David Edwards

Professor

Email:: david.edwards@bcu.ac.uk

Professor David J. Edwards BSc (Hons), PhD, MCMPE, FIoQ

Professor Edwards is currently rated as one of the world’s leading scientific experts in civil engineering and construction management (and was ‘rated in the top 0.5% of global scientists across all disciplines’ – cf. Scopus and in the world’s top 2% by Stanford University/Elsevier) but his multidisciplinary research also spans business studies, mechanical engineering and information technology. He is a highly cited academic with over 27,000 citations in Google Scholar (h-index = 84; and i10 index = 395 as of August 2026) and is a peer referee for over 80 scientific journals. He currently held/or holds numerous visiting Professorships worldwide at: Birmingham City University, UK; Deakin University, Australia; UNISA, Australia; KNUST, Ghana; Nelson Mandela, South Africa; a life-time Doscent at University of Oulu, Finland; and is currently a Distinguished Professor at University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

He is a prolific scientific author (with almost 600 peer reviewed journal papers published) and his multiple Professorships reflect his international research profile. Professor Edwards has held several senior management and leadership positions ranging from Programme Leader, Director of Research Centres to Acting Associate Dean of Research (when employed in the Business School). He has also accrued a wealth of experience in module and programme development in the UK and internationally, as well as a breadth of experience in managing Trans-national Education (TNE) provisions, professional accreditation, financial management, dispute resolution and human resource management.

Areas of Expertise

Qualifications

Memberships

Teaching

Research

Postgraduate Supervision

Publications

*Selected papers from January 2025 – August 2026:

Birifa, E.K., Owusu-Manu, D., Edwards, D.J. and Acheampong, A. (2026) Critical barriers to the integration of green roofs in Ghanaian construction projects, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-01-2025-0137

Amirhossein, A., Mohandes, S.R., Edwards, D.J. Nasir, A.R. and El-Gohary, H. (2026) A meticulous investigation into the application of metaverse in construction industry: a systematic literature review. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-04-2026-0282

Edwards, D.J., Najafi, M. and Rahimian, F. (2026) Editorial: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Shaping Modern Construction Practices, Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 15 No. 5 pp. 1657–1662, https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-06-2026-849

Moyo, T., Raliile, M., Edwards, D. and Chigara, B. (2026) Construct validation for technical sustainability as the fourth pillar for achieving sustainable construction: a case for Zimbabwe. Construction Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-02-2026-0084

Bayramova, A., Edwards, D. and Rillie, I. (2026) An exploration of safety analytics for proactivity in workplace safety using large language models. Quality and Quantity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-026-02842-7

Sarvari, H. and Edwards, D.J. (2026) Prioritising the causes of utility strike safety incidents in UK highways projects: A swara-based expert analysis, Safety Science, 201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2026.107239

Edwards, D.J., Najafi, M. and Rahimian, F. (2026) Editorial: Consciousness of human environmental awareness in turbulent economic times. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 15(3), pp. 941–947. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-04-2026-760

Posillico JJ, Stanislav T, Edwards D (2026) Development of a human-centric pedagogical ethos for construction management education amidst industry 5.0. Education + Training, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-03-2025-0132 16th January 2026.

Roberts CJ, Edwards DJ (2026) Repair, maintenance and improvement: the impact of socio-political ideology on the maintenance of the built environment. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-09-2025-0227

Gordo-Gregorio, P., Alavi, H., Edwards, D. J., Forcada, N., & Guéna, F. (2026) An occupant-centric approach on digital twins for building management. Building Research & Information, 54(1), 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2025.2463676

Bayramova, A., Edwards, D.J. (2025) A study of objectivity and subjectivity in research methodology selection. Quality and Quantity, 60, pp. 5905–5931 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-025-02517-9

Edwards DJ, Najafi M, Rahimian F (2025) "Editorial: Smart infrastructure and safety innovation: AI-driven risk management and resilience strategies". Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 14 No. 6 pp. 1657–1663. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-11-2025-570

Roberts, C. and Edwards, D.J. (2025) Repair, Maintenance and Improvement: The Impact of Socio-Political Ideology on the Maintenance of the Built Environment, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-09-2025-0227

Tseladikae, T., Agumba, J., Ochieng, G., Adebowale, O. J. and Edwards, D. (2025) Correlation analysis of project management practices and performance outcomes in social housing projects. International Journal of Construction Management, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2025.2577931

Manzoor, B., Antwi-Afari, M.F., Alotaibi, K.S., Edwards, D.J. and Posillico, J.J. (2025) Success Factors for Implementing Digital Twin Technology in Construction Projects: A Systematic and Bibliometric Approach, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151(12). https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-17248

Seidu, A., Chan, D.W.M., Edwards, D.J. and Owusu-manu, D. (2025) Building green intellectual capital in construction organisations for environmental sustainability: an exploratory structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis, Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70142

Jayathilaka, R.D.W.W., Wijewickrama, M.K.C.S. and Edwards, D.J. (2025) Developing a Holistic Teaching and Learning Framework for Construction Management Education: A Systematic Literature Review, Engineering Construction and Architectural Management. 32 (13): 258–284. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-11-2024-1557

Roberts, C. and Edwards, D.J. (2025) Building surveying education within UK higher education institutions: exploring patterns, trends and future developments, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-03-2025-0048

Gyimah, S., Owusu-Manu, D.-G., Edwards, D.J., Buertey, J.I.T. and Danso, A.K. (2025) Exploring the contributions of circular business models towards the transition of green economy in the Ghanaian construction industry, Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 859-880. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-09-2023-0265

Davies, H. K., Posillico, J. J., & Edwards, D. J. (2025). Soft Skills for Teams in Public Linear Infrastructure: The Development of a Decision Support Tool. Buildings, 15(7), 1197. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071197

Seidu, S., Edwards, D.J., Owusu-Manu, D., Chan, D. W. M., Abdulai, S. F. and Buertey, J. I. T. (2025) Achieving multifunctionality in green infrastructure projects: a fuzzy evaluation and Gini index of Key drivers in developing countries. Environment Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-025-06053-2

Elghaish, F., Matarneh, S., Rahimian, F.P., Abdellatef, E., Edwards, D.J., Ejohwomu, O., Abdelmegid, M. and Park, C. (2025) Multi-level optimisation of feature extraction networks for concrete surface crack detection, Developments in the Built Environment, 21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dibe.2024.100587

Oraee, M., Hosseini, M.R. and Edwards, D.J. (2025) Quantitative insights into collaboration in BIM-enabled projects: a PLS-SEM approach, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-09-2023-0891

Kukah, A.S.K., Owusu-Manu, D.-G., Badu, E., Edwards, D.J. and Asamoah, E. (2025) Modelling critical success factors (CSFs) for Ghanaian public–private partnership (PPP) power projects using fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE), Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 71-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFM-08-2022-0096

Guribie, F.L., Owusu-Manu, D.-G., Badu, E. and Edwards, D.J. (2025) Determinants and antecedents of social conductivity in project relationships, The Learning Organization, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-09-2022-0106