Contact Dr Tim Forsyth
- Tel: +44 (0) 1234 988387
- Email: Tim.Forsyth@cranfield.ac.uk
Background
Dr Tim Forsyth, SFHEA, is a Lecturer in Socio-Technical Systems, Deputy Head of the Complex Systems Group, and Course Director for the Level 7 Systems Thinking Practice Apprenticeship and MSc at Cranfield University. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he specialises in the governance of Complex Socio-technical Systems, Systems Thinking, and Systems Leadership. His work applies Positive Psychology and Artificial Intelligence to enhance decision-making, organisational resilience, and performance in defence, security, public health, and other high-stakes environments.
Research opportunities
Tim鈥檚 research integrates Systems Thinking, Systems Leadership, and Positive Psychology to address 鈥渨icked problems鈥� in complex socio-technical systems. His doctoral research explored the relationship between individual capabilities and organisational challenges, identifying how this balance impacts performance, wellbeing, and the experience of flow.
Research projects include GroundsWell 鈥� a UK Prevention Research Partnership initiative transforming urban green and blue spaces to improve population health and wellbeing 鈥� and contributions to Defence and National Security Research, including leading the Collective Intelligence Project: Brains Trust as a Service programme for HMG. His wider interests include decision-making under uncertainty, AI in complex systems, and organisational resilience.
Current activities
Tim鈥檚 current work spans teaching, research, and academic leadership within the Complex Systems Group. He plays a central role in the GroundsWell programme, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to design system-level public health interventions. In the defence and security domain, he builds on his leadership of the Brains Trust as a Service initiative to develop frameworks for mobilising expertise and enabling Systems Leadership in high-stakes operational and policy contexts.
He is actively involved in supporting the development of the Network for Security Excellence and Collaboration (NSEC, formerly ARISC). A collaborative platform connecting academia, government, and industry to strengthen UK security research and capability.
Tim supervises doctoral research, including a PhD on Deception Detection, and continues to mentor MSc and doctoral candidates. His collaborative projects involve government, industry, and academic partners, translating Systems Thinking Research into practical solutions for Defence, Security, Public Health, and Organisational Resilience.