Accelerate projects

Accelerate aims to support three projects fostering thematic networks which are innovative in their set-up and governance, and at the same time inspiring and accessible to the VLIR-UOS community and HES4SD at large.

Through Accelerate, we want to identify, connect, deepen and mobilise the relevant expertise available in the VLIR-UOS network in order to strengthen Flemish and partner institutions and their staff, and to enhance academic and social impact through exchanges with policymakers and experts.

The programme has three pillars:

• policy development
• policy implementation
• capacity building and networking.

The programme emphasizes a co-creation process in multi-institution and multi-actor collaboration, valuing equal partnerships at different levels.

Accelerate will be organised into three projects, with one project per theme:

• Accelerating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Accelerating Uptake, Use and Impact
• Accelerating Higher Education Management

These three strategic themes are identified as relevant to the entire VLIR-UOS community, with clear pathways
to impact society. Terms of Reference have been developed for each theme, with input from the VLIR-UOS community, to describe the context and required deliverables

Per theme, 1 core group will be formed. The core group consists at least of one Flemish promotor and one partner country promotor. 

Affiliation and statute of the promoters:

• Flemish promoter: professor/specialist employed at a Flemish university or a professor/lecturer at a Flemish university of applied sciences and arts.
• Partner promoter: employed at a recognised higher education institution or a national public (not for profit) research institute, located in a VLIR-UOS country (list of 29 countries). 

Additional criteria:

A promoter can submit proposals for more than one theme, but cannot be part of multiple proposals within one theme.

Accelerate is organised in Belgium and in one or more of the VLIR-UOS project and/or scholarship partner countries.

As Accelerate is all about connecting and pooling all possible expertise, Higher education and public (not for profit) research institutions located in 29 partner countries are eligible:

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Bolivia
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Cuba
• DR Congo
• Ecuador
• Ethiopia
• Guinea
• Haiti
• Indonesia
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Palestine
• Peru
• Philippines
• Rwanda
• Senegal
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Vietnam
• Zimbabwe

The project budget amounts to a maximum of 200,000 EUR for a duration of 32 months:

8 months inception phase and 24 months implementation phase. Up to 40,000 EUR can be budgeted for the inception phase.

This 32 month period is considered a pilot-phase. The intention of VLIR-UOS is to sustain the networks also in its next Five-Year Programme.