As an expert, Valentijn Vanoeteren focuses on strengthening management power through substantiated policy evaluation and strategic planning. With a Masters in both Political Sciences and General Economics, he has an excellent background for this. Valentijn combined his studies with a full-time job as Network Assistant for the European non-profit organization ENNA (European Network of National Civil Society Associations). There he was responsible for research into the development of civil society in the European Union.

At IDEA, Valentijn already applied his expertise for local authorities, the Flemish government, the federal government and the European Parliament. For example, he worked on the merger processes of Lievegem, Kruisem and Puurs-Sint-Amands. He also evaluated numerous strategic policy measures such as the integration and integration sector reform, labour market activation based on temporary work experience and the multi-level organization of the social economy.