Consultancy & advisory

I offer consultancy and advisory support for organisations working at the interface of science, data, technology, innovation and public value. My background combines frontier experimental particle physics, data-intensive science, AI-enabled analysis, international research infrastructure, public engagement and senior university leadership. I have led major scientific and technical programmes, built industry–university partnerships, advised on national research funding, and worked with organisations applying advanced analytics to real operational and strategic challenges.

I work where scientific rigour, data analysis, technical judgement and strategic delivery need to come together — particularly with organisations that need rigorous technical thinking, clear strategic judgement and practical routes from complex evidence to deliverable action.

Where I can help

Data, AI & analytics strategy

Identifying high-value use cases for data science, AI and automation; reviewing data workflows and analytics capability; advising on model design, validation, uncertainty, interpretability and robustness; and translating methods from frontier science into industrial and organisational contexts — helping teams tell technically plausible ideas from those that deliver real operational value. My experience includes predictive analytics for sensor manufacturing, in-process additive-manufacturing analytics, commercial data exploration, and open-data integration with agentic data-engineering systems.

Scientific, technical & innovation advisory

Independent expert input on technically complex projects — research and innovation strategy, feasibility assessment, due diligence on scientific or technology proposals, and review of scope, assumptions, risk and milestones, including research infrastructure, instrumentation, sensing, data systems and scientific computing. I have held senior leadership roles in major international collaborations and national research programmes responsible for strategy, technical delivery, and cost and schedule oversight.

Industry–university collaboration & knowledge exchange

Shaping collaborative research and innovation projects, identifying partners, designing challenge-led student and doctoral projects, and building industrial placement, training and skills programmes. As Director of the 4IR Centre for Doctoral Training in Data Intensive Science I developed placements and training with a wide range of companies, connecting PhD-level research skills to real organisational challenges.

Public engagement, communication & responsible innovation

Advising on how technical organisations communicate complex or sensitive science clearly and credibly to public, civic, school, policy and stakeholder audiences — engagement strategy, educational and outreach programmes, open research, and responsible research and innovation. I lead education and outreach for the ATLAS experiment at CERN and public, civic and schools engagement across Manchester's Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Strategic programme design & review

Helping senior leaders move from broad ambition to a structured, deliverable plan: strategy development, programme design and theory of change, portfolio review and prioritisation, evaluation and impact frameworks, governance and delivery planning, and critical-friend review of proposals, business cases and funding bids.

How I work

My style is analytical, direct and practical. I'm used to working with incomplete information, competing stakeholder priorities and technically complex evidence, and I aim to help clients clarify the real problem, surface the assumptions that matter, and develop recommendations that can be acted on. Support ranges from a short expert review or advisory conversation through to structured projects involving workshops, written analysis and programme design.

Typical outputs include:

• an expert advisory report, or a review of technical or strategic options;
• a workshop with senior leaders or technical teams;
• a feasibility or risk assessment;
• a data / AI opportunity map;
• a partnership or programme design;
• a funding, innovation or engagement strategy;
• a critical review of a proposal, business case or delivery plan.

Enquiries

To discuss a project or an advisory conversation, email darren.price@manchester.ac.uk. For speaking and broadcast, see media.