Research types
Below you will find an overview of all types of research Flanders Make offers.
Development project
Do you have an innovative idea that can strengthen your company, but do you still have a lot of challenges to overcome in developing that innovation? Do you still need to develop a new technology, make well-considered improvements to processes or services, build a prototype or go through a pilot phase that still contains challenges?
The development project therefore includes the development of a completely new or significantly innovative (improved) product, process, service or concept, and the result has a significant impact on the performance of your company. This impact is more likely to occur in the short term.
Research project
The emphasis in research projects is on building new knowledge. This knowledge will eventually form the basis for new or improved products, processes or services. The basis of a research project is an innovative idea for which you need new knowledge, so you will need to carry out research and possibly also development activities.
In the long run, the knowledge you build up must yield a clear competitive advantage and have a positive impact on the further development of your company, in terms of employment, investment and anchoring in Flanders.
Concretely, the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship provides subsidies for the implementation of individual projects by one or more companies.
Industrial Research Valorization and Acceleration (IRVA)
Flanders Make IRVA research is a research form/project type in which Flanders Make, together with at least three mutually independent companies, is part of the IRVA user group.
Flanders Make carries out the Strategic Basic Research. Companies then adopt the results from the IRVA research through application projects. In this way, we develop new knowledge together and implement it in practice. As a company, you benefit directly (and for your specific application) from Flanders Make research. Moreover, through this form of research, we contribute to economic and possibly broader social added value in Flanders.
The typical project duration of an IRVA project is 2 years.
Interdisciplinary collaborative research (ICON)
Flanders Make ICON research is a project type in which a well-balanced consortium of Flanders Make and at least three mutually independent Flemish companies develop new knowledge.
The aim is to apply this knowledge in practice so that it contributes to economic and possibly wider social added value in Flanders.
The typical project duration is 2 years with a maximum of 3 years.
Strategic Basic Research (SBO)
The Flanders Make Strategic Basic Research (SBO) concerns innovative high-risk research aimed at industrially relevant topics. If successful in the long term, this research can lead to application in companies in the form of a new generation of products, processes or services. The projects are carried out by our corelabs with external labs if specific expertise is required for the success of the project.
For each SBO project, an industrial user group is set up in which you, as a company, can participate to give advice, steer the research and define small validation cases on your own industrial applications, creating a gathering place for the technology of tomorrow.
Innovation Boosting
Innovation Boosting is a short-term project type in which Flanders Make investigates the feasibility of your innovative idea on behalf of your company.
By calling on the expertise and infrastructure of our extensive network in this way, you can, as a company, acquire the necessary technological knowledge in a very simple and easily accessible way.
Moreover, the instrument is supported by subsidies from the Flemish Agency for Innovation & Enterprise (VLAIO), which significantly lowers the innovation thresholds, especially for small businesses.
European projects
The European innovation landscape offers a wide range of opportunities to participate in European initiatives. Large companies as well as SMEs, research institutes and also public authorities, cities and other public institutions are encouraged to participate in projects and thus make use of European funding for their research and innovations.
The landscape is quite complex and it is often difficult for individual companies to find the right channels and project calls.
Flanders Make proactively screens the relevant open calls and tries to encourage Flemish companies to participate together.
Living labs for Industry 4.0
In a pilot project, research institutions show a number of possibilities, focused on specific sectors and solutions. The Living Lab Industry 4.0 is a collective project aimed at the demonstration of advanced techniques in Industry 4.0.
Research institutions, such as Flanders make, sensitise and inform a large group of companies about new techniques resulting from the research. In doing so, the researchers will take into account the industrial conditions in various sectors.
Flanders Make participates in a number of living lab projects launched by VLAIO.
Technology Transfer (TETRA)
TETRA projects aim to translate recently available knowledge (new technology, recently completed research or existing knowledge from another domain or sector) into concrete, useful information so that the target group can innovate faster and more efficiently in the short term after the project.
The target group for the project results are Flemish companies and/or non-profit organizations. The projects have at least an economic finality (to be translated into competitiveness, employment and investments by companies in Flanders). In addition, the project can address a societal challenge.
A TETRA project can only be submitted if there is a demonstrable need on the part of businesses and/or non-profit organisations in Flanders. A representative proportion of them confirm this as active members of a guidance group. Members of the guidance group contribute at least 7.5% co-financing to the project cost. Yet they do not get preferential access to the results.
Collective R&D and collective dissemination of knowledge (COOCK)
Enterprises are increasingly challenged to respond flexibly to economic and societal challenges. Unfortunately, we notice that many companies do not have sufficient own resources or research capacity. For them, collective knowledge acquisition and transfer is an important tool for innovation. Offering new technology and knowledge helps Flemish companies, which are not actively engaged in research themselves, to innovate and implement research results.
COOCK projects aim to valorise research results by accelerating the introduction of technology and knowledge to a broad group of companies. A COOCK project aims at least to have a positive impact in terms of economic activities and the results can be valorised in the broadest possible group of companies. Projects can also pursue other social objectives or contribute to the Flemish transition priorities.
Infrastructure projects (INFRA)
Through our infrastructure projects, your company can benefit from innovative top technology acquired or developed as part of a research project. If your company shares the strategic importance of the project and can apply its output in its own long-term product and/or process strategy and vision, you can participate in these projects.