As a result of the creation of a new policy framework for international scientific and technological collaboration within which the support of Flemish researchers will also be covered for participation in large-scale research infrastructure (CERN, ESRF, etc.), former vice minister-president Fientje Moerman asked the VRWB for its recommendations. An important aspect in this matter has turned out to be the question of whether the investments (federal or Flemish) do meet a scientific need and what the expected economic and scientific return is.
More specifically, the minister asked the following questions:
- What is the return of participating in the mentioned infrastructure projects for Flanders?
- Should an intra-Belgian distribution factor be used for allocating the Belgian time of use in these infrastructures, and if so which one?
- Is the assigned time of use sufficient; is there either a shortfall or underutilisation?
- What is the need of the Flemish research community for these infrastructures?
- How are the research projects in these infrastructures evaluated and financed? Does a pre-screening take place within the international infrastructure? What is the success rate?
- How are Flemish projects which use this infrastructure being financed and how can the system possibly be bettered?
A specific ad-hoc workgroup was set up for preparing the opinion, which was composed of Flemish scientists and representatives of Flemish and federal administrations affected by these international research organisations, under the presidency of Prof. Lode Wyns, Free University of Brussels.
In order to be able to answer very concretely to the questions formulated by the minister, and to formulate recommendations based on sufficiently long experience, the working group subjected four large research infrastructures to an extended analysis. The focus lay only in the large European installations or institutes for which the membership was contributed federally and for which the Flemish district offers the resources to researchers to optimally interact with the opportunities offered. CERN, synchrotron radiation (ESRF/EMBL), ESO and EMBO-EMBC-EMBL were involved, in other words, unique research apparatus, which goes too far above the capacity of a country or region.
In 1996, the VRWB published a research report 'The international research organisations', in which, among other things, Flemish participation and the role within large multilateral research infrastructures such as CERN, EMBL, ESRF, ESO, etc., was researched. Study 19 includes, among others, an update of above-mentioned VRWB publication, with a complete description of the different facilities, and in which a fundamental analysis of the existing situation is made, and the specific questions of the minister are covered in greater detail.
The book consists of two sections.
In part I, the observations and recommendations formulated by the Flemish Science Policy Council are reproduced.
Part II is the actual summary report, which bundles as much quantitative and qualitative data as possible about these international research organisations and the Belgian and Flemish participation in the same. It can be used as a sort of informative brochure, in which the different chapters are elaborated as per the same model as far as possible:
- historical data,
- objective and participating countries,
- organisation and structure,
- infrastructure and scientific programmes, budget,
- participation of Belgium
- if data is available, of Flanders in the financial contribution, scientific and industrial return and share in staff.