The Learning Development Institute (www.learndev.org) is a non-profit network of researchers, practitioners, thinkers, and policy and decision makers. The organization is the successor to UNESCO's Learning Without Frontiers programme, of which I used to be the director. Within the network learning communities form and evolve around significant questions related to the development of human learning. I am the founding president and chairman of the board. At a more mundane level I am a researcher; engage in the conceptualization of the organization's focus areas of research and development; and organize and facilitate research networks. In addition, I carry out advisory tasks under contract with or at the request of like minded organizations.

My interests in this area focus specifically on issues related to LDI's programs on the Meaning of Learning (MOL); Building the Scientific Mind (BtSM); and Human Learning in the Anthropocene (HLA).

Since 1976: provision of ad hoc consultancy, training and advisory services in diverse contexts, such as World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, Commonwealth of Learning; European Commission; (Dutch) DGIS; Ecorys; Education Development Center (EDC); Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC); Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR); Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES), Mexico, and multiple universities around the world. Since 2000: provision of these services as a regular part of my work for the Learning Development Institute.A major focus over the past ten years has been on the evaluative study of societal impact and sustainability of international development programs and projects; needs assessment, context analysis, and project identification; the appraisal of (competitive) technical and research proposals; and review of work in progress. Africa, Asia and Latin America have figured prominently in the above work.Content wise, main interests served concern the development of human learning in the broad sense of the word, i.e. learning in both formal and informal contexts, serving diverse societal goals and individual pursuits. The facilitation of learning—which naturally includes the preparation of and support to teachers; the development of innovative pedagogies; and the effective use of technologies—is part of these concerns, at levels that range from basic to higher education.Most reports produced in connection with the above work are of a proprietary nature. However, a number of them, listed in the links below, are publicly available.http://www.learndev.org/dl/DRC-LearningNeedsAssessment.pdf;http://www.learndev.org/dl/DRC-ProgressRpt2004.pdf;http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADD971.pdf;http://www.minbuza.nl/dsresource?objectid=buzabeheer:28738&type=pdf;http://www.vliruos.be/downloads/Country_evaluation_Vietnam_VLIR_UOS_2011.pdf.

The University of Stellenbosch is among the top research universities in South Africa. It is home to, among other important programs, the 'Transdisciplinary Doctoral Programme in Sustainability.' The program is being coordinated by the Transdisciplinary Sustainability Analysis, Modelling and Assessment Hub (TsamaHub), which is an academic and research centre with a number of key external research partners, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Sustainability Institute (SI). The centre is situated within the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences.

Ibstpi (www.ibstpi.org) is a 15-member international board devoted to making key contributions to the fields of instructional design and human performance improvement by setting appropriate standards. The board selects its directors among professionals from around the world of the highest repute in their respective fields. Directors contribute on a voluntary basis to the vision and mission of ibstpi. I was one of them for six years. I participated in the research project on online learner competencies and was responsible for membership issues. After resigning from the board at the end of 2007 I was named 'Fellow of the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction.' Fellows are selected from among the professional communities active in areas relevant to ibstpi to provide recognition to individuals who have a reputation and visibility in the field and who have contributed a long term commitment to advancing the vision and mission of ibstpi.

UNESCO (www.unesco.org) is a specialized agency within the United Nations system. Within the organization I was the director of the global program 'Learning Without Frontiers,' being responsible for the conceptualization and development of the program; for providing leadership and oversight regarding the implementation of its various actions; and for quality assurance.

UNESCO (www.unesco.org) is a specialized agency within the United Nations system. Within the organization I was responsible from January 1990 to the end of 1993 for overseeing and facilitating the development and implementation of UNESCO's programs and projects in some ten Southern African countries in all of UNESCO's sectors of interest (education, science, culture, communication and information). In addition, I served as UNESCO's diplomatic representative to the governments of five of the countries in question.

Architect of a comprehensive multidisciplinary interuniversity cooperation program, involving Mozambique's Eduardo Mondlane University and five universities in The Netherlands. The program was financed by the Netherlands Government. In this context, I had overall responsibility for the smooth running of the program as a whole, ensuring that all parties concerned remained effectively informed about progress on a continual basis, while overseeing the work of my colleagues from diverse disciplinary areas who coordinated specific projects and the team of 25 experts associated with these projects.