Follow-up and payment

1

Support agreement

In case of a positive decision, a support agreement is concluded between the ‘Fonds voor Innoveren en Ondernemen’ and the beneficiaries.
For spin-off mandates and to support projects in Phase 1, the university/ knowledge centre is the beneficiary.
In Phase 2, the company (companies) is (are) the beneficiary (beneficiaries).
The support agreement must also be signed by the mandate holder and is a best efforts obligation (It binds the partners to make every effort to achieve the described innovation goal.).
Where relevant, VLAIO will incorporate specific conditions into the agreement, such as the authorisation of ethics committees, ownership of required permits, etc.
The support agreement can only be concluded after reception of the cooperation agreement.
2
Follow-up
The innovation goal constitutes the basis for the funding agreement. It is possible to modify the work programme within the scope of the innovation goal without amending the agreement.
The mandate holder must submit a progress report every six months. At the end of Phase 1 and upon completing the mandate, a report is required on:
Scientific progress;
Achieving the innovation objectives including strategic application;
The valorisation report;
The financial report.
3

When will the subsidy be granted?

The provided funding is project-based and paid in instalments every year, in the form of advance payments. The first advance is paid after receipt of the signed funding agreement and the signed cooperation agreement.
In Phase 2, the company is responsible for the timely payment of the research partner(s) in advances of at least six months. The company covers the total invoice of the research partner(s) that is part of the eligible costs on which the funding was calculated and the subsidy granted.
Payment is conditional on proper compliance with the agreements.
At the end of the project implementation, a final audit of actual costs will carried out. Depending on the approved costs and the funding rate applied, the total subsidy is calculated and a final instalment is paid out taking into account the advances already paid.

Modified Process Flow for submitting the final financial report for innovation support

The modified process flow for having an accountant or auditor submit the final financial report applies to companies that submitted a project application after 1/07/2021 with the exception of:

companies/knowledge institutions that have previously made agreements with VLAIO on gross wages for employee categories
organisations using government pay scales

If one is exempt from this, the final financial report, along with any supporting documents of the cost headings External performance and Investments, shall be uploaded by the legally valid representative. There is no need for an accountant or auditor.

For companies that have submitted a project application after 1/07/2021, the final financial report along with the Report of professional and supporting documents must be uploaded by the chartered accountant or auditor.

The lead applicant and any business partners each prepare a final financial report separately. They engage an accountant or auditor to perform specific work described in the Report of professional.

The company collects the necessary supporting documents for eligible costs. (see Report of professional Appendix 1 File: supporting documents provided by the Applicant).

Costs may include:

personnel costs
operating costs
third-party service costs
investment costs

The completed final financial report, supporting documents, with the decision letter, the link to the VLAIO portal and any appendices and addenda are provided to the auditor or the chartered accountant.

The auditor or the chartered accountant requests the approved budget from VLAIO - verificatie@vlaio.be.

Based on:

the approved budget
the final financial report
the supporting documents
the decision letter
any appendices and addenda

the auditor or accountant performs the specific work described in the Report of professional noting any findings. After signing the report, the auditor or accountant uploads this document along with the final financial report including supporting documents via the VLAIO portal.