Dr Ahmad Al-Hiari

Job: Lecturer in Leadership and Management

Faculty: Business and Law

School/department: School of Leadership, Management and Marketing

Address: Hugh Aston 5.90 De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0) 116 366 4686

E: ahmad.al-hiari2@dmu.ac.uk

W: scholar.google.com/citations?user=Qucxx4YAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ahmad-al-hiari-886250118/

 

Personal profile

Ahmad is a Lecturer in Leadership and Management at De Montfort University, and a Visiting Research Fellow in Policy and Governance at the Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC), University of Sussex. Ahmad Co-chairs DMU's Staff Assembly since September 2022, where he works collaboratively with staff representatives and university leadership in developing cross-departmental cooperation. Ahmad is also the founder of the DMU Policy Unit, which aims to bridge the gap between DMU’s research, policy practice, and real-world impact to achieve DMU's civic mission, facilitate societal benefits, and serve local communities. 

Ahmad started his career as a strategic planner in 2017 where he worked for the Greater Amman Municipality in Jordan. In 2019, Ahmad worked as a research assistant for the Local Governance Research Centre (LGRC) during his PhD studies at the Faculty of Business and Law, and later undertook another researcher role at BAL in 2021. In 2022, Ahmad taught in Business and Management at DMU, and later that year, he joined the University of Sussex to teach on their professional MA program in Corruption and Governance. Ahmad currently teaches Leadership, Ethics and HRM at the School of Leadership, Management and Marketing (LMM). Ahmad is also a Member of the International Sub-Committee at The Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), and has extensive experience in interviewing senior policymakers and government executives. In May of 2023, he successfully organized a major anti-corruption conference in Jordan attended by top officials like the British Ambassador

Throughout his work, Ahmad has conducted policy research across issues like decentralization, corruption, collaborative governance, and government stewardship. Specializing in Governance Reform and Policy Transfer, much of his research and Policy Engagement work has focused on investigating Policy Failure, and developing government capacity to respond to administrative challenges. Set against the background of the complex socio-political challenges that shape institutional change, Ahmad is particularly interested in investigating the effectiveness of western governance models when tested in informal and socially-influenced political systems such as in the Middle-East.

 

Research group affiliations

Institute for Responsible Business and Social Justice (Associate Member)

Centre for Local and Urban Studies (CLAUS)

People, Organisations and Work Institute (POWI)

Areas of teaching

  • Leadership
  • Corruption
  • Ethics
  • Human Resource Management

Qualifications

  • 2011 – 2017, BSc Architecture (2:1), German-Jordanian University
  • 2017 – 2018, MA Housing, Development & Urban Management, with merit, Leeds Beckett University
  • 2018 – 2022, PhD Public Sector Governance, De Montfort University: “Jordanian Public Administration in Context: Reform Inertia, Wasta and Political Stewardship”, PhD by concurrent publication

Courses taught

  • [Apprenticeship] Contemporary Business Issues (CORX3548)
  • Research Dissertation in Human Resource Management (BMHR5005)
  • Business Ethics, Sustainability & Social Responsibility (BHRM2006)
  • Learning and Organisational Development (BHRM2002)
  • Business Strategy in Action (BHRM3005)
  • Dissertation (LBPG5017)
  • Consultancy Project (ENTE5003)
  • Organisational Development and Consulting (HRMG3206)
  • Learning and Development (HRMG3207)
  • Globalisation and International HRM (HRMG3203)
  • HRM in the Workplace (HRMG2201)
  • Business Research Project (MARK5030)
  • Contemporary Business Issues (CORP3543)
  • Global Operations & Supply Chain Management (CORP2551)

Membership of external committees

Member of the International Sub-Committee, Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Membership of professional associations and societies

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIHCM)

Professional licences and certificates

Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE)

Projects

DMU Policy Unit - Founder & Lead
The De Montfort University (DMU) Policy Engagement Unit is a pioneering initiative that aims to bridge the gap between DMU’s world-leading research, policy practice, and real-world impact to achieve our civic mission, facilitate societal benefits, and serve local communities. As one of the only university policy bodies in the UK that is fully led and run by academics, we aim to leverage the expertise of our research community to inform policymaking and drive positive change. Our Policy Unit is steered by the University professoriate, ensuring that our work is guided by a commitment to rigorous and impactful research. Through our activities and contributions to policy change, we strive to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), which focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. As the only higher education institution in Britain to serve as a global hub for SDG 16, DMU is dedicated to fostering a research community that is committed to public good and underpinned by an ability to challenge convention and create positive impact.

Conference attendance

07 June 2024, "Academic Integrity, AI Detection and Assessment Design". Presented at the Academic Integrity Conference. De Montfort University, Leicester. (keynote speaker)

17 May 2022, "Evaluating Prospects for Large-Scale Governance Reforms Within Informal Socio-Political Contexts: A Case Study of The Decentralization Reforms in Jordan". Paper presented at the Local Governance Research Centre (LGRC) International Academic Seminar. De Montfort University, Leicester. (invited speaker)

23 February 2024, "Introduction to Parliamentary Select Committees". Training Workshop. Government Exchange t/a International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS), London. (Certificate of Participation). 

Current research students

3 PhD Students (Areas: Corruption, Civil Service Reform & Organizational Leadership)

Externally funded research grants information

Improving International Anti-Corruption Measures by Addressing Informal Practices in Middle-Eastern Public Administrations  - Knowledge Exchange Policy Fellowship. £7’500 grant from the Policy Support Fund (PSF), Research England to support the development of Anti-Corruption policy in Jordan. April 2023  - June 2023. (PI)

"Through funding by Research England, and under the auspices of the Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC) at the University of Sussex, Ahmad convened a conference in Amman, Jordan to address emerging challenges in Anti-Corruption policy in the Middle-east and beyond. The project aims to inform a growing debate in academia and international anti-corruption frameworks on informal practices and their association with corruption. As such, this project aims to open a novel research direction focused on mitigating the negative impacts of of informal practices on governance reform efforts.

The conference was attended by the British Ambassador to Jordan, Ms. Bridget Brind OBE, the Minister of Public Works, the President of the Legislation and Opinion Bureau, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the former President of the University of Jordan, and a number of members of the Jordanian Senate and former Ministers. The conference was also attended by representatives of the Prime Ministry of Jordan, the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Capital Governorate Council, and the Income and Sales Tax Department. On the American side, the conference was attended by The American Anti-Corruption Institute (AACI).

This conference is part of a comprehensive project which aims to address gaps in international anti-corruption policy, and will set the groundwork for a future policy paper which will be presented to the Prime Ministry at a later date."

Internally funded research project information

Policy Engagement Symposium  - QR Funded Project - UKRI Policy Fund[£4’000]. February 2024. (PI)

A comprehensive 1-day event that started with a training suite composed of tailored policy engagement training delivered by a former MP and members of the leadership team for the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN). The training was designed for DMU research teams working on studies promising impact within different areas of research and stretching across different regions in the UK. This training program was followed by a meeting with Leicester's Deputy City Mayor to explore promising areas for policy impact, and set long-term objectives that speak to pressing issues in Leicester. As part of a broader initiative to network and synthesize between our policy experts at DMU, we plan to promote this event as a pilot initiative for a future Policy Engagement Unit at DMU that mobilizes our policy researchers and equips them with the necessary skills needed to generate policy impact, and further contribute to the facilitation of meaningful change in their field of expertise. 

The training suite focused on strategies for:

1- Facilitating collaborative and co-produced research with policy representatives in regional & national projects.

2- Building networks and relationships with both policymakers and policy research bodies in the UK, and unpacking the intricacies of researcher-policymaker collaboration.

3- Developing understanding of effective evidence utilization and how it fits within overarching policymaking processes in the UK.

Professional esteem indicators

Journal Reviewer: 
African Journal of Economic and Management Studies (AJEMS)

Book Reviews: 
Management textbooks  - Routledge (Leadership Subject Area)

Postgraduate supervisions

Ahmad is open to postgraduate supervision in any of the aforementioned research interest areas. Specifically, projects that address Government Reforms in the Middle East, Informality & Corruption, Leading Change in Public Institutions, and studies that use Elite Interviewing. 

Moderation

Internal Examiner - De Montfort University (DMU) / Asia Pacific University (APU)  - Moderation & Verification (20+ Modules)

PGT Students Supervised

[10 Student]. MSc Dissertations. Individual Business Consultancy Projects. 1st supervisor. Completed October 2022.

[5 Student]. MSc Business Management Dissertations. 1st supervisor. Completed June 2022. 

[5 Student]. MSc Consultancy Project Reports. 1st supervisor. Completed September 2023. 

[13 Student]. MSc International Business and Human Resource Management. 1st supervisor. Completed October 2023.

[10 Student]. MSc International Business. 1st supervisor. Completed September 2024.

Academic Expertise

As part of his research work, Ahmad has built extensive experience in planning, negotiating, conducting, and analyzing Elite Interviews with Senior Government Executives at Ministerial levels and above. Moreover, he has effectively engaged with key policy stakeholders and civil society leaders throughout his fieldwork and consultancies in Jordan and broader Middle-East.

PhD Thesis

Title: Jordanian Public Administration in Context: Reform Inertia, Wasta and Political Stewardship

Supervisors: Dr Jonathan Rose & Professor Steven Griggs

Examiners: Dr Karin Bottom & Professor Jonathan Davies

Research Areas: Public Administration and Public Policy

Specialized Area: Public Sector Governance

Methods: Elite interviewing and narrative-based policy analysis

ahmad-alhiari