The entrepreneur ready to innovate in Flanders can count on the support of the Flemish government through IWT. IWT is the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders. The organisation is the only Flemish organisation stimulating and supporting innovation. For this purpose IWT-Vlaanderen is applying two instruments.
On the one hand the organisation grants financial support to companies, research institutes as individual researchers.
Companies are provided with financial support for executing industrial research and development projects. Special attention is given to SME's due to their specific characteristics and needs. For them, there are attractive formulas called 'innovation studies and innovation projects', with huge attention for administrative simplification.
Research institutes (universities, high school, research centres) can apply for projects in strategic basic research, collective research and technology transfer.
Individual researchers can apply for support in their doctoral and postdoctoral (Master's) research projects.
On the other hand IWT promotes innovation by offering several services. IWT facilitates the search of enterprises for technological partners, as well in Flanders http://www.innovatienetwerk.be/, as on European level throughout the IRC-network (http://www.iwt.be/irc). IWT can also accompany each applicant to one of the 100 innovation centres in Flanders, moreover helping to choose the most appropriate formula of support, including the measures of the European Commission, esp. the Seventh Framework Programme (http://www.europrogs.be) or the best instrument coping with their specific need of the firm.