Laura Savage is the Executive Director for the International Education Funders Group (IEFG), a network of around 100 philanthropic foundations and donor-advised funds working in basic education in low- and middle-income countries. Before joining the group in 2021, she served as Senior Education Adviser at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office where she co-led the Education Research Team to generate more rigorous, policy-relevant education research, to influence national education policy and donor country programs, and to advocate an evidence-based approach to action within a wide network of education thought leaders.

Laura has lived and worked in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Malawi, Ghana, Pakistan and Mexico and has previously worked for a range of global education organizations including UNICEF and Australia’s DFAT. She is respected within the global education community, particularly on the topics of education systems and foundational learning. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge on the politics of aid in the national education reform and government decision-making in the education sector in Malawi.