Your agreement with the Fund for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (FIO)

When submitting a project and accepting the General Conditions for Innovation Support, your company (via the legally authorised representative or delegate) adheres to the grant agreement between the FIO and your company.

Following a positive decision, the grant agreement is concluded and enters into force. You will initially receive the decision to award the grant by email, stating the essential project information (maximum support percentage and amount, start date, duration, objectives, etc.) and any special conditions. This decision is also communicated via the enterprise e-box. In step two, you will be emailed a link to the e-portal, where you can view all conditions and payments relating to the project. 

If at that point you decide not to start the project, you must communicate this within one month of dispatch of the Grant Award Decision by emailing the project adviser and bedrijfsinnovatiesteun@vlaio.be.

If this notification is not provided, the grant agreement enters into force automatically. For operational purposes, however, you are requested to explicitly confirm the start of the project via the e-portal.

Monitoring of your project

The e-portal gives you access to an online overview of the reporting that VLAIO expects and the deadlines involved. The e-portal always contains the most up-to-date information about the project.

Reporting during implementation and upon completion of your project

The reporting includes progress sheets (progress reports aligned with the milestones) and an end-of-project report (final report). The latter contains a concise account of the activities carried out, the performance delivered, the results achieved and updated expectations regarding the impact in terms of employment and investment. A financial report provides an overview of the project costs.

Templates for the progress report and the final report can be found at the bottom of the page under ‘Documents’. For the financial final report, you must use the provided spreadsheet.

Specific reporting

When support is granted, special conditions or interim evaluations may be imposed. These are included in the decision letter and any addenda. In the e-portal you will find which information or specific report must be provided and the respective deadlines.

Duty to notify

If changes occur that have a significant impact on achieving your project objectives, the execution of your project or the anticipated impact of the project results on your company, you are obliged to report this at all times.

Payment of your grant

The online overview also specifies the instalments into which the grant is divided and an indicative payment schedule.

Grants are paid in instalments, in the form of advances. The first instalment of 50% is paid after confirmation of the intention to start the project. The subsequent instalments are paid upon achievement of the milestones set out in the grant application and approved at the time of award. The final instalment is paid after closure of the project. 

Basic conditions for payment – besides proper execution of the project – include compliance with the reporting and notification obligations regarding unforeseen and significant changes in project execution.

If your company ceases to meet Article 22 of the General Block Exemption Regulation during the period of your Scale-Ready project, the project will be terminated and the support will be settled up to that point.

Your further obligations after closing your project 

VLAIO may request an update for up to 10 years after project completion regarding the impact of the project on your company.