Prospectus Brainport Partner Fund
Introduction
Brainport is of national and European strategic importance. Our unique position ensures sustained economic growth, and thus prosperity for the entire region. In the coming year we expect an accelerated growth of the region. The economic prospects for the ‘typical’ Brainport economy are good. Your company can also benefit from this. However, the anticipated growth is only possible if the region can bear it. Otherwise, for example, new employees will not be able to find a home. Conversely, everyone in the region should be able to benefit from economic growth. Prosperity and well-being must go hand in hand.
The foreseen growth will only take place if we simultaneously maintain accessibility, provide sufficient affordable housing, attract talent to the region and realise equal opportunities for all residents. This requires major investments. Because the government recognises the unique importance of Brainport, it is prepared to make a substantial contribution. But on condition that the region itself - including the business community - also contributes.
Brainport Development has set up a private fund: the Brainport Partner Fund. Through this fund, individual companies co-finance a broad and coherent package of measures that enable balanced growth. Local authorities also provide financial resources. In this way, the region is doing what it is known for: public and private partners working together to achieve broad prosperity.
We think it is important that you can participate in the fund in a well-informed way. Also because you are entering into a long-term partnership. In this prospectus, we explain how the fund is structured and which part of all investments require private co-financing to secure the multiplier of public funds in order to implement the entire agenda. This prospectus also provides insight into how you can contribute to the region’s balanced growth, and thus a healthy future for your business.
In Chapter 1, we slightly elaborate on the regional development that is required and its financing. Chapter 2 describes the key features of the fund, then in chapter 3 you will read more about what you commit to when you join the fund. Chapter 4 details what participation will bring you. After which we conclude in chapter 5 with frequently asked questions we received from companies.
1. Funding the region’s future
The multi-year agenda: Brainport in Balance
For the period 2025 - 2032, we have drawn up a joint agenda with companies, governments and knowledge and educational institutes: Brainport in Balance. This agenda focuses on what is needed to capitalise on economic opportunities. We continue to invest in new technologies, but also pay a lot of attention to sufficient talent and a sustainable and inclusive living environment. The scope is broad: from tackling grid congestion to labour productivity programmes, from new breakthroughs in the chip industry to 100,000 extra homes, and from cyber resilience to engineering education, and from high-quality public transport to equal opportunities for all inhabitants. In this way, we have divided the common goal of ‘broad prosperity’ into concrete programmes.
The region works with agendas to channel all necessary investments. Examples are the Multi-Year Plan Brainport Development ‘Brainport in Balance’ and the cooperation agreement 2023-2026 of the 21 cooperating municipalities in the region entitled ‘In goede banen’. Appendix [2] gives an overview of other sources and documents that provide information on the development of Brainport.
Focus on implementation
The implementation of all programmes has already started. The organisations that have to do their share of the work have established teams and firm agreements have been made on the necessary funding. What is important here is that the 21 municipalities of the Eindhoven Metropolitan Region, the province of North Brabant and the central government together provide public funding and staffing in order to achieve realisation faster and more efficiently. And our educational institutions have already started to train more technical talents at all levels thanks to an extra boost of 275 million euros.
State and region invest
The Brainportdeal from November 2022 and the Beethoven package from March 2024 alone add up to a total additional boost of €4.5 billion in our region. On top of that, additional investments in, for instance, grid reinforcement and so-called ‘housing deals’ have been made. And more than €1 billion is already available to fund major joint innovation clusters such as batteries, defence, mobility, and cyber resilience.
Brainport Partner Fund: the private contribution to the whole public-private agenda
So we in the full width we are working on managing our region’s leap of scale. Some of the programmes require private co-financing. To this end, the Brainport Partner Fund has been launched, an initiative to raise €219 million with as many companies as possible as part of the total investment of billions of euros in our region. With this fund, we will directly contribute to four objectives:
improved accessibility
• accelerated construction of affordable housing
• a balanced labour market
• and equal opportunities for all.
In doing so, we are building on the unique tradition of public-private cooperation to which Brainport owes much of its success.
2. The Brainport Partner Fund
Companies co-finance
The Brainport Partner Fund has been set up for business funding (see chapter 1). This enables all entrepreneurs in Brainport to contribute to a strong future for the region, and thus to a good business climate and growth perspective for their own company. In a way that suits the way we work together within Brainport. With the fund, companies contribute to a broad and coherent package of measures focusing on four themes: accessibility, affordable housing, talent and equal opportunities.
Purpose and size of the fund
The Brainport Partner Fund is the private fund in which companies from the region voluntarily contribute financially to a balanced development of the region. In terms of size, the fund aims for a total amount of 219 million euros over 12 years. This amount is formed by the amounts that companies contribute to the fund annually over a 12-year period.
Duration of the fund
The duration of the fund is 12 years (1 January 2025 to 31 December 2036). This period is linked to the nature of the projects financed from the fund. For example, part of it concerns infrastructure development, which are long-term projects. We therefore ask companies to participate in the Brainport Partner Fund from this long-term perspective. At the same time, we have an eye for the business perspective, which is usually a lot shorter. We align the partner agreement with this perspective (see chapter 3). In concrete terms, this means that we fix the financial contributions per company every three years.
Governance of the fund
The Brainport Partner Fund is managed by an independent foundation: Brainport Partner Fund Board Foundation. The foundation board consists of representatives of participating companies (the ‘private partners’) and forms the management of the Brainport Partner Fund. As such, the Board manages the funds and ensures the correct distribution and disbursement of the money across the four themes.
The board also reports annually to the participating companies about the fund and the money that was spent. The foundation board is supported in its tasks by the fund management carried out by Brainport Development. Participating companies are charged a fee of 3.2% of the contribution for the fund management. For a schematic representation of the governance, see appendix [2].
Distribution of fund monies
The Brainport Partner Fund has a so-called ‘cashier function’. The fund works with organisations that are responsible for decision-making on and implementation of the programmes. These are the Eindhoven Metropolitan Region (for Accessibility and Housing), Brainport Development (for the coordination of the Talent Programme) and the association ‘Brainport voor Elkaar’ (for the social agenda). The distribution between the funds and the duration per objective has been determined in advance (see table 1). For the disbursement of the required tranches, the implementing organisations submit annual budgets that the Foundation Board reviews. For the disbursement of contributions to Accessibility, a multi-year schedule with milestones is used on the basis of which a cash rhythm is established. These payments are only made by the Brainport Partner Fund when the milestones have demonstrably been realised.
Accountability of fund means
The partner agreement specifies what information the fund reports at what time. To be transparent and clear, we monitor the four themes of the fund. In doing so, the choice of indicators takes into account the possibilities of translating them into the ESG/CSRD reports.
Spending of fund means
A further elaboration of spending objectives and the related ambitions, plans and expected results can be found on pages 8 to 11.
• Accessibility
A defined and specific package of infrastructural measuresagreed with governments - to facilitate the growing mobility to work locations and to open up housing developments yet to be realised. This includes roads, a modern and larger public transport station (‘the multimodal node’), cycle paths, high quality public transport connections, nodes and hubs.
• Talent
The regional agenda ‘Brainport in Balance’ contains five key measures through which we are working to make 50,000 talents in tech and IT available over the next eight years. The Brainport Partner Fund complements large government financial contributions to our talent agenda and focuses on, for example, technology promotion, hybrid teachers, attracting and retaining international talent and a targeted approach of labour migrants. Moreover, the contributions from the Brainport Partner Fund are regional co-financing for future state funding and talent measures.
• Social Brainport Agenda
Participants in the fund have the opportunity to join the Brainport voor Elkaar Association as members at no extra cost. In this association, employers and welfare organisations work together to increase equal opportunities for all. Funding goes to joint projects focusing on creating equal opportunities in society. The financial contribution is used to develop programmes that enable companies to deliver a ‘plus’ to this equality of opportunities, together with social organisations, municipalities and education.
• Affordable housing Metropolitan Region Eindhoven is starting a Housing Realisation Team. On location at Metropolitan Region Eindhoven, a centre will be set up where governments and private parties who (want to) work on housing in the region can meet and cooperate. A dedicated team will provide an overview of all ideas, initiatives and projects and support governments where possible to speed up procedures.
Brainport Partner Fund contribution to the overall radar work
The radar wheels represent the breadth of programmes the region is working on and investing in. The Brainport Partner Fund focuses on the four blue radar wheels. The red parts in these four blue wheels show the part we need to contribute privately through the Partner Fund to run the total. Later in this prospectus the four objectives are explained in more detail and we clarify how the private contribution is a necessary part of this.
The radar wheels now only show the amounts that have already been realised; they do not yet include future investments we are working on with the State.
Table:
Accessibility Talent
What we are going to do
A precondition for the development of our region is good accessibility. Coherent packages have been agreed with the national government for investments in area development, (fast) bicycle paths, high-quality public transport, the expansion and modernisation of Eindhoven Central Station, hubs where motorists can transfer for ‘the last mile’ and a series of improvements on national roads. With the investments in hubs, cycling infrastructure and public transport, the package not only contributes to greater accessibility, but certainly also to making it more sustainable. Moreover, major public transport axes count as locations for housing development. Thus, mobility is immediately guaranteed.
Multiplier: total investments exceed €2 billion euro
Total investments exceed €2 billion. Moreover, we have agreed that the state and the region will continue to work together to also map future developments.
Governments are responsible for implementing the infrastructure projects. Depending on the subproject, this is the central government, the province, one or more municipalities, or a partnership of several authorities. The Metropolitan Region maintains a central overview and serves as the contact point for the partner fund. The private contributions from the partner fund benefit the projects via the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven. The Metropolitan Region and/or the project-responsible municipality also takes care of the contributions of the municipalities in our region and equalisation with provincial and national funds.
Milestones are defined annually for the realisation of the package. Private contributions from the partner fund are made available when these milestones are demonstrably realised.
What we are going to do
Through the partner fund, we will invest 1.25 million euros every year in coordination and implementation in retraining, technology promotion, hybrid teachers, the use of target groups such as spouses and status holders, the internationalisation of education in primary and secondary education, HR-meetups for companies and monitoring progress.
Over 50 projects with employers, education and governments
The five Talent measures are the guideline for more than 50 smaller and larger interventions, from hybrid teachers from the business sector to doubling courses in intermediate vocational education, universities of applied science and technical university. From technology promotion in PO and VO to language programmes for internationals. Together with educational institutions, municipalities and companies, we work in a new Brainport Academy for retraining and reskilling courses.
You have a say
Every year, we redefine which training courses and projects are best to invest in. We do this based on figures, but also with an annual meeting between employers, educational institutions and governments: in which training courses should we invest further now? In addition, everyone can participate and talk in many meetings of the subprojects.
10 million as contribution to hundreds of millions for talent
Managing to get a lot of money available for developing, attracting and retaining talent, for example through Beethoven. In that, 275 million euros have been set aside for our region to implement the 5 measures for the semicon sector. We also do the same through Battery Competence Cluster and our other innovation programmes. The money from the Brainport Partner Fund is an investment within a programme that currently includes around 450 million euros for the next 8 years. The partner fund is the glue between the bricks that enables ‘the total talent approach’.
What we are going to do
Brainport voor Elkaar is an association of socially engaged entrepreneurs and organisations. By joining forces, we make more impact together than seperate. We work on innovative and sustainable solutions to societal challenges in the region. A good example is our Financially Fit programme, which all employers can use to support their employees. We also link the knowledge and expertise of corporate volunteers to the technological needs of social organisations. Think of issues around ICT, data, monitoring, planning and AI. The resulting solutions are made available to the entire region.
The Brainport for Each Other association acts as an auxiliary motor, booster and connector. We actively share, connect and scale up successful initiatives and programmes from the region for even greater impact. As with our other goals, we strive to create multipliers: through cooperation, we ensure additional contributions and sustainable scaling up of our initiatives.
Social Brainport Agenda
Housing Realisation Team: extra capacity and expertise for construction
1
Basic skills and social security for all residents
We are committed to giving everyone a solid foundation and social security
7,500 residents with improved basic skills 250,000 financially fitter residents in the region 1,000 inclusive employers contributing to a social and diverse labour
You have a say and participate
As a participant of the partner fund, you can become a member of the Brainport voor Elkaar Association free of charge. In it, companies, welfare and social organisations, knowledge and educational institutions, and governments work together to make the Social Brainport Agenda as successful as the economic agenda.
Working together equally
In the association we join forces. As a member, you get the opportunity to implement our programmes directly in your organisation. Moreover, you can actively participate and contribute to the development of the Social Brainport Agenda.
The Brainport Partner Fund invests 5 million euros in a new Housing Realisation Team. This Realisation Team will bring together experts and programme managers from municipalities, knowledge institutions such as TU/e and TNO, and developers to supervise cases, encourage them and bring them to realisation as soon as possible. The Realisation Team can also provide extra capacity to municipalities for writing required documents. The Realisation Team centrally monitors progress and unlocks capacity and expertise of researchers and designers who can advise on new spatial issues. For monitoring and advice, a digital twin of the region will be set up at the MRE in which all spatial plans can be calculated and viewed as a whole and in scenarios.
The Realisation Team offers additional support to aldermen and developers. It will be housed at the Eindhoven Metropolitan Region.
First 62,000 homes till 2032
In recent years, the municipalities in our region have developed several plans for housing construction. These include a large share for so-called ‘affordable housing’. It concerns houses from housing corporations and developers for social prices and in mid-rent and mid-purchase. The urbanisation agreement, an agreement between municipalities, the province and the state, contains the initial planning of 62,000 houses until 2032. In addition, the municipalities have already started further planning up to 2040 towards 100,000 houses.
Multiplier: hundreds of millions of euros through a separate Affordable Housing Fund.
In various agreements with the central government, hundreds of millions of euros have been agreed upon for the construction of affordable housing, for instance in the Brainport deal from 2022 and Beethoven in 2024. A good example is a sum of 245 million to contribute to the unprofitable top in housing construction across the region. Some companies are willing to start a separate Affordable Housing Fund, in addition to the Brainport Partner Fund, to contribute directly to housing construction. This can be done, for instance, through guarantees or one-off contributions. Together, the public and private funds add up to hundreds of millions of extra euros for housing construction.
The Housing Realisation Team, funded by the Brainport Partner Fund, will also ensure that these construction funds come together and are made available to municipalities and housing corporations. This will start as early as 2025.
3. Your participation in the Brainport Partner Fund
Participation in the fund
All private companies operating in the Brainport region can contribute to the fund. Contributions are regulated on the basis of fixed principles, which are described in this chapter. The arrangements are recorded in a partner agreement between the fund and the company. Participation is therefore voluntary, but not without obligation. As good partners, we record what we can expect from each other.
Continuity
Your company’s contribution has great value for the region. Continuity and certainty are important to the fund. After all, the region must be able to rely on the fund having sufficient money during the 12-year term to carry out the projects defined for the four themes. Therefore, the fund does not work in principle with ad hoc donations, but with fixed principles and partner agreements.
Key principles
• A contribution based on calculation rules applicable to all. So no ad hoc free contributions that offer insufficient continuity.
• All private companies with staff can participate.
• We enter into a partnership for 3 years, with the intention to extend.
• Contributions are collected annually.
• Contribution will remain the same for 3 years, with annual indexation.
• Agreements will be laid down in a partnership agreement.
Financial contribution
We use a fixed calculation rule for contributions from companies, based on two criteria: company size and an expectation of the extent to which companies benefit from Brainport’s growth. For company size we look at the number of employees working in or from a company establishment within the region (see map region page 11). For deciding the degree of benefit, we have made a division into sectors based on SBI codes. We expect roughly the most benefit for the manufacturing, construction, ICT, business and financial services sectors. They fall (partly) under category A, other companies under category B. This breakdown was arrived at on the basis of intensive consultations with a cross-section of companies that have been asked to participate in the fund.
For both categories, the amounts are indexed annually on the basis of the CPI.
Brainport voor Elkaar, one of the recipient targets from the Brainport Partner Fund, already has paying members from the business community. The fund will enter into discussions with these members for a smooth transition to the fund.
Duration of the agreement
A partnership agreement has a term of 3 years. We do require you to agree on the non-binding intention to enter into a partnership for the entire term of the fund (until 31 December 2036). This is to enhance the continuity of the fund. The 3-year term of the agreement - and thus the legal obligations - is tailored to the accounting requirements companies face. And from the realisation that circumstances may arise for companies that make an extension of the partner agreement uneconomic.
One agreement
Brainport Partner Fund communicates independently and under its own name with participating companies (the partners). It is also the legal entity with which you conclude the partner agreement and from whom you receive the formal request for contributions each year.
The tax authorities have indicated that they treat contributions to the Brainport Partner Fund uniformly. The contribution to the Brainport Partner Fund may be taken into account as a business expense for the purposes of corporate income tax. There is no donation and no direct consideration. For this reason, the contribution is charged without VAT and the Brainport Partner Fund does not owe any gift tax. The service fee is charged to the partners because of the work done for the partners in the fund. This is therefore a business charge and is charged with VAT. The Brainport Partner Fund does not owe any capital transfer tax on it.
4. What can you expect from the fund
With your contribution, our region can grow in balance. While the effects for your company are indirect, they are also very concrete. For example, in the form of less travel and transport time, easier to find and retain employees and an entrepreneur-friendly environment. Your contribution to the Brainport Partner Fund strengthens the region as a whole and thus your ability as a company to succeed in the future.
In addition:
• Strengthen your position in the network
Because companies create this together, we create a strong network within the triple helix in Brainport and thus also reach residents. As a recognisable partner of the Brainport Partner Fund, you are an attractive partner for companies and organisations in the region with the same commitment. To strengthen mutual ties and the network, the Brainport Partner Fund organises at least an annual plenary meeting with all partners: the ‘Funding partner consultation’. This also serves as a sounding board for the fund. During the meeting, we discuss progress and look ahead.
• Positive impact on your company’s image as social employer
As a partner in the fund, you show that you take responsibility for the development and inhabitants of the region and for maintaining Brainport as a place where people can (continue to) live, work, do business and innovate. This strengthens your image as a social employer and gives you exposure in your network of stakeholders as a socially engaged company. Partners in the fund are visibly part of the united forces that make this unique story in this region possible.
• Well-informed participation in developments relevant to you
As a participant in the fund, you stay well-informed about the most relevant developments. So you can have an early say in these. Because you have better insight into and access to the implementing organisations of the four themes, you can take a more active role in the development of the region on topics relevant to you.
• Use in your ESG reports
The Brainport Partner Fund reports annually to all partners what funds have been disbursed and what projects and progress have been made by the implementing parties. When setting up the accountability and reporting system, indicators that can be translated into companies’ ESG/ CSRD reports are taken into account. Annually, you will receive as much aggregated data as possible on the results and impact of investments on, for instance, sustainability and social and societal impact. You can then use these figures for your own specific ESG/CSRD reports.
• Free member of Brainport voor Elkaar
As a participant of the partner fund, you have the opportunity to join the Brainport voor Elkaar Association as a member at no extra cost. This is an association of social employers, working on equal opportunities through a joint agenda. Members meet - not compulsorily - twice a year (ALV).
5. Question and answer
About: ‘The future of the region funded’
Isn’t the private sector stepping into the government’s shoes when it comes to infrastructure and housing? After all, private money is used to invest in public facilities. Infrastructure measures are taken through the usual democratic decision-making process. This will remain so. It is also one of the reasons for working with a generic fund, which cannot decide for itself which specific projects to invest in.
What happens if the Brainport Partner Fund does not raise enough money?
Our expectation is that the business community - as we are used to in Brainport - will put its shoulder to the wheel by contributing to the fund. We therefore expect sufficient filling. Also, the measures are so important and coherent that they will be implemented anyway. Lagging funding may then cause delay, but not postponement.
My company is particularly affected by grid congestion. Are solutions for grid congestion also being worked on in conjunction with the Brainport Partner Fund?
Yes. The Beethoven Covenant from March 2024 [link] states that agreements will be made with the government on talent, mobility, housing construction as well as on tackling grid congestion. Brainport Development acts as area director on the basis of the agreements in the Beethoven Covenant. We try to serve the interests of companies in this area along two tracks.
Accelerated realisation of network reinforcement. This track involves regular consultation with the central government and the network operators, in which efforts are made to accelerate the expansion of the network in Brainport and to gain better insight into the available capacities. By strengthening, a total capacity of about 550 megawatts will become available in phases in 2027, 2028 and 2032. The commitment is to have that required 580 megawatts of capacity realised earlier than the grid operators’ investment plans show (i.e. earlier than 2032).
Optimise use of current grid. This track focuses on more efficient use of our current electricity grid, resulting in lower grid expansion costs, more efficient use of the current grid and less burden on scarce physical space in our region. Together with companies we are exploring concrete solutions that better distribute and utilise our energy and grid resources. All this contributes to a more efficient use of the current network with which we bridge the time until the realisation of the network reinforcement. This will require commitment from companies themselves, but will also explicitly look at which laws and regulations still stand in the way of concrete solutions.
Where can I go if I encounter problems with grid congestion?
Companies encountering short-term problems at their current location can contact Brainport Development [ d.barrois@brainportdevelopment.nl ] with their case. We have developed an individual case approach together with Enexis in which we investigate for a company what space and opportunities still exist or will come up, and we also work on innovative solutions by deploying technology (generation, storage, etc.) or experimental space (group contracts, direct line solutions, etc.) On the Brainport Development website there is more information about the approach to grid congestion, examples of the case approach and the companies we work with.
About: The Brainport Partner Fund
Are the biggest payers also the main determiners of where the money from the fund goes?
No. The board - made up exclusively of business representatives - distributes the money among the four themes based on an established allocation key. The partner fund itself does not directly allocate money to concrete projects. Direct control by partners or (members of) the board on allocation to specific projects is therefore not possible. The foundation board manages the funds and disburses them to the organisations responsible for implementation and decision-making.
Can I have a say in the measures and programmes receiving a contribution through the fund? As a partner in the fund, participation in the plans is possible through the organisations responsible for implementation. These are the Eindhoven Metropolitan Region (for Accessibility and Housing), Brainport Development (for the coordination of the Talent Programme) and the Brainport voor Elkaar Association (for the social agenda). The multi-year plans of these organisations provide the substantive frameworks. Every year, they elaborate these in annual plans (priorities) and cash schemes. Within these, all partners of the fund can participate. The organisations set up a structure for this. For example, for the talent plans, each year it is decided which training courses and projects are best to invest in. This is done on the basis of data and figures, but also with an annual meeting between employers, educational institutions and governments: which training courses should we invest in next? In addition, everyone can participate and talk in many meetings of the subprojects.
Note: for accessibility, participation is through the legally established procedures. For housing, participation does not apply because the partner fund only finances the accelerator.
Which projects will be funded from the Brainport Partner Fund?
This is not a fixed list. The multiannual plans of the responsible organisations include a package of projects and measures to be financed. Every year, the responsible organisations elaborate these in an annual plan and cash flow schedule. The association Brainport voor Elkaar draws up the social agenda; the governments decide on infrastructure and housing and the Brainport Triple Helix partners propose the talent plans.
Are all those houses and roads really going to be built? How will the implementation be secured? The realisation of the projects will be the responsibility of the implementing organisations. They are solid (public) organisations that have the manpower and organisational power to supervise implementation. The willingness of both central and local governments to invest so heavily is also a sign of confidence in the region’s decisiveness. It is also true that the Brainport Partner Fund only pays out for accessibility if the predefined milestones in the realisation have been demonstrably achieved. This gives an extra impetus to realise as soon as possible, and prevents funds being disbursed to projects that have not yet been realised.
What does the partner fund contribution concretely mean for the region’s growth? Isn’t it a drop in the ocean?
The share of the Brainport Partner Fund in the total task of the region’s growth is limited in financial terms. However, the function of the private contribution - made collectively in the Brainport Partner Fund - is of great value. In the first place for realising public funding (co-financing requirement). And the partner fund is of great value because it concretises the involvement of companies on the four substantive themes of accessibility, housing, talent and opportunity equality, thus giving a powerful impetus to realising the goals that have been set.
Do we already know which indicators will be used in accountability and monitoring?
In the envisaged integrated monitoring plan, several indicators are chosen and kept for each measure, which can also have an enriching effect on the projects (steering information). To structure this, we use three different types of indicators: input, output and impact. By way of illustration for the accessibility theme: in this, Hubs are realised. An input indicator shows how many financial resources have already been used for the measure, the output indicator how many hubs have been realised and the impact indicator how many travellers on average did not have to stand in traffic jams every day. Here it is important to realise that the impact can only be measured if something has already been realised. The number of indicators depends on the measure and the number of projects under it. Together, these indicators give a picture of the impact on a particular measure; for example, the improved accessibility of the region measured by traffic intensity.
About: What to expect from the Brainport Partner Fund
I want to contribute to a specific project in the broad programme, is that possible?
No. It is precisely the breadth and coherence of projects that allow Brainport to grow. Everyone benefits from this. To achieve this, a good distribution among the different measures is needed. The Brainport Partner Fund takes care of that.
Can I also conclude a one-year partner agreement?
The chosen agreement period of 3 years is intended to guarantee a certain continuity of the fund. For that reason, we cannot deviate from it in individual cases. Is a 3-year period not possible, but do you intend to commit to 12 years as a partner? Then we would be happy to discuss your situation.
I am already a member of Brainport voor Elkaar and pay a contribution. Does that contribution expire if I join the partner fund?
Yes.
Can I also contribute ‘in kind?
No. The partner fund only works with financial contributions because financial resources are needed to realise the programmes and the measures and projects therein.
How can I contribute if I want to do something but cannot contribute financially?
For some companies, a financial contribution to the fund according to the calculation method in Chapter 3 may not be feasible. Companies that still want to make an ‘in kind’ contribution to the programmes on Talent and Brainport voor Elkaar can make separate agreements on this besides their contribution to the Brainport Partner Fund with the organisations responsible for implementation, Association Brainport voor Elkaar (for social projects) and Brainport Development for Talent.
Do Brainport Partner Fund partners have priority in tenders within the region?
Legally, it is not possible to give priority on this basis. However, the contribution to the fund can be used in response to demand for social return in tenders.
What happens if my company runs into difficulties? Can I stop my contribution temporarily?
Continuity is a necessary principle for the Brainport Partner Fund. That is why we agree that you will make an annual financial contribution. This is equal to other financial commitments your company makes. Just like you would consult your customers and suppliers in such a case, we are also happy to discuss a solution with you.
Is it possible to pay my contribution for 3 years in one go?
This is not preferred. We collect the contribution annually (with indexation).
Will I no longer receive other requests for financial contributions from Brainport if I contribute to the Brainport Partner Fund?
With the Brainport Partner Fund we co-finance programmes from the joint long-term agenda of our region. Therefore, in principle we will not ask for extra contributions for these programmes. In any case, your company should receive fewer such requests. Think, for instance, of the Dutch Technology Festival, for which in the past we collected separate contributions from companies. From now on, we will do that through the fund. We cannot prevent that individual institutions or projects from asking companies for specific support. Each institution and company must make that consideration for itself. The fund is there for joint programmes, not for individual support or agreements.
Where can I make it visible that I am participating in the partner fund?
There will be communication tools you can use for this purpose. We are developing tools and expressions that you, as a participating company, can use to clearly show your commitment to the fund. Think of a plaque to hang up visibly at the entrance, making it clear that your company contributes to the Brainport Partner Fund. The annual partner meetings also provides opportunities for your visible involvement. We provide communication around these meetings.
How am I informed about projects co-financed by the partner fund?
As a partner fund participant, you have a good information position and a good relevant network. Think of the annual partner meetings, possible membership of Brainport voor Elkaar and our progress reports. This allows you to respond more actively and timely to developments relevant to you. What is expected of me as a partner in terms of involvement The extent to which a company actively uses the opportunity to think and speak together is up to you. Your time investment is related to this.
What is expected of me as a partner in terms of involvement
The extent to which a company actively uses the opportunity to think and speak with you is up to you. Your time investment is related to this.
Multi-Year Agenda Brainport in Balance 2025-2032 (Brainport Development) brainporteindhoven.com/en/discover/strategy/multi-year-plan-2025-2032
Collaboration Agreement ‘In goede banen’ (Metropolitan Region Eindhoven) metropoolregioeindhoven.nl/actueel/ons-nieuws/samenwerkingsakkoordin-goede-banen-vastgesteld
Regional Agenda for Talent Growth (Brainport Development) https://brainporteindhoven.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Brainport_ Development/Strategie/DEF_versie_Strategische_agenda_Talent.pdf
‘Beethoven Covenant’: National and Regional Investment Agreement for the Business Climate in the Microchip Sector https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2024/04/02/ bijlage-c-convenant-van-rijk-en-regio-def
Social Agenda Brainport voor Elkaar https://brainporteindhoven.com/nl/ontdek/wat-is-brainporteindhoven/brainport-voor-elkaar
Approach to Grid Congestion in Brainport https://brainporteindhoven.com/nl/ondernemen-en-innoveren/ markten/energy/netcongestie-in-brainport