Farncombe, Andrew

Andrew Farncombe, an urban geographer and registered professional planner, directs Canadian Urban Institute’s portfolio of international projects undertaken in partnership with cities and communities around the world. He has over 20 years of work experience in the public, private, non-profit and academic sectors in Canada and internationally. His areas of expertise include local government, urban planning, environmental management, local economic development, civic engagement and urban partnership building.

Since the mid 1990s, he has worked as a senior manager and consultant on local government planning, capacity building and urban management programs in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Mr. Farncombe is skilled in the leadership, planning and management of large international cooperation projects. He is experienced in on-site identification and design of local governance programs, multi-year project implementation, project financial management, performance monitoring and evaluation, results-based management and gender mainstreaming.

He has provided leadership to projects funded by CIDA, AusAID and UN-HABITAT, and served as a consultant on initiatives funded by the World Bank and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Earlier in his career, Andrew served as a CUI researcher on urban issues in Canada and internationally, as a land use planner on contract with the Town of Ajax (ON), as a teacher of urban studies at York University, as a public affairs specialist with Sun Life Financial Canada and as an Ottawa-based legislative assistant to a Canadian Member of Parliament (St-Boniface).

Born in Vancouver, Andrew holds two degrees, a Masters in Environmental Studies (Planning) from York University (Toronto) and a Bachelor of Arts (Geography) from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver). He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI). Mr. Farncombe has a working knowledge of French and Spanish.