The competitiveness of Brussels in European Research Area

What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a âknowledge-based economyâ, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU RANDD projects. Findings show a double role for Brussels: i) Belgian stakeholdersperform well in the competition for RANDD calls; ii) EU-related stakeholders contribute by establishingresearch networks, making Brussels the âcapital of the European Research Areaâ. The analysis is based on an innovative database of participation in Framework Programme projects from 1999 to 2010.