Professor Susan Howick
Management Science
Personal statement
Susan Howick is a Professor of Management Science and Vice-Dean (Academic) for Strathclyde Business School. She gained a BSc in Mathematics from Dundee University and a MSc in Operational Research and a PhD in Management Science from Strathclyde. Her main research interest lies in taking a systems perspective when using models to support decision-makers. She has developed approaches to systemic risk evaluation and modelled highly disrupted projects to understand the causes of project failure. She is also interested in exploring approaches to integrating models that promote client value from the modelling process.
Susan was Vice-President of the Operational Research Society in 2019-2021 and President of the Policy Council for the UK Chapter of the System Dynamics Society in 2007-08. She won the Operational Research Society Goodeve medal for her joint paper with Colin Eden "The Impact of Disruption and Delay when Compressing Large Projects: Going for Incentives?" 2001. Susan is on the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Operational Research and is an Associate Editor of the System Dynamics Review. Her consultancy experience includes projects for Bombardier, Strathclyde Police, Reed Elsevier, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Scottish and Southern Energy.
Area of Expertise
Susan’s research interests are in system dynamics modelling, the integration of modelling methods, disruption and delay analysis on complex projects, applying systems methods to project risk management
Prize And Awards
- EURO Prize for OR for the Common Good 2022 - Finalists
- Recipient
- 6/7/2022
- European Journal of Operational Research Editor's Choice Award
- Recipient
- 2021
- Elected to General Council of the Operational Research Society
- Recipient
- 2018
- Best Paper Award at the 17th International Conference on Group Decision and Negotiation
- Recipient
- 2017
- Elected to Publications Committee for International System Dynamics Society
- Recipient
- 2011
- Elected member of the Policy Council of the International System Dynamics Society
- Recipient
- 2009
Publications
- Exploring the drivers of unsustainable pressures in health and social care : a qualitative system dynamics approach.
- Nguyen Le Khanh Ngan, McCabe Holly, Howick Susan, Megiddo Itamar, Sengupta Soumen, Morton Alec
- Social Science and Medicine Vol 371 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117913
- Combining SD & ABM : frameworks, benefits, challenges, and future research directions
- Howick Susan, Megiddo Itamar, Nguyen Le Khanh Ngan, Wurth Bernd, Kazakov Rossen
- Hybrid Modeling and Simulation Conceptualizations, Methods and Applications (2024) (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-59999-6_9
- A system dynamics model of community-based health insurance system in Bangladesh
- Sheikh Md Nurnabi, Howick Susan, Mahmood Shehrin Shaila, Hanifi Syed Manjoor Ahmed, Morton Alec
- 42nd International System Dynamics Conference (2024)
- Not seeing the forest for the trees? : a systems approach to the entrepreneurial university
- Wurth Bernd, MacKenzie Niall G, Howick Susan
- Small Business Economics Vol 63, pp. 1-24 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00864-1
- A framework for conceptualising hybrid system dynamics and agent-based simulation models
- Nguyen Le Khanh Ngan, Howick Susan, Megiddo Itamar
- European Journal of Operational Research Vol 315, pp. 1153-1166 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2024.01.027
- A system dynamics model of community-based health insurance system in Bangladesh
- Sheikh Md Nurnabi, Howick Susan, Mahmood Shehrin Shalia, Hanifi Syed Manzoor Ahmed, Morton Alec
- 15th World Congress on Health Economics (2023)
Teaching
Susan has 25 years of experience in teaching to undergraduate, postgraduate and post experience students. Programmes on which she regularly teaches are MBA, MSc Business Analysis & Consulting and MSc Operational Research. Her teaching includes general Management Science classes in additon to specialised classes in system dynamics and project risk management that reflect her key research interests. Susan has delivered training courses for organisations such as Bombardier Inc., Babcock, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Government. She has also taught extensively via distance learning and was involved in developing two unique online MSc's.
Research Interests
My research interests include how multiple modelling methods can be integrated effectively to create robust, client-orientated decision support tools. I have been involved in creating such tools for clients in healthcare, engineering, construction and the energy sector. In addition, I have an interest in understanding what causes complex projects to overrun and in developing new risk assessment and management tools, which enable risk systemicity to be considered.
Professional Activities
- The Operational Research Society Simulation Workshop 2023
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 29/3/2023
- External Examiner for PhD Thesis at University of Gothenburg
- Examiner
- 2022
- Women in Operational Research and Analytics Network (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 2022
- European Journal of Operational Research (Journal)
- Editorial board member
- 2022
- EPSRC Peer Review Panel: Mathematical Sciences (Event)
- Advisor
- 6/10/2021
- External Examiner of PhD Thesis at University of Bristol
- Examiner
- 2020
Projects
- Nunavut Search and Rescue (NSAR) Project: Supporting Inuit Health and Well-Being, Food Security, Economic Development, and Community Resilience
- Quigley, John (Principal Investigator) Howick, Susan (Co-investigator) Walls, Lesley (Co-investigator) Wright, George (Co-investigator)
- 06-Jan-2022 - 05-Jan-2025
- TIC LCPE Repowering Hydro Plants - a Decision Support Tool
- Walls, Lesley (Principal Investigator) Howick, Susan (Co-investigator) Quigley, John (Co-investigator) Revie, Matthew (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2017 - 31-Jan-2018
- EPSRC Institutional Sponsorship: Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) / R160677-104
- Morton, Alec (Principal Investigator) Howick, Susan (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2016 - 31-Jan-2017
- Smart Mature Resilience (SMR) H2020 (SC7)
- Howick, Susan (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2015 - 30-Jan-2018
- Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) Studentship
- van der Meer, Robert (Principal Investigator) Howick, Susan (Co-investigator)
- Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) Studentship in relation to Amanda Stewart (PhD student)
- 01-Jan-2014 - 30-Jan-2019