Press release Top researcher ILVO joins OECD scientific advisory body

04/02/2020
Lieve Herman
Lieve Herman

The OECD appoints Lieve Herman - one of the department heads at ILVO - as a member of the Scientific Advisory Body (SAB) of its Cooperative Research Programme (CRP) on the management of organic raw materials for sustainable agricultural systems. Herman is the first Flemish scientist to receive such an appointment.

The CRP brings together science and policy at a high level in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, forests and food. "The program stimulates international collaborations and worldwide data exchange. It gives direction to global policy on global issues such as climate change and food security", says Lieve Herman.

OECD, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development comprises 36 countries from all over the world, representing 80% of the world economy. The OECD's work in the fields of economics or education may be better known than its efforts in the fields of food policy, agriculture or the environment. OECD aims to ensure that industries, as well as the agricultural sectors, adapt in a timely and professional manner to the global challenges of the 21st century, including the growing world population. One of the ways to address this is their CRP.

Cooperative Research Programme (CRP)

The CRP on 'organic raw materials management for sustainable farming systems' has been in existence for almost 40 years. CRP promotes international cooperation in two ways: 1. International fellowships with short research projects: for such exchanges, individual scientists receive funding to carry out a modest research project in another research institution, in one of the other OECD countries. In three quarters of the cases, the fellowships lead to lasting cooperation between the centers of excellence concerned. 2. International conferences and workshops: one OECD country organizes and funds the conference; the agenda is very international and there are both scientific and political speakers and invitees.

Scientific Advisory Board

Only 6 international top scientists form the scientific advisory body (SAB). They advise the CRP on the fellowships and congresses to be funded, and then follow up the selected projects. Dr. Lieve Herman, who manages the Technology and Food Science Unit at ILVO, will chair the Transformational Technologies and Innovation theme together with the Spanish SAB. This mandate can be handled with a minimum of work-time investment.

ILVO is delighted with the appointment of Lieve Herman. Joris Relaes, Administrator General of ILVO: "This is a great crowning achievement for a deeply committed ILVO scientist. In doing so, the OECD shows its appreciation for Lieve Herman's high level of expertise at world level, as well as for the entire Flemish research landscape".

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Greet Riebbels

Communications manager at ILVO

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