Robertson Work
Adjunct Professor of Public Administration

Robertson Work, adjunct professor of public administration, is founder/director of Innovative Leadership Services and facilitator/trainer for UNDESA and the East-West Center, among others. Mr. Work is also a Fulbright Senior Specialist assisting universities overseas and a Fellow of the NYU Wagner Research Center for Leadership in Action.

Previously he was UNDP's Principal Policy Advisor of Decentralized Governance for 16 years at UN headquarters in New York. While with UNDP he designed and coordinated the Local Initiative Facility for Urban Environment (LIFE) operating in 20 countries and another global program, Decentralizing the MDGs through Innovative Leadership. He also coordinated a global community of practice on decentralized governance, provided policy advice to countries worldwide, conducted research and prepared global policy papers. 

Prior to UNDP, Mr. Work served in Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Jamaica, USA and Venezuela for 21 years as country and regional director with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, an international NGO with UN Eco Soc Consultative status. His work of human development in 55 countries has consisted of the design and implementation of research, training and demonstration projects in leadership, organizational and community development, rural and urban development, NGO and project management, policy formulation and advice and group facilitation.

Mr. Work has written widely on decentralization and local governance, urban and rural development, poverty eradication and environmental improvement, the role of civil society in governance and development, capacity development and participatory methods. He has previously taught at the University of the West Indies, Antioch University Graduate School of Whole System Design, the ICA Global Academy and the Social Artistry School.  He conducted his graduate studies at Indiana University and Chicago Theological Seminary and undergraduate studies at Oklahoma State University. He and his wife live on the Hudson River north of New York City.











Areas of Expertise

  • Cities
  • Environment
  • Governance
  • Housing & Community Development
  • Inequality
  • International Development
  • Leadership
  • Policy Analysis
  • Poverty
  • Public & Nonprofit Orgs.
  • Urban Policy
  • Vulnerable Populations