He has extensive experience in project management and client liaison, project design and specification, survey techniques, analysis of primary and secondary data and report writing. In particular, he has specialist expertise in the evaluation of public policies and programmes. Clients have included central government departments and agencies, Training and Enterprise Councils and local authorities. He has also contributed to seminars and workshops for managers on public service quality, evaluation and performance review and strategic management and has played a key role in the development and delivery of an MBA programme for public sector managers.

Ian graduated in Geography from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1972 and then had spells in academic research and a local authority planning department before undertaking a PhD in Energy Studies at the Open University.  Following another period of contract research in the transport field he worked for Fife Regional Council in Scotland as a policy analyst, becoming Head of the Policy Planning Unit with responsibilities for strategic planning and policy analysis in relation to corporate issues.  He joined the Policy Research Unit in 1988 and has played a key role in the progress to its current Institute status. 

He is co-author with Janie Percy-Smith of Understanding Local Needs (IPPR, 1992) and edited  Management of Quality in Local Government (Longman, 1992). He has also published several articles in academic journals and written over 30 research reports. Recent reports include: Current Issues in Local Government Finance, (Research Report No 12, Commission for Local Democracy, 1995); The Out-of-School Childcare Grant Initiative: An Interim Evaluation, (Research Series No 44, Employment Department, 1995); and Made to Measure: Evaluation in Practice in Local Government, London: Local Government Management Board, 1998)

Current work includes a number of evaluation projects for Training and Enterprise Councils, a research project for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on local strategies to tackle long-term unemployment and Ian is involved in the evaluation of the local government ‘Best Value’ pilots for the DETR. A major project for the Local Government Management Board on evaluation in local government has recently been completed and Ian is managing a further project for the LGMB on research in local government. He has been an invited participant in a number of ESRC seminars on evaluation and is a member of the Council of the UK Evaluation Society.