RADIO-TELEVISION BELGE DE LA COMMUNAUTE FRANCAISE

Their core work

RTBF is Belgium's principal French-language public broadcaster, operating television channels, radio stations, and digital platforms with a broad national audience. In EU research projects, they contribute what most research consortia lack: credible mass-media reach, professional science communication, and the ability to turn technical findings into content that general audiences actually consume. Their H2020 participation shows them functioning as a dissemination and public engagement partner — bridging research communities and citizens on topics such as energy-efficient buildings and urban air quality. For any consortium that needs its results to travel beyond academic papers into living rooms and newsrooms, RTBF is the rare partner that can deliver that.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2015–2017), RTBF's involvement was anchored in professional education: reaching building-sector practitioners — managers, architects, engineers — with structured training on nearly zero-energy buildings and workforce inclusion. By 2021, the focus had rotated toward urban sustainability and social dimensions of environmental policy: citizen science, air quality, green city culture, and community diversity. The shift is from communicating with professionals inside a defined sector to mobilising broad urban publics around livability and climate. This suggests RTBF is evolving from a specialist dissemination tool into a platform for civic science communication at city scale.

RTBF is moving toward projects that treat public communication not as a reporting task but as a core mechanism — citizen science, social inclusion, and urban culture work — which makes them a strong fit for Horizon Europe missions on climate-neutral cities that require genuine public buy-in.

How they like to work

RTBF has never coordinated an H2020 project and always entered as a participant, which is consistent with their role as a specialist contributor rather than a research leader. Their value is additive — they bring audience and media production capacity that other consortium members cannot replicate, without competing for scientific leadership. With 34 unique partners across just 2 projects, they work inside relatively large, diverse consortia, suggesting they are comfortable operating as one voice among many.

RTBF has built connections with 34 distinct consortium partners spread across 13 countries through only two projects — an unusually wide network for such a small portfolio, indicating their participation in large, multi-partner consortia rather than tight bilateral arrangements. Their geographic footprint spans well beyond Belgium, suggesting they are valued as a European-level communication asset, not merely a local broadcaster.

What sets them apart

In a research ecosystem crowded with universities, institutes, and technology companies, RTBF is one of very few national broadcasters active in H2020 — which makes them immediately distinguishable for any consortium that needs verified public reach rather than planned dissemination on paper. They bring editorial credibility, production infrastructure, and an established French-speaking audience that no academic partner can substitute. For projects targeting carbon-neutral cities, citizen engagement, or behaviour change, partnering with RTBF converts dissemination from a checkbox into a genuine output.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DivAirCity
  The largest project in their portfolio (EUR 428,250, running to 2025), it combines social diversity, citizen science, and urban air quality into a single Innovation Action — an unusually ambitious scope that positions RTBF at the intersection of environmental policy and civic media.
• MEnS
  Their first H2020 project demonstrates an early, deliberate choice to engage with the energy sector not through research but through professional training dissemination, establishing a communication-specialist identity from the outset.