The document discusses funding programs offered by IWT, the Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology. It describes the Baekeland and Innovation Mandates programs which provide funding for research collaborations between researchers and companies. The Baekeland program supports doctoral research projects conducted jointly with industry, while Innovation Mandates fund the transfer of research results to companies through spin-offs or existing company partnerships. Eligibility requirements, budgets, intellectual property policies and application deadlines are also summarized.

1. agency for Innovation by Science
and Technology

2. agentschap voor Innovatie
door Wetenschap en Technologie
IWT Baekeland and Innovation Mandates
iMinds – Researchers in Residence
12 november 2014
Els Tourwé

3. Outline
1. IWT
2. Baekeland mandates
3. Innovation mandates
4. Practical details
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4. IWT: some facts and figures
• IWT is the agency for Innovation by Science
and Technology of the Flemish government.
• Annual budget: ± 300 million euro
• Number of handled requests: 1970 in 2013
• Number of advisors: ± 66
• 1397 external experts involved in evaluation proces
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5. Supporting innovation in Flanders
Funding
Advice and
services
Co-ordination
and
networking
Policy
development
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6. All types of innovators
Companies
Research
centres
Organizations
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7. Overview of IWT funding schemes
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R&D-enterprise-projects, SPRINT- and SME-programme
Strategic Basic
Research
companies
Networks and
inter-mediaries
R&D organisations
Tech Transfer Agriculture
Individuals
Innovation
mandate
Baekeland mandate
Doctoral
grant
Collective innovation trajectories
TBM (biomed)

8. 8
Baekeland programme
• The Baekeland-programme offers researchers the
opportunity to perform doctoral research and to obtain a
PhD-degree in close cooperation with the business/industrial
sector.
• The aim is to promote the mobility of researchers between
the academic and the industrial world, as well as the
international mobility

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General terms and conditions
• The research has a clear economic objective and will
result – if successfull- in an added value for the
company
• The research is oriented to acquiring a doctorate and
meets the accepted criteria for doctoral research:
 The project should fit within strategic basic research
for a doctorate (PhD) = high-quality research that is
innovative and provides the PhD student with ample
intellectual challenges.

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Consortium: partners
• Company with activities in Flanders
 Strategic orientation of the project
 Co-financing
 Assigns an industrial mentor
 Commitment for duration of the project
• Flemish university
 Guidance/support towards a PhD-thesis and the assignment
of a PhD degree according to the accepted criteria for
doctoral research
 Other knowledge centres (also from abroad) in cooperation
with a scientific promotor at a Flemish university
• Doctoral candidate
 employee of the university/knowledge centre or employee of
the company
 mobility: activities in the company and in the
university/knowledge centre
 open to all candidates who are admitted to doctoral research
at a Flemish university

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Budget and IWT-funding
• Payroll of the mandate holder (based on the real salary
cost) + the other costs associated with this one
employee for 4 years
• Other costs =
(fixed costs + operating costs + equipment costs)
 160 keuro/project
- Overhead (max. 20.000 euro/year)
- Operating costs (materials, licencies, travelling costs, …)
- Depreciation of equipment (% occupation, depreciation period)
No fixed sum but a maximum (details)
• Funding: 50% for large companies, 60 or 70% for SME’s
• 10% extra support for well-balanced collaboration
between several independent companies of which none of
the companies contributes more than 70% of the cost,
and at least one partner is an SME.

12. Innovation mandates
- Provide support to postdoctoral researchers who wish to undertake
active efforts to achieve the effective transfer, the exploitation and the
utilisation of their research findings, either through a close collaboration
with an existing company, either directed towards the establishment of
a new spin-off company.
- Main objectives of the research project are:
- strategic basic research resulting in the applicability of the research
results in the industry
- the economical valorisation of research
niche between university research and research in industry;
strong input from the research institutes, but with a valorisation in
business;
strategic basic research projects, characterized by a risk level which is
still too high to be already carried out as an industrial R&D project.
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13. Different types of mandates
1) Spin-off mandates:
- leading to the establishment of a spin-off company
- main target of this type of innovation mandates is research (and
activities) directed towards the creation of a spin-off company with
an industrial activity in Flanders
- maximum 2 years (mandate stops at the date of foundation of the
company)
- mandate holder is employee of the knowledge centre
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14. Different types of mandates
2) Cooperation with existing companies:
- with co-financing
- phased model
These innovation mandates may consist of 2 phases:
- First phase:
- Preliminary phase in which more research is performed to
assess the applicability in a business context
- all partners involved will define milestone(s), and the thereto
related scientific objectives, which should be achieved before
a transfer of results to the industry will be possible
- maximum 12 months
- Mandate holder is employee of the knowledge centre
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15. Different types of mandates
2) Cooperation with existing companies:
- Second phase:
- Mandates starting with phase 1 shall proceed to phase 2 after
6 months or after 12 months at the latest
- It is possible to start directly with phase 2, in particular when
there is a clear one-to-one relationship with a company, and/or
when the company considerably contributes its own
knowledge/models/tools
- The company is the applicant and is responsible for the strategic
orientation of the research and for co-financing
- Project duration of 24 months (or maximum 36 months)
- Mandate holder is employee of the research institute or of the
company
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Budget and IWT-funding
• Payroll of the mandate holder (based on the real salary
cost) + the other costs associated with this one
employee
• Other costs =
(fixed costs + operating costs + equipment costs)
 40 keuro/FTE per year
- Overhead (max. 20.000 euro/year)
- Operating costs (materials, licencies, travelling costs, …)
- Depreciation of equipment (% occupation, depreciation period)
No fixed sum but a maximum (details)
• Support:
• 100% for IM Phase 1 and IM spin-off
• 50%, 60 or 70% IM Phase 2
• 10% extra support for well-balanced collaboration
between several independent companies of which none of
the companies contributes more than 70% of the cost,
and at least one partner is an SME.

17. Intellectual property rights
Spin-off mandates and mandates in phase 1:
100% funding to the knowledge centre (SBO-Decree)
The companies only take on a coaching role and they do not acquire
any rights to the research results;
 In Phase 1, it is possible to agree on a “Right Of First Negotiation”
 Upon transferring IPR to a company, the knowledge centre receives a
fee in accordance with the market price for the transfer of intellectual
property rights;
The company acting as an industrial mentor has no guarantee on the
possible licensing/exploitation of the project results.
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18. Intellectual property rights
 If the company also contributes its own knowledge/
models/tools, an immediate start with Phase 2 is highly
recommended
 Mutual consent concerning the distribution of IPR:
1. Preference given to shared rights
2. Property rights to the results would belong to the knowledge
centre
3. Company would acquire property rights on results with a
specific target
 Obviously, partners need to agree on acces to background
knowledge
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19. Submitting an application
- Application forms
(http://www.iwt.be/subsidies/innovatiemandaten or
http://www.iwt.be/subsidies/baekeland-mandaten)
• Oral defence before a panel of experts by the
candidate
• Evaluation criteria:
 Scientific quality vs utilisation quality
 candidate vs project
• Decision by board of directors of IWT
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20. 1st call 2015
Deadline for submission:
March 2nd, 2015 at 12.00 noon
• exploratory meetings: January 19th, February 5th 2015 (register via
www.iwt.be)
• submit an electronic version to baekeland@iwt.be or im@iwt.be
• The application will be checked for eligibility upon receipt (14 working
days)
• Oral defence: May, 2015
• Decision: June 18th, 2014
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Contact persons
 Programme: Els Tourwé (et@iwt.be)
 Secretary: Ann Voets (av@iwt.be)
 Director: Maarten Sileghem
 Questions: mail to baekeland@iwt.be or im@iwt.be

22. agentschap voor Innovatie
door Wetenschap en Technologie
Koning Albert II-laan 35, bus 16
B-1030 Brussel
Tel.: +32 (0)2 432 42 00
Fax.: +32 (0)2 432 43 99
E-mail: info@iwt.be
www.iwt.be