Departement Werk, Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie & Sociale Economie (WEWIS)

What Departement Werk, Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie & Sociale Economie (WEWIS) does

Departement Werk, Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie & Sociale Economie (WEWIS) is a Flemish government department formed on January 1, 2025, through the merger of two predecessor entities — Departement Werk en Sociale Economie (WSE) and Departement Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie (EWI). It serves the general population and business community of the Flanders region in Belgium, consolidating socio-economic policy instruments covering labor market and competency policy, economic policy, science policy, innovation policy, and social economy programs under a single organizational structure. The department is part of the Vlaamse Overheid (Flemish Government) and is overseen by three competent ministers: Zuhal Demir, Matthias Diependaele, and Hilde Crevits. The department employs approximately 213 people.

The department operates a portfolio of interconnected digital platforms and public-facing portals, including the Kennisplatform (knowledge platform for work and social economy), Levenslang Leren (lifelong learning), Duaal leren Vlaanderen (dual learning combining theory with workplace training), Sociale economie (social economy and inclusive employment portal), Europa WSE (European affairs and EU funding), FRIS onderzoeksportaal (Flemish research portal), Maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen / MVO (corporate social responsibility), the Opendata platform DWSE (open public datasets), Digibanken (digital collections), and the annual Speurgids Ondernemen en Innoveren policy publication. Core technology is centered on open data platforms and digital portals for public administration, and a new unified WEWIS website is planned for 2026 to replace the legacy EWI and WSE sites.

WEWIS does not operate commercial pricing. As a Flemish government department, it is funded through public taxation and government budgets, administering — per the Speurgids 2025 — a Flemish government budget of 5.3 billion euros allocated to Economy, Science and Innovation. Services are delivered free at the point of use to citizens, businesses, researchers, and social-economy actors within Flanders.

Name

Departement Werk, Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie & Sociale Economie (WEWIS)

Legal name

Departement Werk, Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie en Sociale Economie

Website

https://departementwewis.be

Company type

Public

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WEWIS is a Flemish government department formed January 2025 by merging the former WSE and EWI departments. It serves the Flanders region's population and businesses through integrated labor market, economic, science, innovation, and social economy policy implementation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Public Administration Services

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Public Administration (92)

akta.pro primary industry

Trade, Industry & Economic Development Administration (BPAIAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Labor, Social Protection & Occupational Safety Standards Cooperation (BPADANAM), Digital Learning, EdTech Enablement & Connectivity for Education (BPADAKAH)

Keywords

• Labor market policy
• Economic development
• Innovation policy
• Social economy programs
• Science and research policy

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WEWIS is a Flemish government department that implements integrated socio-economic policy across labor market, economy, science, innovation, and social economy domains. It administers policy instruments, manages a €5.3 billion Economy, Science & Innovation portfolio, and delivers public services through dedicated digital platforms (research portals, open data, lifelong learning, dual learning, MVO, and digital inclusion). The department serves as the operational arm for ministers Zuhal Demir, Matthias Diependaele, and Hilde Crevits within the Flemish government.

Product overview

Departement WEWIS is a Flemish government department formed on January 1, 2025 through the merger of Departement EWI (Economy, Science and Innovation) and Departement WSE (Work and Social Economy). The department manages socio-economic policy instruments across labor market policy, economic policy, science policy, innovation policy, and social economy. WEWIS operates a portfolio of interconnected digital platforms and services including knowledge platforms (Kennisplatform), lifelong learning resources (Levenslang Leren), dual learning initiatives (Duaal leren Vlaanderen), social economy support portals (Sociale economie), European affairs coordination (Europa WSE), research portals (FRIS onderzoeksportaal), corporate social responsibility resources (MVO), open data platforms (Opendata platform DWSE), digital libraries (Digibanken), and policy publications (Speurgids Ondernemen en Innoveren). The department also provides access to legacy departmental information for EWI and WSE.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kennisplatform Departement Werk en Sociale Economie Knowledge platform for the Flemish government's work and social economy domain, providing policy-relevant knowledge and resources.
• Levenslang Leren (Lifelong Learning) Public service supporting lifelong learning for Flemish citizens and the workforce.
• Sociale economie (Social Economy) Public service supporting social economy initiatives and social enterprises in Flanders.
• Duaal leren Vlaanderen (Dual Learning Flanders) Public service providing dual learning (workplace + school-based) programs in Flanders.
• Europa WSE Unit within the department managing European policy dossiers related to work, economy, science, and social economy.
• FRIS onderzoeksportaal (FRIS Research Portal) Public research information portal providing Flemish research data and information to researchers, organizations, and the public.
• Maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen (MVO) — Corporate Social Responsibility Public service supporting corporate social responsibility and socially responsible entrepreneurship in Flanders.
• Opendata platform DWSE Open data platform providing public datasets from the department.
• Digibanken Public service supporting digital inclusion by providing access to digital tools and resources for Flemish citizens.
• Speurgids Ondernemen en Innoveren 2025 2025 edition of the Flemish guide for entrepreneurship and innovation, published by WEWIS.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• VDAB (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding): Flemish public employment service operating vocational training, job-matching, and lifelong learning infrastructure, directly executing labor market policy that WEWIS now formulates. It is the primary operational counterpart in the labor-market domain of WEWIS's portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• VLAIO (Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen): Flemish innovation and enterprise agency that executes business support, innovation funding, and entrepreneurship programs as a primary implementing arm of the same Flemish economic/innovation policy that WEWIS oversees. It is the closest peer as a sibling Flemish-government body in the same policy domain.
• European Commission DG Research and Innovation: EU-level directorate setting science, research, and innovation policy that WEWIS aligns Flemish science and innovation policy with. Comparable in the R&D-policy formulation space, though operating at a larger supranational scale.
• Departement Omgeving (Flemish Government): Another Flemish regional government department analogous in structure and scale to WEWIS, administering environmental, spatial planning, and energy policy. It serves as a structural peer for understanding Flemish departmental governance.
• European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: EU-level directorate-general that shapes labor market, social economy, and skills policy that WEWIS coordinates against via its Europa WSE platform. Comparable in substantive policy mission at supranational scope.

Regional players

• SPW Économie, Emploi, Recherche (Walloon Public Service): Walloon region's counterpart administering economic development, employment, and research policy. Directly comparable in mission and scope to WEWIS but serving French-speaking Belgium rather than Flanders.

Others

• OECD Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED): OECD programme that advises sub-national governments on labor market activation, innovation policy, and social economy - a peer in international policy advisory work most comparable to WEWIS's policy formulation role.
• Departement Werk en Sociale Economie (predecessor WSE): One of the two predecessor Flemish departments that merged into WEWIS; its legacy digital presence (Kennisplatform, Levenslang Leren, MVO, etc.) is now operated by WEWIS, making it the most relevant historical peer.
• Departement Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie (predecessor EWI): The second predecessor Flemish department merged into WEWIS, which historically handled economy, science, industry, science communication, and innovation. Its remaining digital presence offers a direct snapshot of WEWIS's pre-merger EWI half.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/departement-wewis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Departement Werk, Economie, Wetenschap, Innovatie & Sociale Economie (WEWIS)