Sir Michael Barber
Encyclopedia
Sir Michael Barber is currently the Chief Education Advisor to Pearson, the world's largest learning company. In the past, Sir Michael served as a partner and head of the global education practice at McKinsey
, advisor to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
and a global expert on education reform and implementation of large-scale system change. He has worked for over 20 years, he has worked in education and government reform and improvement.
Barber previously served as Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education on School Standards during the first term of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. During Blair’s second term, from 2001 to 2005, Barber served as the Chief Adviser on Delivery, reporting directly to Prime Minister Blair. As head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU), he was responsible for working with government agencies to ensure successful implementation of the Prime Minister’s priority programs, including those in health, education, transport, policing, the criminal justice system, and asylum/immigration. He wrote a book about his experience in the PMDU, titled Instruction to Deliver: Fighting to Reform Britain’s Public Services (Metheun 2008), which was described by the Financial Times as “one of the best books about British Government for many years,” and has been read by political leaders around the world.
Following his time leading the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Barber served as partner and head of McKinsey’s Global Education Practice. While at McKinsey, Sir Michael Barber co-authored two major education reports: How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better (2010) and How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top (2007). He also served as co-chair of the Pakistan Education Taskforce and continues to work on education system reform in Pakistan as DFID’s Special Representative on Education for Pakistan. Through his work in Pakistan Sir Michael is serving as an Advisor to Honorable Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, on his ambitious public education reform program called Punjab Schools Reform Roadmap with the goal of enrolling ~7.5M of out school children and increasing the quality of education significantly.
Sir Michael has consulted to governments in over 40 countries on issues of public policy and delivery. Sir Michael Barber published Deliverology 101 in 2011 to serve as a comprehensive guide to Education system reform and delivery. Governments and large public organisations (from the Louisiana school system to the Malaysian government) have systematically adopted the 'deliverology' approach and realized quick impact and significantly improve outcomes to their reform programs. Additionally, major international organizations including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, DFID, and the IMF have sought the advice and guidance of Sir Michael.
Sir Michael is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter.
In 2008, Sir Michael Barber received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University from Nottingham Trent University
in recognition of his leading contribution to reforms aimed at the modernisation of public management and services over the last 20 years, both nationally and internationally, as an area of expertise explicitly identified in the University's strategic plan.
In the summer of 2010, Sir Michael Barber teamed with leaders from the Education Trust and Achieve to found the U.S. Education Delivery Institute. This Institute works with leaders of K-12 and higher education systems around the United States to adapt the delivery concept pioneered by Barber in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit to drive American education reform efforts .
In September 2011, Sir Michael Barber became Chief Education Advisor at Pearson. In this role, he will lead the company’s worldwide research and partnership on education policy, and learning methods, advise on and support the innovation and development of new products and services, and lead Pearson’s strategy for education in the poorest sectors of the world, particularly in fast-growing developing economies.
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
, advisor to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and a global expert on education reform and implementation of large-scale system change. He has worked for over 20 years, he has worked in education and government reform and improvement.
Barber previously served as Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education on School Standards during the first term of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. During Blair’s second term, from 2001 to 2005, Barber served as the Chief Adviser on Delivery, reporting directly to Prime Minister Blair. As head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU), he was responsible for working with government agencies to ensure successful implementation of the Prime Minister’s priority programs, including those in health, education, transport, policing, the criminal justice system, and asylum/immigration. He wrote a book about his experience in the PMDU, titled Instruction to Deliver: Fighting to Reform Britain’s Public Services (Metheun 2008), which was described by the Financial Times as “one of the best books about British Government for many years,” and has been read by political leaders around the world.
Following his time leading the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Barber served as partner and head of McKinsey’s Global Education Practice. While at McKinsey, Sir Michael Barber co-authored two major education reports: How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better (2010) and How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top (2007). He also served as co-chair of the Pakistan Education Taskforce and continues to work on education system reform in Pakistan as DFID’s Special Representative on Education for Pakistan. Through his work in Pakistan Sir Michael is serving as an Advisor to Honorable Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, on his ambitious public education reform program called Punjab Schools Reform Roadmap with the goal of enrolling ~7.5M of out school children and increasing the quality of education significantly.
Sir Michael has consulted to governments in over 40 countries on issues of public policy and delivery. Sir Michael Barber published Deliverology 101 in 2011 to serve as a comprehensive guide to Education system reform and delivery. Governments and large public organisations (from the Louisiana school system to the Malaysian government) have systematically adopted the 'deliverology' approach and realized quick impact and significantly improve outcomes to their reform programs. Additionally, major international organizations including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, DFID, and the IMF have sought the advice and guidance of Sir Michael.
Sir Michael is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter.
In 2008, Sir Michael Barber received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University from Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
in recognition of his leading contribution to reforms aimed at the modernisation of public management and services over the last 20 years, both nationally and internationally, as an area of expertise explicitly identified in the University's strategic plan.
In the summer of 2010, Sir Michael Barber teamed with leaders from the Education Trust and Achieve to found the U.S. Education Delivery Institute. This Institute works with leaders of K-12 and higher education systems around the United States to adapt the delivery concept pioneered by Barber in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit to drive American education reform efforts .
In September 2011, Sir Michael Barber became Chief Education Advisor at Pearson. In this role, he will lead the company’s worldwide research and partnership on education policy, and learning methods, advise on and support the innovation and development of new products and services, and lead Pearson’s strategy for education in the poorest sectors of the world, particularly in fast-growing developing economies.