An expert in the environment and economics by training, Federico Burone oversees IDRC’s research programming in Latin America and the Caribbean. When Burone joined IDRC in 1997, it was as Executive Director of the Environmental Management Secretariat (EMS) for Latin America. His work there focused on finding models of public-private partnerships and institutional and technological innovations to provide basic social services in Latin American cities. In 2001, he was appointed Regional Director of IDRC’s Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining IDRC, Burone worked in various research capacities for the European Commission, for Industrial Relations and the Environment Network in Europe, and for the Technological Park of Valencia in Spain. He also spent two years with the United Nations Development Programme in South America. Burone holds a PhD in economics from the Universidad de Valencia in Spain.