Applying for a subsidy for a doctorate in business

Any company that is incorporated as a commercial company, which is:

• active in any sector
• any size: small, medium or large company

The maximum portion of admissible expenses covered by the Walloon region is:

• Small enterprise: 70%
• Medium enterprise: 60%
• Large company: 30%

Admissible expenses include: 

• the researcher’s salary;
• fixed operating and coordination costs for the company (up to €10,000 per half-year);
• general costs, corresponding to 10% of the researcher's total salary;
• subcontracting costs: fixed operating and coordination costs for the university department (up to €10,000 per half-year). 

Applications for aid for technological research and innovation may be submitted at any time during the year to the Research projects department.
The form, its annexes, practical information concerning the submission of a subsidy application and outlines for the half-yearly reports are available below.
Each project submitted is reviewed by technical manager, who examines the file along with the project leader and the help of the Financial analysis department of SPW Economy, Employment, Research, based on the established criteria. 
At the end of the review phase, the file is presented to the selection committee, which issues an opinion to the Minister responsible for research. This committee is made up of representatives of the administration and representatives of the Minister.
You are guaranteed to receive an opinion (be it positive or negative) within 3 months of receiving your completed file.
In the event funding is granted, the execution of the research phase is subject to technical and financial reports.
You own the results of your research and you may use them in accordance with the agreement and the partnership agreement signed with the host university.

Deadlines:
You are guaranteed to receive an opinion (be it positive or negative) within 3 months of receiving your completed file

Identification and signing conditions:
Statement to be signed on the paper form
Scanned statement, in the case of electronic submission

Appeal procedures:
The appeal procedures are explained in the downloadable “appeal procedures” document, which is available below:

• contact the relevant administration
• make a claim to the ombudsman for the Walloon region
• to the State Council 
  • make a request for cancellation to the State Council within 60 calendar days from the date of notification for the disputed decision
  • The request for suspension may be submitted before, at the same time as, or after sending the request for cancellation. In exceptional cases, and under specific conditions, you may also request the suspension of the decision in cases of extreme emergency

Eligibility criteria:

• The company is incorporated as a commercial company as referred to by the Companies Code;
• The company has a business unit in Wallonia;
• The company must not be experiencing financial difficulty;
• The company complies with the region’s VAT and social-security regulations;
• The project has not already received public funding;

Assessment criteria:

• The innovative nature of the project;
• The quality of the project, its technical feasibility and its relevance to the region's technical and economic needs. 
• The company must be able to highlight the expected results of the project
• The project must aim to contribute to sustainable development.
• The company must be able to cover the current and expected future financial needs of the project; or be able to find additional funding for these needs;
• The project must represent an obvious degree of risk.

Specific criteria:

• the researcher’s profile 
• the quality of the coordination and management, within both the company and the host university laboratory;
• the excellence of the research unit;
• the international scope.