VLIZ annually receives a grant from the Flemish government, in particular the department of Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI), and from the province of West Flanders. VLIZ supplements these subsidies with funding from various competitive sources, ranging from Flemish and Belgian federal to European financing channels. In terms of project allocation and funding, 2022 was an exceptionally successful year for VLIZ. In 2022, VLIZ initiated or implemented a total of 112 projects and project proposals (also see KPI 7). The success rate of the proposals submitted by VLIZ in 2022 was 65%. We are still awaiting a final decision for 22 project proposals.
A considerable part of the subsidies received in 2022 came from Europe, in particular Horizon Europe projects. In 2022, VLIZ was involved in 32 Horizon Europe project proposals, 22 of which were approved, 7 were rejected and 3 are still in the evaluation stage. The success rate of the projects for which a decision has been made is 76%. VLIZ also coordinated two major Horizon Europe projects for the first time: DTO-Bioflow (Integration of biodiversity monitoring data into the Digital Twin Ocean) and INSPIRE (Innovative Solutions for Plastic Free European Rivers). Remarkably, VLIZ was allocated the same number of Horizon Europe projects in 2022 alone as in the entire period of the Horizon2022 programme (2014-2020).
These statistics demonstrate that VLIZ has built a solid reputation over the past few years as a reliable and excellent project partner within the international marine research and innovation community. As a result, VLIZ accounts for a growing share of the backflow of European funds to Flanders and increases Flanders’ visibility as an important marine knowledge region.
As the spider in the web of the Flemish marine science and innovation ecosystem, VLIZ has a mission to reinforce the interactions between researchers, industry, government and the general public. By involving marine research groups, the maritime business sector and other marine actors from Ostend and Flanders in projects, VLIZ takes the entire Flemish marine research and innovation ecosystem to a higher level and promotes new partnerships with non-marine research groups.