Belgian Science Policy Office

Supports Belgian science and innovation by coordinating national policy, European interfaces, and cross-sector program implementation.

The Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) is Belgium's federal science policy body. It prepares, implements, and evaluates federal science policy for the Belgian government, and it coordinates the Federal Scientific Institutions. Its remit runs from Antarctic research and satellites to the North Sea, environmental management, and the restoration of works of art.

BELSPO funds research tied to federal competencies through programmes such as P4Science, DEFRA, BRAIN-be, FED-tWIN, and Impulse Actions. P4Science backs scientific excellence in the Federal Scientific Institutions across six priorities: AI models, heritage conservation, societies past and present, ecosystems and climate, natural-hazard response, and astronomy and planetary science. DEFRA covers defence-related research, while BRAIN-be supports interdisciplinary networks and FED-tWIN links federal institutes with universities. P4Science is run as an online two-step call with an expression of interest followed by a full proposal.

The office sits inside Belgium's split science-policy system, so its role is federal rather than regional. That matters because universities and research groups in Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels rely on separate funders for regional R&D support. For applicants, BELSPO is most relevant when the work serves federal institutions, federal missions, or nationally coordinated research infrastructure.