BELGIUM
This information on national public-health research structures has been gained from country key informants
and internet searches for STEPS (Strengthening Engagement in Public Health Research www.steps-ph.eu),
a project funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Research Programme. It builds on the
country profiles and reports from Ministries of Health and Ministries of Science that were created previously
for SPHERE (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/public-health/sphere/sphereprofiles.htm).
The organogram shows the structure for managing and providing public-health research from the perspective
of financial flows.
The main organisations are also briefly described, with their URLs, and other relevant national documents
and information on public-health research.
Note: 'Public-health research' includes all health research at population, organisation and system level
broadly relevant to health and health-care policy and practice. It excludes clinical and laboratory (biomedical)
research.
Organogram
Funding PHR
1.
Federal Government
Flemish
Community
Providing PHR
Belgian Federal
Science Policy
Office
Federal Public Service of
Health, Food Chain Safety
and Environment
French
Community
Other ministries: Federal Public
Service Social Security
FWO, Research
Foundation – Flanders
FNRS, Scientific
research fund
Universities
Universities of
Flemish Community
PHR: Public Health research;
Universities of
French Community
Scientific Institute of
Public Health
Belgian Health
Care Knowledge
Centre (KCE)
funding negotiated between government and agency/organization; includes direct commissioning
funding competitive process where rules are more or less explicit and known in advance
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Belgium is a federal state made up of three Communities and three Regions. The Federal
State, the Communities and the Regions, all three are equal from the legal viewpoint. They
are on an equal footing but have powers and responsibilities for different fields 1.
The law states that the primary jurisdiction for research policy lies within the regions and
communities, while the federal state retains some competences as an exception to this
rule. Governmental responsibilities in the research area are arranged as follows:
• the regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels-Capital) have authority on research policy
for economic development purposes, thus encompassing technological
development and applied research;
• the communities (French-, Flemish- and German-speaking) are responsible for
education and fundamental research at universities and higher education
establishments; and
• the federal state retains the responsibility for research areas requiring homogenous
execution at the national level, and research in execution of international
agreements (e.g. space research) 2.
(Source: 1-Adapted from: http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/federale_staat/structure/
http://www.belgium.be/en/binaries/Belgium_at_a_glance_tcm115-36271.pdf, assessed in February 2010;
2 - Source: ERAWATCH Research Inventory Report: BELGIUM, page 40
http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.content&topicID=4&countryCode=BE, assessed in
February 2010)
2.
Research Commissioners
2.1 Ministry of Health
Federal
Public
Service
Health,
Food
Chain
Safety
and
Environment,
https://portal.health.fgov.be
The Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment was set up in
2001. Its competencies were transferred from the former Ministry of Social Affairs, Health
and Environment and the regionalized Ministry of Agriculture.
2.2. Ministry of Science
Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, http://www.belspo.be
The Belgian Federal Science Policy Office was previously known as the 'Federal Office for
Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs' (OSTC). The mission of the Federal Science
Policy Office is to prepare, execute and evaluate science policy and its extensions.
2.3. Other ministries
Federal Public Service Social Security, http://www.socialsecurity.fgov.be/en/index.htm
2.4. Regions
2.4.1. FNRS, Scientific research fund (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique, www.fnrs.be),
has, as mission, to develop the scientific research. It funds research activities based on
researchers' own initiatives. It can fund individual researchers or programs in Universities
of the Belgian French Community. The action plan of the FNRS in referred on point 3.2.1.
2.4.2. FWO, Research Foundation – Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek –
Vlaanderen, http://www.fwo.be/en) finances basic research carried out in the universities
of the Flemish Community and in affiliated research institutes. The FWO supports
individual researchers, supports research teams, promotes national and international
scientific teams; participates in European Research Organizations; awards scientific prizes
to distinguish researchers
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2.5. Foundations
3.
Research Performers
3.1. State Institutes
3.1.1. The IPH, Scientific Institute of Public Health (www.iph.fgov.be), is a scientific
institute of the federal Belgian State.
Its main mission is scientific research in view of support of health policy. It provides also
expertise and public service in the field of public health. The IPH plays an important role as
part of the Belgian representation at the level of the European Union and some
international organisations as the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe, whenever
scientific and/or technical aspect of public health are involved. IPH is member of the
International Association of National Public Health Institutes.
The main activities of the IPH are related to the following fields: Surveillance of
communicable diseases; Surveillance of non-communicable diseases; Verification of
federal product norms (e.g. food, pharmaceuticals, vaccines); Risk assessment (e.g.
chemical products, genetically modified organisms (GMO's); Environment and health;
Management of biological resources (collections of strains of microorganisms)
3.2. Mixed organizations
3.3. Universities
A large part of public research in Belgium is carried out in universities, which are major
players on the research landscape. They depend on the communities for their funding and
management, and are given a great deal of autonomy. They can also access funding
sources from federal and regional levels, as well as income from private parties.
There are 15 universities in Belgium, six of which are in the Flemish-speaking community
and nine within the French-speaking community.
(Source: ERAWATCH Research Inventory Report: BELGIUM,
http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch/index.cfm?fuseaction=ri.content&topicID=4&countryCode=BE, assessed in
February 2010)
3.4. Health Services
3.5. Independent organizations
3.5.1. KCE, Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (http://kce.fgov.be) is a semigovernmental institution which produces analyses and studies in the different research
domains in which decisions must be taken; collecting and disseminating objective
information from registered data, literature and current practice; and developing high level
scientific expertise in the four research domains: Good Clinical Practice; Health
Technology Assessment; Health Services Research; Equity and Patient Behaviour.
(Source: http://kce.fgov.be/index_fr.aspx?SGREF=3449&CREF=4908, assessed in February 2010)
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4.
Research Strategies
4.1. FNRS Scientific research fund. Plan for harmonisation and action for research 2010 2014 [PHARE (Plan d'Harmonisation et d'Action pour la Recherche) Refinancement - Plan
Stratégique du Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - période 2010 à 2014. Avril 2009]
(http://www2.frs-fnrs.be/uploaddocs/docs/ORIENTER/FRS-FNRS_PHARE.pdf. Assessed in February 2010)
This plan calculates an annual increase of 2007 budget (of approximately 140M€) to reach
a final increase of 47.000K€ in 2014. The four strategic axes are: researchers and
research teams; strategic research for the society; means: equipment and functioning;
national and international collaboration.
5.
Programmes and calls
5.1. Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (Belgian Science Policy, http://www.belspo.be)
The research programme “Science for a Sustainable Development” (SSD) was launched
in 2005 with a total research budget of 65,4 M€ for the period 2005 – 2009.
Funding, management, coordination and development of the Programme are in the hands
of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office.
The programme SSD is composed of 8 priority research areas: Energy; Transport and
mobility (includes traffic safety); Agrofood (includes food safety / food allergies and food
intolerances / food and ‘novel foods’); Health and environment (includes health risks
relating to biological, chemical, physical exposures / the work environment); Climate;
Biodiversity; Atmosphere and terrestrial and marine ecosystems and Transversal
Research.
Calls for research proposals are issued among all Belgian university institutions, public
scientific institutions and non-profit research centres likely to be in a position to present
projects.
(Source:http://www.belspo.be/belspo/ssd/science/program_en.stm, assessed in March 2010)
6.
European contacts
6.1.National FP7Contact point (Health area)1
6.1.1. Katrien Selderslaghs (BEA, Brussels Enterprise Agency, http://www.abe.irisnet.be)
6.1.2. Monique Septon (FNRS, Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique,
http://www.ncp.fnrs.be)
6.1.3. Alain DELEENER (IWT, Instituut voor de aanmoediging van innovatie door
Wetenschap & Technologie in Vlaanderen, http://www.iwt.be)
6.1.4.Laurence LENOIR (STIS, Scientific and Technical Information Service,
http://eurofed.stis.fgov.be)
6.1.5.Anne-Marie
BAUDUIN
(UWE,
Union
Wallonne
des
Entreprises,
http://www.ncpwallonie.be)
6.2. National DGSANCO Contact point2
6.2.1. Laurence BALLIEUX (Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and
Environment, International Relations Assistant); laurence.ballieux@health.fgov.be
1
2
Source: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ncp_en.html, assessed in February 2010
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/health/programme/policy/index_en.htm assessed in February 2010
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STEPS: Strengthening Engagement in Public Health Research. Country profiles
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