Ian is a Senior Economic Advisor at The Work Foundation, having joined The Work Foundation in June 2006. He was formerly Director of the Knowledge Economy Programme and Director of Socio-Economic Programmes.
Ian's previous appointments include with the Trades Union Congress (1980–2006), where he was Head of the Economic and Social Affairs Department (2004–2006) and its Chief Economist (1996–2006). Prior to 1980, he worked as a researcher at the University of Kent and the Centre for Environmental Studies.
He was a member of the Low Pay Commission, the body that sets the UK’s national minimum wage (NMW), from 2004–2006.
Ian has worked in a wide range of economic and industrial policy and research areas, including: economic policy; public spending and public service reform; labour markets; energy and the environment; and manufacturing policy. He has produced numerous submissions to government and analytical papers.
He regularly provides economic and labour market commentary, interviews and articles for The Work Foundation.
Ian's recent publications as sole author for The Work Foundation include: Defining the Knowledge Economy (2006); Trading in Ideas and Knowledge (2007); Enterprise and the Knowledge Economy (2008); Manufacturing and the Knowledge Economy (2009); Recession and the Knowledge Economy (2009); How Knowledge is Reshaping the Economic Life of Nations (2009); Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (2010); and Knowledge Economy Strategy 2020 (2010).