Ian Whitman is Head of the Programme for Co-operation with Non-Member Economies in the Directorate for Education in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Directorate’s mission is “to assist Members and Partners in achieving high quality lifelong learning for all that contributes to personal development, sustainable economic growth and social cohesion”.

The Directorate’s current programme is organised under six strategic objectives: 1) Connecting lifelong learning policy with other social and economic policies; 2) Evaluating and improving outcomes of education; 3) Promoting quality teaching; 4) Rethinking tertiary education in a global economy; 5) Building social cohesion through education; and 6) Building new futures for education.

The Programme for Co-operation with Non-Member Economies works with the OECD Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members (CCNM) in the area of education and training. Work includes policy reviews, working in partnership with Member countries and International Organisations to foster education reform and assisting countries to participate in activities of the Directorate’s programme of work.

Ian Whitman is the Co-ordinator for Education Policy and System Change in the Task Force for Education and Youth of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, is a member of the Advisory Forum of the European Training Foundation (ETF), has carried out more than 56 policy reviews and participates in the work of other International Organisations such as the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.

Ian Whitman joined the OECD in 1990 and has worked with transition economies since 1991. Prior to joining the OECD, Ian Whitman worked for the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Northern France in the area of further training and for Cold Rolling Mill Indonesia Utama for recruitment, training and placement.

Ian Whitman holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MBA from Hartford University.