Dr Adam Saunders is a Research Fellow at the Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE) at the Department of Education and an Associate Member of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. His research, teaching and supervision centre on the study of comparative political economy with a focus on understanding how differences in the institutional organisation of market economies shape differences in economic performance. Of particular interest is the relationship between national economic competitiveness and the role of institutions in the governance of labour markets and skills, technological innovation, corporate management, capital finance and supply chain relations. His work also focusses on the integration of domain knowledge and business problem use cases into methodological frameworks for Machine Learning and big data analytics.

Dr Saunders holds BA, MA and DPhil degrees from Trinity College, University of Oxford. During his career at the University, he has held a number of academic posts. Previously he was a Departmental Lecturer at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations, a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention and a Research Fellow at Nuffield College.

Dr Saunders is currently a Co-Investigator on the cross-disciplinary project ‘Unlocking the Potential of Artificial Intelligence for English Law’ funded by UKRI-ESRC’s ISCF Next Generation Services Challenge, which

• AI for English Law – Work Package Four – Coordinating Skill Investment and Tech Transfer
• Unlocking the Potential of Artificial Intelligence for English Law

He is also co-leader of the Oxford COVID-19 Impact Monitor (https://oxford-covid-19.com/) with project partners including Oracle, Facebook, CKDelta and Cuebiq:

• Covid-19 Impact Monitor reveals UK population moves drops by 98%
• Guardian Article:How Britain’s high streets are recovering after lockdown – visual analysis

Previously he was a Co-Investigator on the UK’s first study, delivered with University colleagues and McKinsey & Company, into the country’s prospective international competitiveness in electric vehicle (EV) and battery cell production commissioned by the Faraday Institution and funded under the ISCF’s Faraday Battery Challenge, which assessed inward investment requirements for UK EV battery gigafactories:

His broader policy engagement has included presentations, briefings and advisory across UK government, including: No 10 Policy Unit, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Department for International Trade (DIT), the Department for Education (DfE), the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and the Scottish and Welsh governments. Dr Saunders is a member of the Automotive Council and has extensive experience engaging with multinational corporations, especially in the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector as well as the professional services sector.