The responsibility for economic policy is shared by the Belgian government (federal economy), the Flemish, Walloon or Brussels government (regional economy) and last (but not least) by the municipalities themselves (local economy). At the moment a conclusive overview of all companies in a municipal area is missing which logically results in: No (good) data equals no (good) policy. Creating a municipal company guide fills the gaps of data between the municipal and Flemish government and the companies by creating a platform in which data is contributed by all the partners, and so creating a full overview of the economic partners working in a municipality. The City of Waregem was the first municipality in Belgium to integrate this tool in 2007, and the municipality of Wevelgem is the second to use the solution made by Intercommunale Leiedal.

Description of the way to implement the initiative

The starting point is the official database of the Belgian federal government with administrative data about the companies, eg start date, government account number, etc. This database is distributed by the Flemish government to the municipalities and serves as the platform on which the company guide is build. The local municipality checks this data, geocodes it and even appends local data. At the same time the local companies are given the possibility to enrich the data with an e-mail address, a website, opening hours, etc.

Technology solution

Technology choice: Mainly (or only) open standards

Main results, benefits and impacts

The local company guide is interesting for business because of the transparency of the data, and mainly because the enriched data makes communication between government and company very simple. In Waregem, companies are informed by e-mail about road works in their surroundings and alternative roads leading to the premises. New companies are welcomed with a starting kit. Government informs them pro-actively about their permits. Citizens are also welcoming the municipal company guide. They get an up-to-date overview of all local companies, searchable by activity, address or by browsing a map. The local government gets a strong instrument to analyse the local economic activity. By gathering contact information through this cooperation with the businesses, a personal channel and interactive contact possibilities are being build. The combination of the authority of the juridical-administrative data gathered by the federal government, the local data of the municipalities and the data given by the companies makes the company guide a powerful instrument to communicate, analyse and pro-active policy making.

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Lessons learnt

The combination of the authority of the juridical-administrative data gathered by the federal government, the local data of the municipalities and the data given by the companies makes the company guide a powerful instrument to communicate, analyse and pro-active policy making. Scope: Regional (sub-national)