David Sweeney is Professor of Research Policy at the University of Birmingham, Deputy Chair of the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales, and Chair of the Steering Group of the Pandemic Institute in Liverpool. After gaining First Class Honours in Statistics at the University of Aberdeen David worked at two BBSRC research institutes, firstly as a consultant statistician, and then developing mathematical models of plant growth. His work on the computational aspects of this led into broader applications of IT in education and research before moving into university leadership at Royal Holloway as Vice-Principal (Communications, Enterprise, and Research) in 2004.
He joined HEFCE in 2008 as Director (Research, Innovation and Skills) and led the development and implementation of the first Research Excellence Framework including the new impact agenda element. At HEFCE and then as Executive Chair of Research England he was responsible for research policy and funding, knowledge exchange and university/business relations. David has been invited to visit many countries to advise on open access and on research assessment and funding, particularly with respect to research impact. At UK Research & Innovation he was a champion for Place, Open Science and Commercialisation.
David was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen in 2012 and Keele University in 2023. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and the Royal Society of the Arts and an Honorary Professor at the University of Manchester.