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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The core objective of this grant is to support businesses in Flanders to conduct frontier research ('grensverleggend onderzoek') that builds new knowledge, insights, and skills, leading to significant long-term positive impact for the company and for Flanders.
The grant targets enterprises with legal personality, non-profit organizations, and public organizations that undertake economic activity in the Flemish Region.
This grant is SECTOR-AGNOSTIC, with no preference for specific sectors, application domains, or knowledge areas.
Geographic scope is limited to organizations with operational activities (or clear intent to have them) in the Flemish Region of Belgium.
Key filtering criteria include the innovative nature of the project (must clearly deviate from normal business activities), a focus on knowledge building, and the project's potential for significant positive impact and valorization in Flanders.
This is a recurring grant program with applications being accepted on a permanent, open basis.

Financial Structure

Minimum Grant Amount: The requested support must be at least €100,000.
Maximum Grant Amount: The requested support can be a maximum of €3,000,000.
Grant Rate: The subsidy calculation ranges from 25% to 60% of accepted costs.
- Basic support: 50% for research activities, 25% for development activities.
- Bonuses for Increased Support:
  - An additional 10% for collaboration between at least two independent companies, where at least one is an SME and no single company accounts for more than 70% of the costs.
  - An additional 15% for interregional or international collaboration within a VLAIO-recognized O&O&I initiative, involving at least two independent companies (no single company more than 70% of costs).
  - An additional 10% for medium-sized enterprises.
  - An additional 20% for small enterprises.
Overall Maximum Support: The total support (basic + bonuses) is capped at 60% of accepted costs, rising to 70% for interregional or international collaborations.
Eligible Costs: All activities contributing to knowledge building or directly supporting it (technological and non-technological) are eligible. Only costs incurred after the project's official start date (as indicated in the application) are eligible. The earliest project start date is the first workday of the month following the submission of the complete application.
Ineligible Costs: Personnel costs for researchers who benefit from the 'tax exemption for withholding tax on researchers' (specifically for Young Innovative Companies) are not eligible for this grant as of January 1, 2022.
Cumulation: Other government aid for the same eligible costs will be taken into account to avoid double funding.
Tax Exemption: The awarded R&D support from regional authorities (like VLAIO) is generally exempt from corporate tax in Belgium since January 1, 2007.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Eligibility

Legal Entity: Must be an enterprise with legal personality ('rechtspersoonlijkheid').
Non-profit & Public Organizations: Non-profit organizations and public organizations are eligible IF they have operational activities (or a clear intention to establish them) in the Flemish Region AND they perform an economic activity.
Geographic Presence: Must have operational activities in the Flemish Region ('Vlaamse Gewest') or demonstrate a clear intention to establish them.
Not 'Enterprise in Difficulty': Organizations classified as an 'enterprise in difficulty' (as defined by EU criteria) are generally NOT eligible. This status is calculated based on financial health (e.g., solvency). Exceptions apply for:
SMEs less than 3 years old are automatically NOT considered an 'enterprise in difficulty'.
Small enterprises between 3 and 5 years old may still be eligible in some cases, with specific obligations.
A single company applying as an 'enterprise in difficulty' can be eligible if they submit a mandatory remediation plan.
Companies in European collaborative projects where an 'enterprise in difficulty' status is temporary for the VLAIO application, provided a remediation plan is submitted.
No Specific Size Exclusion: While enterprise size influences funding percentages, there are no explicit employee count exclusions for general eligibility.

Project Eligibility

Research Focus: Projects must involve building new knowledge, insights, and skills through critical and systematic means.
Innovation Level: The project must clearly deviate from normal business activities and routine renewal processes in its method, content, intended results, and/or risks requiring new knowledge. Simply applying or incrementally improving existing know-how is insufficient.
Project Duration: The project duration can be a maximum of 36 months, though longer periods may be accepted with thorough motivation.
Military Finality: Projects with military finality are now eligible for support (as of April 4, 2025).

Application Process

Application Procedure Steps

Permanent Open Call: Applications are accepted continuously, with each application processed individually.
Preparation: Review the official evaluation criteria (Annex 1 of the explanatory document) to align your project. Gather required documents including the project description, individual impact sections (per partner), project budget (per partner), financial information (per partner), and an enterprise size determination. Specific additional documents are required for 'enterprises in difficulty' (remediation plan) and 'starters' (<3 years) (cash flow plan).
Pre-Application Consultation: It is highly recommended to request a consultation with a VLAIO project advisor via email ('[email protected]') before fully developing the application. They can offer initial advice on feasibility and help identify potential partners.
Digital Submission: The application must be submitted digitally through the VLAIO portal. Access requires electronic ID (eID) or similar. The primary applicant registers the application, choosing either Dutch or English as the language (this choice is final).
Partner Inclusion: After registration, the main applicant invites other project partners (companies or research organizations) to complete their respective sections digitally. All partners receive a link to fill in their part.
Application Review: VLAIO aims for a processing time of 90 working days from receipt of a complete and admissible application.
Admissibility Check: VLAIO first checks the application for admissibility. If deemed inadmissible, you will be notified within 14 working days.
Clarification Interview: Admissible applications proceed to a clarification interview where the project's innovation and added value for the company are discussed in depth. Limited additional clarifications can be provided after this meeting.
External Expert Evaluation: VLAIO obtains advice from independent external experts. Their feedback and questions are shared with the applicant for a brief response.
Decision: The FIO (Fonds voor Innoveren & Ondernemen) decision committee makes the final funding decision based on all information. Applicants are notified by email, including the motivation for the decision.

Post-Award Requirements

Agreement: A subsidy agreement is established upon a positive decision.
Conditions: Awarded support may be subject to specific organizational, content-related, or financial conditions at the start or during project execution.
Valorization Reporting: The project's valorization in Flanders must achieve at least 10 times the requested subsidy over a period of up to 5 years after the project's end. This is measured by employment, investments, or productivity growth in Flanders.
Acknowledgement: Recipients are required to acknowledge VLAIO's support in all future communications regarding the successful realization of the project.
Confidentiality: VLAIO ensures confidentiality of the application, and external experts are bound by a 5-year confidentiality agreement. Information will only be made public in consultation with the applicant, except for mention of partners and support.

Evaluation Criteria

Project Quality and Innovation

Innovativeness: Assesses the novelty and ground-breaking nature of the research, particularly its intrinsic high risk.
Knowledge Building: Focus on the extent to which new knowledge, insights, and skills are built.
Deviation from Norm: The project must clearly differ from normal business activities and routine improvements.

Impact and Valorization

Positive Impact for Company: Evaluation of the significant positive impact the project can have on the applying company in the long term.
Impact for Flanders: Assessment of the project's 'leverage for Flanders' (valorization in Flanders), which must be at least 10 times the requested subsidy. This is calculated based on anticipated employment, investments in Flanders, or growth in labor productivity over a period of up to 5 years after project completion.
Societal Impact: Projects demonstrating broader societal impact receive positive consideration ('pluspunten').

Scoring System (for projects submitted from January 1, 2022)

Projects are evaluated against criteria with scores: 'CRITICAL' (uitsluiting), 'REASONABLE' (-1), 'GOOD' (0), 'VERY GOOD' (+1).
Eligibility for Support: A project is eligible if:
- No 'CRITICAL' score is awarded.
- The sum of all scores on the 'quality axis' is greater than or equal to -3.
- The sum of all scores on the 'impact axis' is greater than or equal to -3.
- The sum of scores from both axes is greater than or equal to -5.
- This essentially means a maximum of three uncompensated 'reasonable' scores per axis.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Ethical Compliance

EU State Aid Rules: Compliance with European Union state aid regulations is critical, particularly concerning the definition and treatment of 'enterprises in difficulty'.
Tax Compliance: Grant support is subject to Belgian tax laws, though generally exempt from corporate tax. Applicants are responsible for understanding tax implications.

Project-Specific Requirements

Project Start Date: The project cannot start before the first working day of the month following the submission of a complete application. No retroactive funding is provided.
Flemish Impact: A key unique aspect is the mandatory 'valorization in Flanders' target, requiring demonstrable economic impact in the region (10 times the grant amount).
Milestone-Based: The grant implies a structured project with defined activities where knowledge is built or directly supported, whether technological or non-technological.
Dual-Use Projects: Since April 4, 2025, projects with military finality are explicitly eligible, opening up new strategic opportunities.

Application-Specific Considerations

Confidentiality of Financial Data: Financial data and impact sections from individual project partners are treated confidentially by VLAIO and not shared with other partners in a consortium.
Language Choice: Applicants must commit to either Dutch or English for their entire application, including partner sections.
VLAIO's Discretion: The decision committee (FIO) reserves the right to adjust selectivity criteria based on available budget during the year.
Expert Consultation: While not mandatory, consulting a VLAIO project advisor prior to application is a strategic advantage.

Grant Details