Crowdfunding in sustainable innovation: Insights from and for Belgium

The take up of innovative services and products has contributed to creative thinking also in terms of new sources of financing. Innovation processes are characterised by constant development, and it is beneficial if models of financing can be aligned to that. Crowdfunding, i.e. collecting finance from publics, has emerged as a new alternative also in the field of sustainable innovation. Crowdfunding is particularly interesting for Small and Medium size companies (SME’s) looking for financing when their product or service is not considered quite ready for investments. This policy brief looks how crowdfunding relates to sustainable innovation. It introduces crowdfunding as an activity, discusses it in relation to sustainable innovation and looks at the development of crowdfunding in Belgium. This policy brief looks at crowdfunding from several levels: a strategic, programmatic and case level. Concerning Belgium attention should be paid to further develop a regulatory framework that underpins the fast growing use of crowdfunding; raise awareness among SME’s about the concept and potential of crowdfunding; grasp the opportunity to involve citizens and other relevant stakeholders in crowdfunding activities and beyond, especially in the context of the current transition processes in cities to become climate neutral in the next coming decades; investigate the potential, barriers and good practices of crowdfunding with regard to sustainable innovation; develop a multi-stakeholder learning network at the local level and across levels to set up a dialogue about crowdfunding.