Flanders’ bioeconomic research is among Europe’s finest
“The bioeconomy can and will play an important role in Flanders’ sustainable transition.” That’s the gist of a study commissioned by Flanders’ Department of Economy, Science & Innovation (EWI) and carried out by science center Technopolis and CWTS, the Center for Science & Technology Studies.
Top performers in Europe
As part of the study, a broad range of indicators has been mapped to provide insight into the scientific, economic and societal impact of Flanders’ bioeconomy. The results show that Flanders can compete with the best research regions in Europe in this field, both in terms of research quality and quantity.
This rings particularly true when it comes to the bioeconomic research carried out at Flanders’ knowledge institutions – including the likes of strategic research centers VIB (biotech) and VITO (environmental tech) as well as the region’s strong universities. In this regard, Flanders’ institutions can be ranked among Europe's top performers.
For numerous bioeconomy subdomains, historical expertise has been built up in Flanders' institutions, providing a valuable foundation for future innovations.
Six promising domains
The EWI study also identifies six strong suits of Flanders that prove to be very promising to further develop the bioeconomy. These domains are:
- microbiome for agriculture
- climate adaptation and mitigation for agriculture
- sustainable and circular food chains
- alternative crop protection
- synthetic biology
- microbiome for human health
Ecosystem approach for the win
Furthermore, the EWI study highlights that, compared to other regions and countries, there is a lot of connection and collaboration between research and industry in Flanders. Collaboration with industry is often a major requirement for research funding, while valorization managers help bridge the gap between academia and industry. This aspect is one of the main strengths of Flanders’ ecosystem for R&D and innovation, which seeks to unite the private, public and academic sectors in a close-knit way.
Reported by
EWI Vlaanderen website
