Jan Fransen

Jan Fransen holds a PhD and MA in Development Studies and serves as the Deputy Director of IHS, responsible for international education and training. He is a member of the advisory committee of the Africa Research Institute in Leiden and a visiting scholar at POLIS University in Albania. Dr. Fransen coordinates the urban theory course in the Master’s program on Urban Management and Development and co-coordinates a short course on Sustainable Local Economic Development. Previously, he worked for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Eastern and Southern Africa. With over 20 years of experience in research, education, and consultancy, his expertise spans local economic development, particularly focusing on small firms, urban employment, capacity building, clustering, innovation systems, global value chains, labor-based technologies, institutional economics, evolutionary economics, and complexity theory. He has led numerous consultancy, training, and research assignments for organizations such as the World Bank, European Commission, UNDP, ILO, UN-HABITAT, and various NGOs and governments worldwide. Dr. Fransen has gained extensive work experience in over 20 countries, including Albania, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Namibia, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.