From 1997 to 2004, Keith A. Bezanson was the Director of the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University in Great Britain. Established as the first institute of its kind in 1967, IDS remains the largest (approximately 240 staff) and most comprehensive of development studies institutes with a worldwide reputation for the quality of its research, teaching, policy analysis and advice on all aspects of development. Prior to taking up his post at IDC, Dr. Bezanson was from 1991 to 1997 the president of the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 1970 with the specific mandate to build and apply Science, Technology and Research systems for development, IDRC remains the premier organisation of its type in the world.

Before his work at IDRC, Dr. Bezanson was a Vice-President at Inter-American Bank in Washington D.C. where he was responsible for the organizational and structural renewal of the Bank, for the administration of the Bank’s human resources and physical resources, including the development and adoption of policies to ensure their effective utilisation and the provision of administrative support and advice to all Bank units; for the preparation, presentation and management of the Bank’s administrative budget of approximately; for programme oversight for an investment budget of approximately $4 billion annually; and for supervision, control and audit of 26 field offices comprising approximately 200 international employees and 300 locally-contracted employees.

From 1985 to 1988, Dr. Bezanson was ambassador to Peru and Bolivia. Prior to that he held several positions at the Canadian International Development Agency including, Vice President of the Americas Branch with responsibility for all aspects of Canadian bilateral co-operation (economic and technical) with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Director General of the Multilateral Programs, with responsibility for all aspects of Canadian membership (policy, oversight, burden sharing, etc.) in the multilateral development banks (i.e. World Bank, Asian, African, Inter-American and Caribbean Development Banks), Regional Director of Eastern Africa for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda with responsibility for the planning and execution of what was then the largest program of Canadian economic co-operation in Africa (approximately $60 million annually) and Chief Planning Officer with responsibility for program and project planning of all Canadian economic and technical co-operation in Anglophone Africa..