Dr David F Murphy, PhD

Biography

Dr David F. Murphy is Associate Professor of Sustainability & Collaborative Leadership and Academic Lead of the Initiative for Leadership & Sustainability (IFLAS), University of Cumbria.

David has extensive international experience of working on multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration with senior leaders and change agents in business, government, NGOs, and the UN system, including related teaching, applied research and consultancy on partnerships for sustainable development.

Recent projects include: Strengthening Cumbria's Civil Society with the Office of the Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria, Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC) and Thinking Philanthropy; and a series of research and knowledge exchange projects on the transformational potential of partnerships for the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

David has an MSc in Comparative Development and International Policy, and a PhD in International Policy on Sustainable Development, from the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.

Qualifications and memberships

• PhD International Policy, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol (1998)
• MSc Comparative Development and International Policy, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol (1993)
• BEd Secondary English, University of Calgary (1987)

• Member, Association of Sustainability Practitioners, Poole, Dorset
• Affiliate Member, Society of Editors, Cambridge

Academic and research interests

• Cross-sector collaboration on sustainable development
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Collaborative leadership and learning in multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs)
• Monitoring and evaluation of partnering processes, governance and outcomes
• Collaborative action research, and applied qualitative research

Research supervision

 

Publications

• Marshall, A & Murphy, DF (2017). ‘Turning Point: Rural Innovation Ecosystems and Leading Wellbeing’, Journal of Corporate Citizenship. 2017(68), 7-14.

• Murphy, DF & Gale, AW (2023). Projects as Partnerships: Project management and cross-sector partnering approaches to stakeholder engagement. PM World Journal. 12(7), July, 1-13. https://pmworldjournal.com/article/projects-as-partnerships 

• Murphy, DF & Marshall (2021). Citizenship and Sustainability in Organizations: Exploring and spanning the boundaries. pp. 164, London: Routledge.

• Murphy, DF & Stott, L (2021). Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). pp. 262, Basel, Switzerland: MDPI Books.

• Murphy, DF & Stott, L (2021). Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainability 13(2), 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020658

• Jones, G & Murphy, DF (2024). The Paradox of Rewilding Projects: Exploring rewilding as projects, programs or portfolios. paper presented at University of Maryland Project Management Symposium. https://pmsymposium.umd.edu/pm2024/session/the-paradox-of-rewilding-projects-jones/ 
  
  
• Stanberry, J, Murphy, DF, & Balda, JB (2024). Recognising Ecological Reflexivity: An alternative approach to partnership capabilities for collaborative governance. Sustainability. 16(16), 6829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166829
  
  
• Stott, L & Murphy, DF (2020). An Inclusive Approach to Partnerships for the SDGs: Using a Relationship Lens to Explore the Potential for Transformational Collaboration. Sustainability. 12(19), 7905. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197905
  
  
• Williams, S & Murphy, DF (2023). Learning from Each Other: UK global businesses, SMEs, CSR and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Sustainability. 15(5), 4151. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054151 
  
  
• Williams, S & Murphy, D.F. (2022). Applying Authentic Assessment to Teaching the SDGs, in L. Moratis & F. Melissen (eds.) Business Schools, Leadership and the Sustainable Development Goals. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003244905 

Recent external roles

• Co-Chair, Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, with more than eighty organisations working towards a net zero carbon county by 2037 (current)
• Series Editor, ‘Citizenship & Sustainability in Organizations’, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Oxon (current)
• External Examiner, Imperial College London (ongoing)
• Senior Associate, The Partnering Initiative, London (ongoing)
• Senior Associate, United Nations System Staff College, Turin, Italy (2005-2008)
• Programme Director & Director, New Academy of Business, University of Bath (1999-2004)
• Senior Researcher, The Body Shop plc, London, UK (1998-1999)

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