In Flanders, project funding information is categorised based on a classification scheme for funding programmes. This classification scheme is governed by ECOOM-Hasselt and is used to provide information on publicly funded research to the FRIS research portal. The funding programmes in this classification span the range of policy levels (local, regional, federal or international), are linked to different funders (such as the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO), the Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen (VLAIO) and the European Commission (EC)) and mainly represent public funding.
The list of funding codes was set up in the early 1990s for universities to report on research information to the Flemish government. Since then, this classification scheme has been integrated into the internal databases of the Flemish universities. The classification has been regularly updated and refined. The governance of this classification is currently coordinated by the Centre of Expertise for Research and Development Monitoring (ECOOM-Hasselt). A stakeholder group, consisting of ECOOM-Hasselt, the department EWI and the FRIS suppliers, discusses and formally agrees on adjustments of the classification and the corresponding semantic definition of the codes. This process ensures an unambiguous use of the classification for the information suppliers as well as for the information users. In addition to the governance of this classification, ECOOM-Hasselt is responsible for the development of a concordance table between this classification and the accounting codes, in order to make comparisons between research income and expenditure possible.
Classification governance in Data Governance Center
The central governance of this classification scheme takes place within the Data Governance Center (DGC, Collibra) tool. Governance via DGC provides a one-stop resource for the classification scheme, in which both the funding codes, their relations and characteristics are registered. The information in DGC is in contact with the FRIS interface, where FRIS suppliers can always retrieve the most recent version of the classification list. In addition, the classification can also be obtained via request by e-mail.
