Dr. Valentijn Bilsen is a Senior Expert at IDEA Consult. Valentijn works mainly on projects relating to business sectors, entrepreneurship, SMEs, Eastern European economies, EU expansion and environmental economy as well as economic impact studies and feasibility studies. He has led different projects in these fields and advised both national and international clients. He has developed a number of instruments to support policy and strategy in the field of innovation for example, the measurement of additionality, ICT, tourism, economic analysis and the environment.

Valentijn obtained his Ph. D. in Economic Sciences at the K.U. Leuven on the topic “Entrepreneurship and Private Sector Development in Central European Transition Countries”. Valentijn worked previously at the K.U. Leuven and at the University of Cambridge. He has published works on entrepreneurship, corporate restructuring, privatisation, direct foreign investments, regional economy and tourism.