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Dr. Aaron Jensen

Aaron is a social scientist, research innovator and business leader. Dr Jensen is Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of the Institute for Methods Innovation, where he builds the infrastructure that underpins training delivery in Fast Track Impact.

  • Advanced social research & evaluation methods
  • Systems, business & methods design
  • Strategic social innovation & business development

Dr Jensen holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship from the University of Strathclyde Business School. His work combines advanced social research and evaluation methods with systems thinking, innovation management and applied business design. Over more than a decade, he has developed particular strength in mixed methods research, survey methodology, impact evaluation, stakeholder research, public and policy engagement and responsible innovation.

His work often sits at the intersection of research, technology and organisational development. He designs research protocols, evaluation frameworks, data systems and workflow structures that help teams generate usable evidence in complex settings. This includes GDPR-compliant data governance, multilingual and longitudinal data collection, real-time analytics and the responsible use of digital technologies, including AI, in research and evaluation.

As a training co-facilitator, he brings senior expertise in evaluation, research design, digital systems and business development to help research teams build stronger methods, clearer evidence and more practical pathways towards achieving research impact.

Funded projects

Dr. Jensen has played leading roles in the delivery of more than 30 large-scale, multi-national research and innovation projects across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. His portfolio includes 12 major European Commission-funded Horizon 2020 projects, where he has contributed to methodology development, evaluation design, stakeholder engagement, data governance and the translation of findings into strategic insights.

He has also contributed to successful proposals and grant-funded projects supported by Science Foundation Ireland / Research Ireland, Arts Council England, the European Space Agency and the European Commission (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe and Erasmus+). He also leads evaluations of corporate social responsibility projects, including those for Microsoft Ireland and Abbott. Across this work, he has helped universities, NGOs, foundations, government agencies and international research consortia design stronger evaluation systems, develop credible evidence strategies and turn research activity into practical social and organisational value.

Trusted by leading institutions

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Publications

Dr. Jensen has co-authored peer-reviewed publications in journals including PLOS ONE, Frontiers in Psychology and Open Research Europe, alongside research and evaluation reports for national and international institutions. His publications and applied outputs contribute to debates on public engagement, science policy, research impact, social research methodology and the responsible use of digital technologies in evaluation.

Academic and professional background

  • PhD in Entrepreneurship from the University of Strathclyde Business School.
  • MSc in Marketing from the University of Edinburgh Business School
  • BSc in Psychology from Washington State University (USA)
  • Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, supporting evaluation and engagement work in the CONNECT Centre and the School of Education, including EU-funded projects (QUEST and SpaceEU).

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