Dr Tom Simcock

Tom is a Research Fellow in the Unit for Evaluation & Policy Analysis at Edge Hill University. Tom has extensive experience of designing and undertaking research across a diverse spectrum of policy arears including education, health, housing, and public-sector reform. For his PhD, Tom investigated organisational change and reforms in a UK Fire and Rescue Service, and as part of this evaluated the impact of the service’s prevention programme on behavioural change in the community. 

Tom’s most recent research has focussed on housing policy and the private rented sector; including examining the impact of welfare reforms such as Universal Credit and also the rise of the sharing economy and the growth in popularity of Airbnb. Tom’s research on housing has received national and international media coverage, has influenced Government policy-making, including being cited in national Government consultations on the private rented sector, and his research has been widely cited in debates in the House of Commons, House of Lords, and by the London Mayor. 

In 2018, Tom was nominated for a British Property Federation Tomorrow Future Leaders Rising Star Award and given a special commendation for his efforts to promote evidence-based policy making in the sector. Tom is currently a member of the Housing Studies Association Executive Committee. 

• Private Rented Sector and Housing Policy
• Short-Term Letting, the Sharing Economy, and Airbnb 
• Organisational Change and Management
• UK Fire and Rescue Services Management 
• Policy Evaluation 

Tom reguarly contributes to The Conversation, his latest articles are available here.