About us

We continue to build on our strong reputation as a trusted service provider that listens to entrepreneurs , knows their needs and helps them. We communicate with entrepreneurs in clear language and with information that is useful to them. At the same time we stimulate future-oriented thinking, innovation and sustainable enterprise among our customers.

Therefore:

• We increase our awareness among companies.
• VLAIO is the address they can turn to for all their questions about the future
• We are profiling VLAIO among companies and government agency that is accessible, customer-friendly and solution-oriented.
• We profile VLAIO within the Flemish government as the expert in communication with companies.
• We share success stories that have been created by VLAIO support with companies and the general public.
• We are improving the clarity and usability of all communications to companies.
• We continue to invest in the quality of all services provided to companies and in reducing the associated administrative burden.
• We regularly assess the needs of companies and the expectations of VLAIO and adjust our offer accordingly.
• We measure and increase the impact of our services and support on the growth potential of the companies concerned.
• We offer tailor made services to the companies that need them most, i.e. innovative start-ups and SMEs with growth ambitions.
• We increase the access of Flemish companies to European programs aimed at making products, services, processes and business models future proof.

VLAIO makes an important contribution to sustainability and to the successful transformation of the Flemish economy and society. In view of the change processes that are taking place worldwide and in Europe, Flanders is faced with a thorough transformation of its economy. Together with its partners, VLAIO wants to help accelerate this transformation and make it successful for Flemish companies. VLAIO is fully committed to help achieve the future objectives set by Flanders, the European Union and the UN we focus on

• Achieving sustainable economic growth.
• Stimulating innovation throughout the economy and society.
• Increasing productivity and general well-being through further digitalization.
• Combatting global warming, including through a CO₂ neutral industry.

Therefore:

• We inform and raise awareness among companies about these transformations and what they can mean for them.
• We translate the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, the “Green Deal” and the “Digital Compass 2030” of the European Union, and the “Vizier 2030” target framework for Flanders into concrete usable instruments for Flemish companies.
• We take on a facilitating and, if desired, also a leading role in preparing and helping to realize major investment projects that are necessary for the transformation of the Flemish economy.
• We increase the knowledge of employees of VLAIO and the VLAIO Network about climate, sustainable development and digitization.
• We measure the contribution to the sustainable development goals, the climate goals, and the digitalization of the projects that are realized with VLAIO support.
• We fully capitalize on funds made available by Europe.

What we do for innovation and entrepreneurship, we do not do alone but in partnership with a broad network of interconnected organizations from the public and private sectors. We are building the VLAIO network that we have recently established with partners into a strong ecosystem that constitutes an asset for the Flemish economy. We are deploying the VLAIO network to achieve the VLAIO objectives

Therefore :

• We invest in concrete cooperation and open dialogue between VLAIO and its partners and among the partners in the field.
• We take initiatives to improve the understanding within the network and beyond of the services offered by the VLAIO network.
• Within the Flemish authorities we are taking the lead together with other policy areas and entities to make Flanders a more innovative and enterprising region.
• We are actively and concretely cooperating with cities, municipalities and provinces in order to offer integrated government services to companies.
• We are investing in our cooperation relationship with the Flemish knowledge institutions to further increase their involvement in the ecosystem and their cooperation with companies.
• We are taking initiatives to embed and promote our network more strongly internationally.

We are an agile and values driven organization for our clients, our partners, our policies and our employees. We constantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations drawing on our innovativeness and creativity to do so.

To fulfill our mission in a rapidly changing context, we need all our employees and we derive added value from diversity. In everything we do, we focus on the well- being and job satisfaction of all people and we strive to connect VLAIO employees with each other. We are a learning organization that offers employees plenty of opportunities to develop their talents and expertise, now and in their future careers.

Therefore :

• When we draw up our annual business plans, we look not only at what we are going to do additionally but also what we are not going to do anymore or differently.
• We are increasing the opportunities we offer to employees to develop their talent and increase their expertise.
• We are making the expertise we have better known internally and externally.
• We are investing in more and better knowledge sharing within VLAIO.
• We are taking concrete and targeted action to combat excessive work pressure and work-related stress.
• We regularly review our key processes in order to improve their efficiency and risk management.
• We professionalize and improve the way we prepare and manage the projects as a whole.
• We will set up an innovation unit to translate creative ideas into workable solutions.
• We translate our VLAIO values framework into our operations and into innovative organizational culture.

We use data and digitalization in an integrated way to improve the service for our customers, to increase the efficiency of our operations and to enhance our employees’ job satisfaction.

We use data actively in our operations. We use them for our communication, measure the impact of what we do and adjust accordingly. We take on the role of data director In the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in Flanders. We make maximum use of data exchange and play a pioneering role in managing, providing, and sharing business- and company data.

We actively work towards a culture of digital and data-driven work that is shared by all employees. In this way we profile ourselves as an innovative agency that is among the digital front runners within the Flemish government.

Therefore:

• We professionalize VLAIO services in the field of data and digital applications.
• We set up solid collaborations with partners to develop innovative, digital and data- based solutions.
• We are increasing our maturity in terms of digitalization.
• We improve the management, security and exchange of outer data and information.
• We are setting up a “data- analytics center of excellence “: from which we will offer high quality reporting and visualizations.
• We are making new digital applications available that make full use of the available data
• We are building a platform for the network partners in which it is possible to easily share data and exchange information and where we can monitor the data flows.
• We are improving the user experience for our customers who use the VLAIO Contact Centre and the e-portal Entrepreneurs.
• We are allowing e-portal entrepreneurs.be to continue to evolve by working with and connecting to new relevant building blocks and adding possibilities for advanced dossier follow-up.
• We are optimizing the applications that support processes into more advanced applications and we are adding automation where possible in particular file-handling and CRM functionalities.
• We are deploying our expertise and advanced data applications to support more complex policy questions.
• We use our GIS operation as lever to stimulate spatial  economic policy.

Objectives 8 and 9: VLAIO makes an important contribution to sustainability and to the successful transformation of the Flemish economy and society.

These central objectives within ‘prosperity’ encompass VLAIO's raison d'être. This is also reflected in VLAIO's strategy, which was made explicit at the end of 2021. Strategic objective 2 refers to this in particular. Most of the projects in the 2023 business plan contribute to achieving this objective, through adjustments to our way of working and by implementing policy priorities. In the context of this process, we focus on four specific areas:

• We develop tools and make them available to companies to help and support them in taking steps towards greater sustainability.
• We develop internal tools for VLAIO advisors to use in evaluating a specific application to screen/evaluate it against sustainability criteria.
• We are strengthening our understanding of the levers for productivity growth that VLAIO can influence.

In 2023, we will strengthen our external communication on sustainability.

7: VLAIO has opted for sustainable accommodation and, in collaboration with other partners, we are committed to greening energy.

• In 2023, we are preparing to move to one of the most sustainable office buildings in Europe.
• In 2023-2024, VLAIO will focus extra attention on greening energy carriers in industry through a program approach.
• Together with VEKA, VLAIO is coordinating the Energy Study 2050+, which aims to lay the foundations for the long-term availability of energy in Flanders.

12: VLAIO is strengthening its role as co-leader in the cross-cutting program Flanders Circular.

• In 2023, we will expand the learning network around circular economy living labs, thereby strengthening the symbiosis between the projects and developing this new instrument for social transformation.
• VLAIO is allocating an additional €3.5 million specifically to support additional circular economy living labs.
• We are further fulfilling our role within the working agendas for circular manufacturing, circular construction, and circular chemistry.

13: To give concrete shape to the climate ambitions of the Flemish government and Flemish companies, we are focusing on sharing good practices, deploying our instruments, and developing a policy framework.

• In 2023 and 2024, VLAIO will co-chair the new Taftie Task Force on Net Zero Ambitions, which will identify best practices among innovation agencies in order to achieve the Net Zero target.
• VLAIO plays a central role in the implementation of the Flemish Energy and Climate Plan and translates this into actions for companies.
• VLAIO is the driving force behind the Klimaatsprong program (policy framework for making ETS companies more sustainable) in accordance with the provisions of the decree and the policy agenda.
• In 2023, we will develop a policy on how we can travel more sustainably.

17: We are developing collaborations within the VLAIO network specifically around sustainability, putting the theme of sustainability firmly on the agenda in the VLAIO ecosystem.

• The VLAIO Network reception in 2023 will be entirely devoted to sustainability; under the heading ‘Doe Maar Duurzaam’ (Just Be Sustainable), partners and concrete sustainable cases will be highlighted.
• In 2023, we will start a co-creation process with our stakeholders from the VLAIO Network to flesh out the new Entrepreneurship Contract with, among other things, a strengthened offering focused on sustainability.
• VLAIO will strengthen the functioning of the spearhead clusters and provide resources for cluster projects focused on sustainability.

Within our strategic framework, in addition to strengthening our relationship with companies (Strategic Objective 1) and with the VLAIO Network (Strategic Objective 3), we are also working to strengthen the foundations of our own organization. We do this by developing an effective and innovative organization that acts on the basis of values and offers job satisfaction to all employees (Strategic Objective 4) and by using data and digitization (Strategic Objective 5). In the context of this process, the following is central:

3 and 4: We are continuing to develop VLAIO into a caring and sustainable organization.

• Through the projects ‘HR – VTO education, training and development’, ‘Resilient Organization’ and ‘Well-being policy stimulates job satisfaction’, VLAIO is focusing extra attention on increasing the competencies of VLAIO employees and on supporting and guiding our employees to contribute to the roll-out of our mission with greater resilience and job satisfaction.
• We raise awareness of sustainability among our employees through internal communication and targeted actions.

16: We are making VLAIO a strong public service.

• In 2023, we will achieve level 3 Audit Vlaanderen, thereby securing our position as a high-performing organization.
• We actively gain insights into sustainability through our membership of The Shift (SPEC).
• In partnership with CIFAL Flanders, we will achieve the SDG Pioneer Label.

Beleidsnota 2024-2029 - Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie en Industrie

Regeerakkoord Vlaamse Regering 2024-2029

Decreet herstructurering van het beleidsdomein EWI

Ontbindingsbesluit AIO - BVR

Fonds Flankerend Innovatiebeleid - BVR

Samenstelling beslissingscomité bij het Fonds voor Innoveren en Ondernemen

Bevoegdheden van het beslissingscomité bij het Fonds voor Innoveren en Ondernemen

Conceptnota aan de Vlaamse Regering

Mededeling aan de Vlaamse Regering

Actieplan voor het stimuleren van ondernemingszin en ondernemerschap via het onderwijs