Darren Dalcher

Professor Darren Dalcher is a distinguished academic in Strategic Project Management at Lancaster University Management School. He holds visiting roles at multiple institutions including Warwick, WU Vienna, and Reykjavik University. As Director of the National Centre for Project Management (NCPM), he bridges academia, industry, and government. His PhD from King's College London focused on project lifecycle optimization and continuous delivery, with early work on systems failure analysis through an IEEE taskforce. He has authored over 300 papers and 30 books, translated globally, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Wiley’s Journal of Software: Evolution and Process.

Education: PhD (Systems & Software Engineering), King's College London. Key roles include founding the UK’s first professional doctorate in project management and leading the APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition. Awards include Honorary Fellowship from APM and multiple best-paper recognitions.

Research focuses on redefining project success, ethics in decision-making, and agility in strategy execution. He curates the world’s largest failure-story database to refine sustainable success metrics. Current teaching includes advanced project management modules and doctoral supervision in areas like agile development and project failure analysis.

Professional contributions span international committees (PMI, BSI), editorial boards, and advisory roles. Notable activities include chairing the APM Conference for five years and keynote speaking globally. External roles include membership in over 20 professional bodies, including the PMI Academic Insight Team and IEEE.

Labs/Teams: National Centre for Project Management (NCPM), Routledge Project Management Book Series, and the APM Body of Knowledge editorial team. His research groups explore digitalization maturity, VUCA environments, and responsible project management frameworks.