Many Flanders-based niche players lack the scale to carry out research and development on their own, which ‘condemns’ them to work together. At the same time, the government of Flanders has been investing intensively in the development of a connected ecosystem for R&D in high-tech areas since the 1990s. Our strategic research centers – imec, VITO, VIB and Flanders Make – are great examples of this approach.”

Philippe Muyters: “Behind these policy choices lies a clear long-term vision. If you look at today’s biggest innovations, for example, they are usually the result of cross-pollination between various disciplines. At the same time, companies are rolling out their innovations at an accelerating pace as they face a growing number of competitors due to increasing globalization.

To achieve the required multidisciplinary approach and speed, open innovation is crucial: companies and research institutions need to work together to find solutions to societal problems. Fortunately, Flanders can rely on strong assets to achieve just that. The fact that we’re all together ‘on a postage stamp’ is one key example. The bright and bold minds needed to innovate with flying colors can be found here within just a few miles of one other.

In addition to this personal proximity, Flanders guarantees a bottom-up environment: the government supports innovation without being in the driver’s seat. For example, our strategic research centers can freely use a variety financial instruments to experiment in collaboration with the business world. Moreover, doctoral researchers have the possibility to innovate not only at universities, but within companies.”

Claire Tillekaerts: “There’s no doubt that Flanders supports open innovation. In addition, we also focus on initiatives that strengthen our global innovation position by pursuing international cooperation models. Networking is as crucial for this as it is for innovation itself. To give just one example, there’s the renowned TCI congress, which FIT and VLAIO are organizing together this year and which is also supported by Visit Flanders. Thanks to this initiative, Flanders attracts the attention of clusters from abroad as well as international cluster experts. At the same time, we bring Flanders’ clusters into contact with foreign stakeholders so that they can grow into global players capable of valorizing innovations from Flanders internationally.”

Flanders is home to two types of cluster organizations: spearhead clusters and innovative business networks. Why this distinction?

Philippe Muyters: “For some strategic domains, Flanders aims to continue expanding and strengthening its leading position in the long term. Think of sustainable chemistry, logistics, food, energy, the blue economy and so on. Each of our spearhead clusters has been set up around such a theme. They each develop a vision and strategy for at least ten years to keep Flanders relevant – now and in the future.”

Mark Andries: “For this purpose, the spearhead clusters receive up to EUR 500,000 in operating resources per year, provided that the participating companies and organizations contribute the same amount. In addition, EUR 95 million is made available each year for individual research and innovation projects that are launched via the clusters to strengthen the competitiveness of their members.”

Philippe Muyters: “To use all these resources efficiently, it’s essential to make smart choices. After all, not all domains are of equal strategic importance for Flanders. However, this does not mean that other industries can’t benefit from cross-sectoral collaboration. This is where innovative business networks come in. They are created exclusively at the initiative of companies that unite around a specific innovation project and receive government support for three years.”

Mark Andries: “The conditions and targets for innovative business networks are less strict than for spearhead clusters. The aim is to lower the threshold for open innovation. The participating companies have more room to experiment and test different courses of action. Nevertheless, we ask each network to invest an equal amount of money as the government – just like the spearhead clusters. In the end, it’s all about shared commitment.”