Wouter (pronounced: wow-ter) (he/him) is a Dutch national, who made his way via Belgium to the United States. After receiving his Ph.D. from the KU Leuven, he worked at the World Bank for five years. His work at the Bank focused on public sector and civil service reform in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. Some of the projects he worked on included a wage reform project in Croatia, the improvement of coordination of public investments in Romania, modernizing recruitment efforts in Italy, and progressive economic development in Turkey.
Academically, Wouter's research focus has been on innovation, failure and creativity in the public sector, with a special focus on performance management and continuous improvement. His Ph.D. dissertation, 'Sustainable Public Sector Innovations: How do feedback, accountability and learning matter?', was named one of the five best dissertations in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) in the field of political science and public policy of 2017.
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Assistant Teaching Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy