The OECD.AI Policy Navigator

The Smart Data Sciences Market Consultation, conducted by FPS Policy and Support from 2022 to 2023, aimed to create intelligent data services by maximizing the re-use of government data.

"Lucia" is a state-of-the-art supercomputing facility in Wallonia designed to meet the region's research and innovation needs. It includes advanced GPU nodes for AI applications and supports academic research and business projects in areas such as energy, health, and advanced manufacturing.

“CÉCI” is a Tier-2 supercomputing initiative integrating multiple smaller clusters to support advanced computational research.

The Flemish Data Strategy aims to transform governance by fostering collaboration between local and regional authorities to enable data-driven decision-making.

The Federal Data Strategy, coordinated by FPS Economy, focuses on creating a robust data ecosystem across sectors such as mobility, energy, manufacturing, and health.

EuroCC Belgium serves as the National Competence Centre for HPC, high-performance data analytics (HPDA), and AI.

The Cloud Strategy for the Flemish Administration provides a phased roadmap to modernise public ICT infrastructure by adopting a “public cloud first” approach.

The three agencies Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws), the Aus-trian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) offer funding for basic research, applied research and its entrepreneurial implementation under the title ‘AI Mission Austria’ (AIM AT).

The NAVAJO pilot project introduces an autonomous shuttle service in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. It tests and validates autonomous transport technologies for use in urban mobility systems. The project is financed through Digital Wallonia’s “Intelligent Territories” call for projects to support smart mobility solutions.

A task force initiated by the Flemish Departments of Economy, Science, and Innovation (EWI) and Mobility connects research, innovation, and mobility stakeholders. It aims to build an ecosystem for shared automated road mobility and speed up the development of autonomous driving technologies in Flanders.

The Proloog Mobilidata 2 programme supports development of mobility technologies including remote driving. In spring 2024, it held a “Remote Driving Test Week” to evaluate safety, efficiency, and real-world feasibility. The initiative is designed to test advanced vehicle operation under actual conditions.

Through its Prospective Researchprogramme, Innoviris is financing projects led by academic researchers at a Brussels university or college which focus on the future and cover areas of importance to the Brussels Capital Region.

Digital Wallonia 4 Edu's initiatives aim to enhance digital literacy and inspire interest in STEM among students. These actions include collaborations with educational institutions, creating digital learning resources, and organising workshops and events. Students receive hands-on experience in coding, robotics, and other STEM areas, equipping them with skills for a digital economy (Digital Wallonia, 2024).

Flanders has made available EUR 32 million per year for an AI-impulse program that will be centered around three main pillars: basic research, technology transfer and industrial applications, and supporting activities.

The AI Expertise Center supports and guides the use of artificial intelligence within the Flemish government and local authorities to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and innovation of their (digital) services. The AI Expertise Center takes on the role within the Flanders Digital agency of providing the framework, supporting the knowledge sharing and stimulating the innovative application of AI in government.

Imec is a globally renowned research centre based in Flanders, specialising in semi-conductors, digital innovation, and AI technologies. It plays a pivotal role in advancing hardware solutions for edge AI and quantum computing. Imec collaborates with industry and academia to drive innovation and technological leadership in the global semi-conductor field (Imec, 2024[21]).

This project aims to enhance the capacity of AI governance within Flemish public administrations through a comprehensive approach that includes organizational, policy, and human capacity building. Through the implementation of UNESCO's Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) as well as related measures, the Flemish public administrations are assisted in adapting their AI governance frameworks and in swiftly implementing current and upcoming digital legislation, particularly the AI Act.

Innoviris, the regional institute for research and innovation in Brussels, is currently working on a framework of ethical guidelines, which would help orienting the regional R&D strategy, including a regional AI strategy, towards an ethical and responsible R&D policy.

Policies to support AI-related research and innovation.

This plan aims to boost ICT entrepreneurship in the Brussels capital region.