Flanders Outlook 2013: a benchmarking of Flanders amongst the European regions

In 2006 the government of Flanders launched the ‘Flanders in Action’ plan aimed at strengthening Flanders’ economic and innovative potential. The ultimate goal is to bring Flanders into the top of the European regions by 2020. Today Flanders is a prosperous region. Yet Flanders cannot afford to let things take their own course. The world is evolving at a high pace.This analysis aims to detect regions that are yet a step ahead of Flanders as far as innovation is concerned. It thus wants to depict…

In 2006 the government of Flanders launched the ‘Flanders in Action’ plan aimed at strengthening Flanders’ economic and innovative potential. The ultimate goal is to bring Flanders into the top of the European regions by 2020. Today Flanders is a prosperous region. Yet Flanders cannot afford to let things take their own course. The world is evolving at a high pace.This analysis aims to detect regions that are yet a step ahead of Flanders as far as innovation is concerned. It thus wants to depict how Flanders is positioned compared to those ‘excellent’ regions. In the process a database containing statistics of 131 EU regions has also been developed. The analysis, however, concentrates on the socio-economic performance of Flanders and the set of benchmark regions.