Academic plan:
Adams have had a long and successful academic relationship with colleagues at Umeå University, Sweden over a period of twenty-five years. In October 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Social Sciences) by Umeå University for contributions to advancing scholarly research in Economic and Business History, including co-authored publications with Swedish colleagues in senior international academic journals and developing new doctoral research programmes with large scale external funding support (including from Handelsbanken). The purpose of the proposed visitation to Umeå University in March 2026 is to enable Adams to continue his research activities with the Swedish colleagues up to and beyond his planned retirement from the University of Bath, UK in January 2027. After his retirement date Adams shall hold the title of Emeritus Professor at the University of Bath.
The goals and objectives of Adams’ planned visitation to Umeå University in March 2026 are multifaceted:
First, the visit will enable existing projects - for example on an institutional economic analysis of the development of Sweden's occupational accident system - to be completed, and new research projects with staff at Umeå University's Economic History Unit and USBE to be initiated. Potential new research projects, with potential commercial and/or policy impacts, could include: (a) an analysis of the function insurance in promoting the climate change agenda; (b) risk management and resilience in contemporary Scandinavian economies; and (c) the historical and contemporaneous role of commercial insurance and private investment in building Swedish social and economic institutions, and their implications for developing countries.
Second, an important aspect of the visit would be to help develop the research (e.g., writing and communication) skills of doctoral students and young scholars currently working in the Economic History and Business Management fields at Umeå University. This goal can be achieved through leading research skills presentations, personal academic paper development advice, and individual scholarly career counselling. These initiatives would enable Adams’ forty years plus experiences as an academic and business practitioner in the UK and elsewhere (e.g., Australasia) to be passed onto a new generation of academics. This contribution could help shape the future research plans of emerging scholars, and help with their personnel career development.
Third, the visit will provide an opportunity for Umeå University to take advantage of Adams pedagogical skills by means of guest lectures, presentations/seminars/workshops to the current teaching programmes at the Unit of Economic History and USBE. This pedagogic involvement could provide input on risk management, accounting and/finance courses offered at Umeå University at the undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA, and/or doctoral levels.
Fourth, his visitation would help Umeå University to develop new research ideas and associated external grant applications in the fields of Economic History and Business Management. This goal can include contributing to research funding proposals for organizations, such as the Swedish Central Bank and Handelsbanken as well as Swedish companies and local Research Foundations with interests in supporting scholarly and practice-orientated research in subjects related to the institutional management of economic and social risks in Sweden, and elsewhere. Such initiatives would again help shape and develop future research plans and funding opportunities for Umeå University, particularly younger academics.
Reference persons at Umeå University are:
Professor Magnus Lindmark (economic history, main applicant)
Professor Lars Fredrik Andersson (economic history)
Professor Tobias Svanlund (USBE)