Marco Dean

Research subject

Thesis title: Improving Decision-Making for Mega Infrastructure Projects - Study on the Possible Applicability of  Multi-Criteria Analysis to the Appraisal of Major Gateway Port Projects

Primary supervisor: Professor Harry Dimitriou
Secondary supervisor: Dr John Ward
Sponsors: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and European Investment Bank (EIB)
Starting date: 2013
Projected completion date: 2017 

Marco Dean’s principal areas of research lie in the fields of transportation, logistics, complexity in strategic decision-making on major infrastructure projects as well as mega infrastructure planning and appraisal using both quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques, including Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). He has published several articles on these topics.

The PhD Programme of Marco Dean focuses on ‘The Applicability of Multi-Criteria Analysis to the Appraisal of Mega Infrastructure Seaport Projects in Major Port Cities’. The research is based on the working hypothesis that mega infrastructure projects produce impacts that go far beyond that infrastructure that is being delivered. Consequently the employment of conventional appraisal framework to the assessment of such projects may turn out to be insufficient to capture completely their multiple and far-reaching implications.

The PhD Programme also entails cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) throughout the first year of the PhD. This partnership is conceived within the STAges de REcherche BEI-EIB (STAREBEI) Research Programme, namely an EIB–Universities Research Action Programme. It is intended that the main findings obtained from the research undertaken under the STAREBEI Programme will contribute to the enhanced appreciation by the EIB of the employment of a multi-criteria analysis to the appraisal of large-scale capital investments in seaport infrastructure where a broader perspective can better highlight risks and opportunities of proposed investments. On the other hand, these findings will simultaneously form a critical input for research questions of the PhD.

Biography

Marco Dean is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL) as well as a Research Assistant at the OMEGA Centre (Bartlett School of Planning, UCL). He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Udine (2007 and 2010, respectively) and a master’s degree in Infrastructure Planning from University College London (2012).

He is also a Research Assistant at the OMEGA Centre (Bartlett School of Planning, UCL). As Research Assistant, under the supervision of Professor Harry T. Dimitriou, Mr. Dean has been involved in a ‘Study for the Application of Multi-Criteria Analysis to the Appraisal of Urban Projects’ undertaken for the European Investment Bank (EIB), with the objective of developing a multi-criteria appraisal framework to be adopted by the Regional and Urban Development (REGU) Division for the assessment of urban projects; in a ‘Study for the Development of a Framework for the Identification and Appraisal of Infrastructure Interdependencies with Application to Critical UK Infrastructure’, undertaken jointly by University of Bristol and University College London for Infrastructure UK, HM Treasury; and in the ‘Study on the Applicability of a Policy-Led Multi-Criteria Analysis in the Planning, Appraisal and Delivery of the London Underground Northern Line Extension Project, namely a project sponsored by a UCL Knowledge Transfer and Enterprise Award and focusing on application of a policy-led multi-criteria appraisal framework to the London Underground Northern Line Extension Project.

Since 2011 Marco Dean has been closely cooperating with Professor Sandro Fabbro from the University of Udine on research themes such as the planning of the trans-European Networks Transport (TEN-T) Corridors in Italy and the analysis of the infrastructure and logistic systems of the Italian Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. 

Publications and other work

Dean, M., Fabbro, S. (2014). Regional Planning on the European Corridors: the case of Friuli Venezia Giulia. In: Vinci, I. (ed.). The Spatial Strategies of Italian Regions. Franco Angeli Edizioni.

Dean, M., Fabbro, S., Brunello, L. (2012). Strategic Misrepresentations and Misunderstandings in Transport Infrastructures Planning: The Case of the Corridor V in the North-East of Italy, Paper prepared for the “ERSA (European Regional Science Association) Congress”, 21st – 25th August 2012, Bratislava, Slovakia.

Dean, M., Fabbro, S. (2012). Il FVG tra Corridoio V e Corridoio Adriatico-Baltico. Rassegna Tecnica del FVG, No. 3, June. [in Italian]

Dean M., Fabbro, S. (2012). Transport Infrastructures and Regional Development Strategies: The Case of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Paper prepared for the “VII International Conference on Informatics and Urban and Regional Planning”, 10th – 12th May, Cagliari, Italy.

Dean, M., Fabbro, S. (2011). Il Gateway dell’ Alto Adriatico. Realtà Industriale, No. 10, November, p. 11. [Italian]

Dean, M., Fabbro, S. (2011). In Between Corridors and Gateways – Rethinking ‘The Logistic Platforms’ in Italy – The Case of the North-Adriatic Gateway. Paper prepared for the “IX European Biennial of Towns and Town Planners”, 14th-17th September, Genoa, Italy. [in Italian]

Dean, M., Fabbro, S. (2011). Ripensare le ‘Piattaforme Logistiche’: Il Caso del Gateway dell’Alto Adriatico. Territorio Mobilità e Ambiente – TeMALab, Vol. 4, No. 3, September, pp. 43-52. [Italian]

Dean, M., Sartor, P. (2011). Possibili Scenari per l’Interporto Alpe Adria di Cervignano del Friuli. Logistica, April, pp. 32-35. [Italian]

Dean, M. (2010). Possibili Strategie per il Rilancio dell’Interporto di Cervignano. Rassegna Tecnica del FVG, No.6, November, pp. 6-10. [Italian]