Inge Van Oost is policy officer at the European Commission, Directorate General Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). She has been setting-up and supporting the implementation of the European Innovation Partnership “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” (EIP-AGRI), with responsibilities for the rural development programmes including strengthening linkages between research policy and rural development policy. As member of the DG AGRI Taskforce “Research and Innovation” she was instrumental in shaping DG AGRI’s research and innovation approach in Horizon 2020 Work Programmes since 2012, and developed the new interactive research project formats “multi-actor approach”, “thematic networks” and “advisory networks”. Meanwhile, one of her core tasks has become the development and implementation of the policy on Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) as part of the CAP 2023-2027, including essential improvements related to the EIP-AGRI. In her former post at the Commission she was policy officer in the Direct Support Unit and the Cross Compliance Unit, responsible for cross-compliance, the Farm Advisory System and interlinking with the Rural Development policy.

Before working at the Commission Inge Van Oost was coordinator of the demonstration projects at the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Horticulture of the Flemish Region. There she drafted rural development measures and designed the farm advisory system. In the meantime, she was evaluator of many agricultural research projects and member of diverse selection committees. In the former federal Belgian Administration for Agriculture she served the Belgian Secretary-General as coordinator of the Horticultural Chain, dealing with chain management, food quality, traceability and safety, sustainability of production methods, linkages with consumers and much more.

Before joining the administration, she worked many years as a farm advisor, and as the coordinator of the advisory team. Based in an applied research institute, the team did not only advise farmers, but also brokered for innovation and implemented multi-actor projects and on-farm demonstrations.