EU recovery plan for health tech - Belgium

Member States must develop national plans for recovery and resilience which include measures for the implementation of public investment and reforms; they may also include public schemes aimed at stimulating private investment. Please find more information about the selected areas of interest in Belgium through its Plan pour la Reprise et la Résilience (PRR) / Nationaal plan voor herstel een veerkracht.

Investments in health and technology: selected areas of interest

Digital transformation (eHealth Services and Health Data (2.06)

Resources: €40m

Funding: By the Federal Government. The programme started in 2013 and will continue until the end of 2025.

The goal: Digitisation of healthcare in Belgium will include a significant contribution to increasing the quality, speed and agility of healthcare through the digitisation of healthcare processes.

Implementation: various actions including:

• Expanding e-prescribing capabilities through the establishment of a platform;
• Implementation of an objective, robust and user-friendly electronic application ("clinical decision support" or "CDS") at national level that helps by requesting physicians to prescribe the right examination in the fields of radiology and supports radiologists; in the use of their right to substitution, laboratory tests in clinical biology, and antimicrobials;
• Operationalisation of tele-consulting;
• Establishing a health data ecosystem aligned with the European Commission's open data market objectives;
• Stimulating innovation in digitalization in healthcare;
• Assembling existing eHealth applications into a user-friendly information flow (care pathway), simple and easy to use with clear added value for 1st and 2nd line care providers.

TARGET GROUP: (1) Citizens and patients; (2) Medical sector, care providers, institutions; (3) Software providers

Economy of the future and productivity (nuclear medicine 5.08)

Resources: €35m

Funding: By the Federal Government, until the end of 2024.

The goal: two ongoing projects:

1. "Radiopharmaceutical R&D at SCK CEN for innovative cancer therapies FED"*: The project aims to increase the availability of two of the most promising therapeutic radioisotopes, 177Lu and 225Ac, for the benefit of cancer patients.

2. "Source of MedicAl RadioIsoTopes ('SMART')": The SMART project (conducted by the IRE) aims to develop a technology that can meet the ever-increasing challenges of sourcing Mo-99, the radioisotope used in 80% of the world's medical imaging procedures, manufacturing it sustainably and with minimal nuclear waste, while keeping the cost low so as to ensure that as many patients as possible have access to medical imaging procedures.

Economy of the future and productivity (EU Biotech School and Health Hub 5.02)

Resources: €24,8m

Funding: By the Walloon Government, until end June 2026.

The goal: creation of the EU Biotech School and Health Hub. The hub is a new multi-operator, multi-partner professional training centre on campus. It is an accelerator dedicated to the development of talent, skills and companies in the biotechnology and health sector. It offers state-of-the-art infrastructure and services to students and job seekers with low or high qualifications (at regional, Belgian, European and international level), academics, spin-offs, start-ups and multinationals.

Economy of the future and productivity (Strenghening R&D 5.11)

Resources: €280m

Funding: By the Flemish Government

The goal: Focus on three areas: digitisation, sustainability and health. The following partial investments can be identified at present.

Distribution of the €280m in three envelopes:

1^st Envelope: €80m

• R&D&I project - €28m

  • selection of field projects to strengthen the research area and accelerate R&D, focusing on three themes: sustainability, digitisation and health.
  • Target group: knowledge institutions (SOC, universities, scientific institutions...)
  • Responsible body: EWI Department (Economy, Science and Innovation)

• Bioeconomy Impulse Programme - €20m - The programme will provide specialization in order to provide:

  • Support for SMEs and start-ups to stimulate the use of pilot plants for technological scaling up in the bioeconomy (€7m)
  • Target group: SMEs
  • Responsible body: Agency for Innovation and Enterprise ("VLAIO")

• Health and care - €8m

  • Launch of an impulse programme for health and care to develop cooperation initiatives between companies, research institutions and governments and to launch projects together. In addition, the aim is also to translate and implement technology among care actors in Flanders.
  • Target group: innovation cluster ('speerpuntcluster'), companies, centres of expertise and health care actors
  • Responsible body: VLAIO

• Strengthening of the Industrial Research Fund (IRF) - €14m

  • Strengthening of the Industrial Research Fund (IRF) in order to contribute to solutions for concrete problems in the field of sustainability, digitisation and health, which are also related to major societal challenges.
  • Responsible body: EWI Department

2nd Envelope: €100m

• Development of scientific and technological infrastructure - €100m
  • Selection of grassroots projects aimed at the development of technological and scientific infrastructures by knowledge institutions, focusing on three themes: sustainability, digitisation and health
  • Target group: knowledge institutions (SOC, universities, colleges) and clusters spearhead
  • Responsible bodies: VLAIO/FRS/EWI

3rd Envelope: €100m

• Strengthening R&D enterprises - €80m

  • These grants will be awarded under the conditions of the current instruments to support business R&D. The aim is to support an additional 180 business innovation projects of which at least 50% are SMEs.
  • Target group: companies (SMEs and large companies)
  • Responsible bodies: VLAIO

• Microelectronics Value Chain Boost Programme - €20m

  • PIIEC microelectronics business projects (multi-country project)
  • Description: These resources are provided to support Flemish companies that wish to participate in the Microelectronics PIIEC. For this PIIEC, a call for expression of interest has been launched with a first deadline of 19 April 2021. This call for proposals is aimed at economic actors who wish to participate in innovative projects on a European scale via various partnerships in the European economic value chain. More information: https://www.vlaio.be/nl/nieuws/belangrijk-project-van-gemeenschappelijk-europees-belangipcei-micro-elektronica-en
  • Target group: companies
  • Lead organisation: VLAIO

See the Belgian Recovery and resilience plan in Dutch or French