Dr Chris Ford
Senior Lecturer in Accounting & ManagementProfile
In addition to my teaching work I have a number of advisory roles that connect me to government and business, as part of my commitment to engaged, impactful scholarship. These roles include: Cabinet Office Policy Fellow advising the recently formed Cabinet Office Open Innovation Team, Academic Advisor on the board of the Business and Management Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Academic Advisor to the Institute of Outdoor Learning, and Council Member of the International Management Control Association. Each of these roles is linked to my research interests, which focus on the role played by accountability and performance management in the establishment, governance and performance of multi-stakeholder collaborations.
Previous Experience:
Prior to my return to academia in 2012 I worked first as as Corporate Recovery specialist for Deloitte, then spent 15 years running my own international mountain bike travel and training company. During this time I worked around the world with multiple partner organisations, while also operating at the highest level in outdoor education, coach education and leadership development for two National Governing Bodies of Sport in the UK. I have a back catalogue of some 50 magazine and newspaper publications on various coaching and leadership subjects, was a sponsored athlete for Adidas, Trek, and Gore Industries, and I wrote and starred in the most viewed mountain bike skills coaching video (2.6m hits and rising) of all time.
Professional Role
I am a member of the governing committee of the Finance & Management Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. My position is as one of two academic advisors, and I am currently working with the faculty on a project to better connect their network of accountants in business and practice with academic accounting departments in the UK and internationally.
I am Director of Impact & Engagement within the Accounting and Finance Department, with a broad remit that includes the development of projects to help business exploit the world-leading research we engage in, and the management of our own impact cases towards the next REF assessment in 2021.
Research Overview
My research interests are centred on the performance management of collaborative or open innovation projects. Within this context I am interested in multiple aspects of performance - from hard metrics to the complexities and nuances of different forms of accountability - as well as different forms of collaborations. To date my work has engaged with charities, royalty, big pharma, blue-chip financial service companies, universities and telecoms organisations in the UK, Europe, US and Asia; always with a focus on exploring multiple stakeholder perspectives on what defines, and what brings, successful collaborative performance.
Unlocking the value of digital disruption – How small tech start-ups enter profitable industries
01/12/2020 → 30/11/2025
Research
Regional Innovation Ecosystems: Evaluation, Orchestration and Performance
15/03/2019 → …
Research
Catalysing Innovation: Practices, Procesesses and Evaluations of Open Innovation
30/09/2015 → …
Research
Managing Digitally Mediated Business Model Development at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
18/05/2015 → 01/11/2015
Research
The Performance of Open Innovation Flagships
01/01/2012 → 30/09/2015
Research
- Centre for Productivity & Efficiency
- Corporate Governance and Auditing