About Daniel Black

Daniel is an independent research coordinator with 20 years professional experience in a wide range of knowledge domains in urban planning, development and corporate governance. He speaks regularly at events on healthy and sustainable urbanisation. 

Key competencies are:
  • ​​Drawing on breadth of experience to distil insight from complexity
  • Pushing boundaries and bridges specialisms, academia and the real world
  • Conceiving, co-creating and coordinating ideas and opportunities through holistic, creative problem solving
  • Building partnerships between funders, knowledge leaders, and industry to achieve balanced decision-making.
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​Daniel is a Visiting Research Fellow at UWE Bristol and the University of Reading (Henley Business School - Real Estate and Planning) and works closely with multiple other universities, academics and consultants, particularly at the Universities of Bath (economics), Bristol (systems/engineering, law, public health) and Coventry (agro-ecology and water). ​

History of db+a

​Since setting up his own practice in 2012, db+a, Daniel has co-led research bids with academic partners to win c. £2m in funding from a wide range of funders including the Wellcome Trust, InnovateUK, Natural Environment Research Council, the Urban Land Institute, New Climate Economy, and the Belmont Forum/JPI Europe.

db+a’s research spans multiple disciplines including: urban planning, public health, corporate decision-making, climate change, food, energy, water, waste. Having spent many years learning about processes and detail downstream in a range of urban disciplines including transport, urban design, building construction and community engagement, Daniel now leads research into decision-making that takes place upstream: governance, partnerships, corporate strategy, risk management. Daniel has been Non-Executive Director of his family's multi-award winning development company, Clipper Estates, for over a decade.

​Daniel and his associates have been commissioned to assess the health and sustainability of a range of high profile ‘super-major’ developments including: a 5,700 unit urban extension; a 12,000 seat Arena complex; a 110 unit mixed use residential development; a city centre university campus.