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In the memorandum to the Flemish Government, the growing socio-economic impact of space travel on society is acknowledged, along with the ambition to develop the Flemish space economy. Within this framework, the Space Economy Impulse Programme has been established to enhance Flanders' position in space travel.
It is an integrated programme that addresses several key aspects of space travel and space applications. The majority of resources are allocated to Luik 4 (increasing the success rate of Flemish space companies in international programmes), followed by Luik 2 (facilitating the transition of researchers to space research). The programme also includes Luik 3 (competitiveness and entrepreneurship), which ensures "a favourable business climate and the development of training programmes and the creation of spin-offs, alongside expertise in anchoring and promoting aerospace employment in the region." This raises the specific question of whether space travel rightly requires a specialised innovation and industry policy. Luik 5 (science communication) aligns with yet another specific characteristic of this field, namely its exceptional suitability for popularising and gaining support for science, as space travel fascinates many (especially young people) and can actively encourage them to choose STEM profiles in their studies. Luik 1 (supporting triple helix platform - Flanders Space) is essentially the organisational capacity that oversees the setup and implementation of the space economy impulse programme.
The purpose of this interim evaluation was to formulate adjustments for the programme. These adjustments are aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the programme, as well as other evaluation or improvement aspects. The evaluation encompasses both an ex-post and an ex-ante perspective. You can find the (Untranslated) and the (Untranslated) on the website of the Department of EWI.
This was Dialogic's tenth project in the space sector since 2016. Previous projects were carried out for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands Space Office, and the Federal Science Policy Programming Department (BELSPO).
