Belgium's federal science policy office coordinating ERA-NET joint programming in biodiversity, climate, marine, and polar research across 53 countries.
BELSPO is Belgium's Federal Science Policy Office, responsible for coordinating and funding national research programs and aligning them with European research agendas. In H2020, they specialize in managing ERA-NET cofund actions and Coordination & Support Actions that synchronize research priorities across countries — particularly in biodiversity, climate services, and polar research. They do not conduct research themselves but act as a research policy orchestrator, connecting national funding agencies and shaping joint programming initiatives across Europe and beyond.
Nine ERA-NET-Cofund projects including BiodivERsA3, ERA4CS, LEAP-AGRI, BiodivScen, BiodivClim, and AquaticPollutants — all focused on aligning national research funding across borders.
Continuous involvement from BiodivERsA3 (2015) through BiodivScen, BiodivClim (coordinated), to BiodivRestore (2020), forming a clear multi-year biodiversity programming arc.
ERA4CS, AXIS, SINCERE (coordinated), and BiodivClim all address climate research coordination, impact assessment, and international climate research cooperation.
SINCERE (coordinated, strengthening international climate research cooperation), LEAP-AGRI (EU-Africa food security partnership), EU-PolarNet 2, and CSA Oceans 2 (coordinated) span multiple global regions.
SEREN 4 (security NCP network), COSMOS2020plus (space NCPs), RI-VIS (research infrastructure visibility), and InRoad (research infrastructure prioritization).
CSA Oceans 2 (coordinated, JPI Oceans implementation), EU-PolarNet 2 (European Polar Research Area), and AquaticPollutants reflect growing marine and polar focus.
In 2014–2018, BELSPO focused heavily on building European Research Area alignment — consolidating biodiversity networks (BiodivERsA3), launching climate services programming (ERA4CS), and establishing science-society dialogue frameworks. From 2019 onward, their work shifted toward governance processes, socio-ecological systems thinking, and inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, reflecting a maturation from "aligning funding programs" to "coordinating complex cross-domain research agendas." The recent portfolio also shows geographic expansion into polar and marine domains alongside their core biodiversity-climate nexus.
BELSPO is moving from single-domain research alignment toward integrated, transdisciplinary governance of complex environmental challenges — a valuable partner for projects requiring multi-country funding coordination.
Predominantly a participant (17 of 20 projects), BELSPO joins large consortia as a national funding agency representative rather than leading research execution. Their 3 coordinator roles (CSA Oceans 2, SINCERE, BiodivClim) are all coordination-type actions where their policy mandate fits naturally. With 240 unique partners across 53 countries, they operate as a high-connectivity hub — ideal for consortium builders who need a partner that brings institutional legitimacy and access to national funding mechanisms.
Exceptionally broad network of 240 unique partners across 53 countries, reflecting their role as a national funding agency embedded in virtually every major European joint programming initiative. Their reach extends well beyond Europe through projects like LEAP-AGRI (Africa) and EU-PolarNet 2.
BELSPO is not a research performer — it is the Belgian federal instrument for research policy coordination, which gives it unique authority to commit national funding and align Belgian research priorities with European calls. For consortium builders, having BELSPO means gaining a direct channel to Belgian research funding decisions and a partner experienced in managing the complex mechanics of ERA-NET cofund actions. Few organizations combine this level of institutional mandate with hands-on experience across biodiversity, climate, marine, and polar programming.
