Nicholas Burnett is a senior fellow at Results for Development (R4D). He is also a senior research fellow at the International Impact Evaluation Initiative (31e), a special professor of international education at Nottingham University (UK), a visiting professor at Kobe University (Japan), a board or advisory board member of Cap Plus, Americans for UNESCO, the NORRAG Consultative Council, the Quality Education India Development Impact Bond, the EdTech Hub, the Global Business of School Network, and the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area.
He chairs the Brain Trust of Educate! Out of School Youth Bootcamps and has also worked as a visiting professor at Hiroshima University in Japan. He also serves on the international editorial board of the International Journal of Educational Development.
He currently focuses on pragmatic and innovative approaches to important but relatively neglected topics in education, including out-of-school children, adult illiteracy, innovative finance, ECD finance, non-state education, the provision of global public goods, and the international education architecture.
His background includes work as: chair of the board of UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (2016-21), founding managing director of R4D’s Global Education program (2010-17), UNESCO’s assistant director-general for Education (2007-09), director of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (2004-07), head of his own small consulting firm (2001-03), World Bank staff and human development sector manager (1983-2000), and economic adviser in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1976-77).
He was educated in economics at Oxford (BA), Harvard (Henry Fellow) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (MA, PhD).
