Glen is an independent consultant, researcher and analyst, a strategist and innovator, a talented writer, and an experienced senior manager and executive.
A citizen of Canada, Glen is a Cape Town-born South African with a strong commitment to social justice and a belief in the power of social entrepreneurship and social innovation to create opportunities for all in a world that is prosperous and sustainable.
His background, as a high school principal in rural South Africa, coordinator of a not-for-profit academic bridging program, principal researcher on South Africa’s National Education Policy Investigation, senior researcher and acting director at the Education Policy Unit at the University of the Western Cape, and thirteen years as a director at the National Business Initiative includes policy development, research and the design and implementation of education and training change initiatives at a national level. He has high-level experience in building strategic partnerships and alliances across the business, government and education and training sectors, in support of education and training system reform and the accelerated delivery of critical skills.
Glen was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the Center for the Study of Higher Education at The Pennsylvania State University (1993-4). Subsequently, at the NBI, he developed a range of international partnerships and linkages with the Community College, Further Education and TAFE systems in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. As a team member with the Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies in The Netherlands, Glen was also part of a mission to develop a new national plan for higher education in Mozambique.
More recently he has undertaken an international project evaluation for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (now Colleges and Institutes Canada), managed a European Union-funded Skills Planning Dialogue between the EU and South Africa, and as a consultant with Toronto-based Higher Education Strategy Associates worked with colleges and universities across Canada on a range of Academic Planning, Program Analysis and Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) initiatives.
In addition to his work in schooling, higher education and vocational education and training, Glen has worked with key international Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability organisations including the United Nations Global Compact and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development focusing on sustainable development as a key dimension of responsible corporate citizenship and sound business strategy.
Glen has been an independent consultant since April 2010.
A concise CV, and a CV in European Union format, are available for download here:
Values and Approach
Insight and imagination • Clear thinking, grounded in expertise and experience • A creative, collaborative approach to solving real-world problems • Commitment to meeting the needs of the client • Integrity and trust • Passion for excellence
Glen Fisher 