Research and Innovation background
- Federal ITS Action Framework: Policy framework, including the federal authority and the Brussels-Capital, Flanders and Wallonia regions, aligning Belgium with EU ITS and C ITS deployment, supporting digital traffic management, data exchange and automation research.
- Vision Rail 2040: Research project that will create conditions for a modal shift to allow rail to act as the backbone of a more sustainable mobility system whilst reducing CO2 emissions, improving mobility, reducing traffic congestion and road accidents, and supporting the economy.
(Last updated: 18/05/2026)
Institutional framework of transport research
- Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport: Leads and implements federal policy on mobility and transport policy regulation covering road, aviation, shipping, rail and active mobility. The FPS also funds research programmes of national research, including trials of autonomous shuttles on the streets of Leuven and the implementation of the EU C-Roads ITS project in Belgium.
- Federal Planning Bureau (FPB): Provides transport modelling (PLANET model), demand forecasting and policy evaluation. Work also includes conducting thematic analyses related to transport in Belgium and producing mobility and transport indicators
- Walloon Mobility and Infrastructure: Regional transport governance that coordinates transport and mobility infrastructure in the region.
- Flanders Department of Mobility and Public Works: Coordinates mobility and infrastructure policy in the region and uses transport research to provide a scientific basis for mobility policies, such as research on travel behaviour.
- AIRBUS European aeronautical development programme: A major multinational aviation research framework that supports the Belgian aviation industry's participation in Airbus research programmes.
(Last updated: 18/05/2026)
Funding Sources and Support Initiatives
- Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Provides information, advice and subsidies for small businesses in the region, including for R&I activities. Recent projects supported include a feasibility study for a hyperloop transport system and a review of the readiness for synchromodality in the logistics sector.
- Wallonia: Also provides support to experimental/development projects in the form of recoverable advances or, in some cases, direct subsidies.
- ITS.be: Public-private not-for-profit organisation that aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport in Belgium through providing advice and support to organisations, including for market-enabling projects.
- INNOVIRIS: (Brussels Institute for Research and Innovation): Public funding agency for scientific research and technological innovation including transport and mobility projects in the Brussels-Capital Region.
- Mobilidata: Flanders-based programme for data-driven traffic management and smart mobility services for all road users. Includes cooperation with other businesses for data provision or for integrating into their data services.
(Last updated: 18/05/2026)