While reviewing the R&D investments during the previous legislative period, the Flemish Science Policy Council notes a number of very strongly positive points. In absolute amounts, the governmental resources for R&D increased very sharply, by about 40%. The balance between directed and non-directed research was respected while distributing these resources. There was constant concern for the quality of research. The career path of the researcher was supported at all levels. Enormous knowledge potential was created in Flanders in the most recent years.
As less good points, the Council notes that the 3% standard has not yet been achieved at all, and more importantly, that the gap with this standard has not decreased, neither for the public nor the private share. The fragmentation of resources for increasingly more channels was not actively addressed. The under-utilised valorisation potential is worrisome; this is reflected by an insufficient creation of new economic activity and insufficient transformation of the existing economic fabric.
The Flemish Science Policy Council calls on the new Flemish Government to direct its attention towards science and innovation as a priority for making Flanders a top region in a global knowledge society. Precisely by earmarking additional financing for research and development exactly during times of economic crisis, Flanders will be able to build up a significant head start. Achieving the 3% standard around 2014 should remain the unmitigated goal in this regard.
A new budgetary growth path for achieving the 1% standard should be based on a multi-year budget for the coming legislative period. On the basis of official growth forecasts from the beginning of July 2009, this boils down to 177 million EUR in additional R&D-resources, structurally since 2010 and again each year.
The VRWB advocates setting up a global multiple-year plan for science and innovation linked with the multi-year budget during the new period of government 2009-2014. This global multi-year plan should form the more expansive framework within which well-founded assessments can be made for the support and justified enhancement of the highly diversified existing channels on the one hand and the requirement for resources for the directed implementation on strategic domains which should lead to breakthroughs on the other (cf. VRWB-clusters and ViA-breakthroughs), which can also deliver substantial added value economically and socially.