Research Overview

Professor Dalcher has amassed the world's largest collection of failure stories, which he uses as a basis for refining the notion of sustainable success. His aim is to refresh and rejuvenate management and leadership practice through the breaking of silos, the sharing of transdisciplinary ideas and the co-creation of new innovations and insights.

His research focuses on rethinking project success, connecting projects and portfolios to strategy execution; repositioning the notion of agility, especially in the context of strategy, sustainability and innovation; and, exploring the role of ethics, morality and responsibility in professional decisions.

Research Interests

The improvement of project practice, project excellence, strategic initiatives, managing change, systems engineering, decision making, narratives of success and failure, continuous improvement and development, the future of information, agile methods and the evolution of development, design, project and product life cycles.

Current Teaching

Postgraduate Supervision of PhD and Professional Doctorate students

Successfully designed and delivered industrial and professional programmes in project management, leadership, innovation and strategy. Extensive expertise in practice-based provision and work-based learning.

Developed and launched the UK's first professional doctorate in project management, alongside a suite of professional masters programme for experienced practitioners and senior executives.

Taught modules:

MSCI615 Business, Benefits & Strategy

MSCI616 Advances in Project Management

ITO.007 IT Project Management

OWT517 IT Consulting and Project Management

Additional Information

Darren is a senior academic, editor, advisor, consultant and researcher with extensive expertise in collaborating with business and government bodies. He works to foster interactive dialogue about the integration of successful practice with theoretical research in the management of projects, change and innovation.

Passionate about solving real world problems, he has built a reputation as thought leader and innovator in the area of practice-based education and reflection in project management and information systems and has designed and developed the UK’s first professional doctorate in project management, alongside an extensive suite of executive and professional masters programmes and diplomas. Darren is the Editor of two project management book series published by Routledge and Editor-in-Chief of a leading software engineering journal published by Wiley, reflecting his hybrid interest in the connection between technology and its successful management.

Career Details

2018- Professor in Strategic Project Management, Lancaster University

2018- Adjunct Professor, WU Executive Academy, Vienna University of Economics and Business

2017- Visiting Professorial Faculty, Supply Chain Academy

2015-2020 Adjunct Professor, University of Warwick

2012-2018 Professor in Project Management, University of Hertfordshire

2011- Visiting Professor, Reykjavik University

2009-2010 Visiting Professor, University of Southern Denmark

2009-2010 Visiting Professor, George Washington University

2006-2018 Adjunct Professor, SKEMA Business School

2003- Director, National Centre for Project Management

2002-2014 Visiting Professor, University of Iceland

2001-2012 Professor in Software Project Management, Middlesex University

1993-2002 Senior Tutor, Open University

1992-2001 Senior Lecturer in Systems and Software Engineering, South Bank University

1988-1992 Assistant Lecturer/Tutor in Software Engineering, King's College, University of London

External Roles

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Software: Evolution and Process

Editor, Advances in Project Management, Routledge

Editor, Fundamentals of Project Management, Routledge

Editor, Routledge Frontiers in Project Management

Column Editor, PM World Journal

Academic advisor and Consultant Editor for the Association for Project Management's 7th edition of the APM Body of Knowledge

Member of the Research Advisory Group, Association for Project Management

Member of the Academic Advisory Council, Chartered Management Institute

Member of the Research Board, Project Management Institute

Member of the Academic Member Advisory Group, Project Management Institute

Member of the Academic Insight Team, Project Management Institute

Member of of the Faculty Advisory Committee, Project Management Institute

Member of the Fellows Advisory Group, British Computer Society

Member of the British Standards Institute Technical Committee on Project Management

Member of the APM Group Ethics and Standards Governance Board

Qualifications

PhD King's College, University of London

HonFAPM Honorary Fellowship, lifetime award, Association for Project Management

FCMI Fellowship of the Chartered Management Institute

FRSA Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce

FBCS Fellowship of the British Computer Society

CITP Chartered IT Practitioner

SMIEEE Senior Membership of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

SFHEA Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy

MINCOSE Membership of the International Council on Systems Engineering

PhD Supervision Interests

I have been supervising PhD and professional doctorate research in the following areas: project management, programme management, project success and failure, agile development and management, benefits and value in projects, information systems, development life cycles and processes. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss a research area or a specific topic.