The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO; nl, Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research council Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained thr ...

, based in Brussels. The Flemish research council aims to sponsor ground-breaking research and innovation. Much of this work involves supporting researchers and undertakings in association with the universities and institutes of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, including

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

, University of Leuven,

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...

and

Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

, among others.

History

The FWO is a successor to the Belgian

National Fund for Scientific Research The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) (Dutch: ''Nationaal Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek'' (NFWO), French: ''Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (FNRS)) was once a government institution in Belgium for supporting scient ...

(NFWO / FNRS), which had been founded in 1928, after the call from

King Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Si ...

for the promotion of research and innovation. In 2006, the National Fund for Scientific Research (NFWO / FNRS) divided into two organisations: the FWO, for the

Flemish community The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...

, and the F.R.S.-FNRS (french: Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS) for the

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

region. A self-governing organization, the Research Foundation – Flanders is located in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and financed by the

Flemish government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...

, the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

, and the national lottery, with further support coming from partner institutes and companies.

Function

The FWO supports research in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, and the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

through a variety of frameworks. It offers competitive funding for doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships as well as for research grants, specific projects, and infrastructure. Moreover, the FWO funds international mobility and collaboration. Together with a number of partners, it also bestows scientific prizes.

Organisation

Regular funding

The FWO organises a total of 31 expert panels, 30 specialist and one interdisciplinary. These panels advise the Senate and the Board of Trustees on matters of funding. * Biological sciences *# Molecular and cellular biology *# Functional biology *# Biodiversity and ecology *# Applied biological sciences * Humanities *# Languages *# Art, art history, and literature *# History and archaeology *# Theology and religious studies *# Philosophy and ethics * Social sciences *# Sciences of law and criminology *# Economics, business economics and management *# Psychology, pedagogy, didactics, and social work *# Social, political, and communication sciences * Medical sciences *# Pharmaceutical sciences and medical biochemistry *# Genetics, functional genome research, bio-informatics science, developmental biology *# Microbiology and immunology *# Cancer research *# Neuroscience, clinical neurology, psychiatry, musculoskeletal research, rheumatology, orthopaedics, and dermatology *# Gastroenterology, hepatology, endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition, reproduction, and urogenital system *# Health sciences * Science and technology *# Mathematical sciences *# Physics *# Condensed matter and physical chemistry *# Chemistry *# Informatics and knowledge technology *# Chemical engineering, material sciences *# Energy, electrical engineering, electronics, and mechanics *# Sciences of the earth and space *# Science and technology of construction and the build environment * Interdisciplinary

Special committees

The FWO also organises special committees to advise on support for international collaboration, research infrastructure, and other special mandates.

International profile

The FWO is a member of

Science Europe Science Europe is an association of major research funding organisations (RFOs) and research performing organisations (RPOs). It was established in October 2011 and is based in Brussels. The association facilitates co-operation among its members ...

and collaborates in many European research organisations. In addition, it has created partnerships with numerous counterparts across the globe, such as the

French Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

(CNRS), Dutch Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO),

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science The is an Independent Administrative Institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.JSPSweb page History The Japan Society for ...

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

, and

National Natural Science Foundation of China The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC; ) is an organization directly affiliated to China's State Council for the management of the National Natural Science Fund. History NSFC was founded in February 1986 by theoretical chemist Tan ...

Examples of projects supported

File:Sagalassos - Agora.jpg, Excavations in

Sagalassos Sagalassos ( el, Σαγαλασσός), also known as Selgessos ( el, Σελγησσός) and Sagallesos ( el, Σαγαλλησός), is an archaeological site in southwestern Turkey, about 100 km north of Antalya (ancient Attaleia) and 30 ...

, started in 1990 File:RMM PIccard gondola 1934 01.JPG, The 1931 FNRS-1, a balloon that set an altitude record, designed by

Auguste Piccard Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Switzerland, Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking Gas balloon, hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Picca ...

File:IceCube drill camp 2009.jpg, Participation in the

IceCube Neutrino Observatory The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (or simply IceCube) is a neutrino observatory constructed at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. The project is a recognized CERN experiment (RE10). Its thousands of sensors are located under t ...

, starting in 2000

References

External links

*
History of the FWO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) Research and development organizations Science and technology in Belgium Research institutes in Belgium Research and development in Europe Research funding agencies