Prof. Duncan Shaw

Prof. Duncan Shaw is Professor of Operational Research and Critical Systems, Director of the Aston CRISIS Centre and is based in the Operations and Information Management Group of Aston Business School. As an Operational Researcher, Duncan’s research involves him working very closely with organisations to support decision making during times of great complexity and paralyzing uncertainty when there are potentially significant safety and security considerations.

Duncan’s current portfolio of projects include:

  • European Commission: Is the Principal Investigator for the EU660,000, 3-year project called Evacuation Responsiveness by Government Organisations (ERGO).
  • Department for Transport, UK: Is leading a team of Operational Research specialists in the delivery of a +£1m project which assesses the performance of the checkpoint screening process in UK airports, called Supporting Our Security Officer.
  • Economic and Social Research Council: Is Co-Investigator on a £2m ESRC-funded project which works very closely with a range of West Midlands organizations to have sustainable impact on their performance through Engaging Research for Business Transformation (Erebus).
  • Economic and Social Research Council:Is the Principal Investigator on an ESRC-funded seminar series on Emergency Response Preparedness in the UK which brings together expert practitioners and academics to discuss the way forward for research and practice on emergency preparedness.
  • Nuclear Installations Inspectorate: Has two main projects ongoing – one on Waste and Source-matter Analysis which is developing law for the safe reduction of nuclear waste and one on performance assessment.
  • Birmingham City Council:Has two main projects ongoing – one on providing services to constituents who are at risk and one on exploring staff performance.
  • Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service: Supporting activities around research alignment.

Duncan is frequently commissioned to be an independent expert for government departments on decision making methodology. For example, the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) have appointed him to a multi-disciplinary expert panel to provide external peer review and independent challenge to their overall research programme as well as to advise CLG Ministers on all aspects of research in the field of fire and resilience.

Duncan’s recent projects include:

  • Office of the Deputy Prime Minister:Building analytical tools for the 'New Dimension' programme to investigate decontamination of a population and the national allocation of emergency resources. These models have been transferred to Australia's emergency services.
  • Communities and Local Government: Analysing the impact on key performance indicators of maintenance schedules for emergency vehicles.
  • Nuclear Installation Inspectorate: A range of projects in the nuclear industry including: designing a waste management decision making methodology; engaging stakeholders in the governance of nuclear-related matters; peer reviewing the simulation of nuclear plants/sites.
  • Health and Safety Executive: Multi-criteria decision making methodology; identifying and analysing options for waste minimisation.
  • AstraZeneca: Facilitator working with scientists across Europe and USA on the identification of new investment opportunities.
  • Scottish Executive: Engineering user requirements for the development of a new computer-based system.
  • Fire Service College: Visiting Lecturer on strategic thinking.
  • Defence Science and Technology Laboratory [dstl]: Trainer on critical project thinking.

He has been a strategy development facilitator in over 100 strategic planning workshops working with the top management teams in the likes of: West Mercia Constabulary; Scottish Ambulance Service; Reliance Security; Group 4; as well as non-CRISIS organisations such as: Argos Direct, Mettis Aerospace, Whitbread, Calor Gas and Severn Trent Water. He has a First Class Honours and a Ph.D. in Management Science, both from Strathclyde University (Glasgow, U.K.). Duncan is contactable on d.a.shaw@aston.ac.uk or 0121 204 3231.

Duncan’s official Aston homepage can be found here

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