JUDGING PANEL

The judging panel for the 2024 Scottish Transport Awards 


Alison Irvine

Alison Irvine
Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland
Chair of the Scottish Transport Awards Judging Panel

Alison has held various policy and delivery posts across the Scottish Government latterly leading the Cabinet, Parliament and Governance Division in Scottish Government covering all legislation and parliament business, the running of Cabinet as well as Protocol and Honours.

Having first joined Transport Scotland in 2008 she was Director of Transport Strategy and Analysis and was responsible for the development of the new National Transport Strategy, the transport aspects of the Climate Change Plan and setting the investment priorities for transport across Scotland through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review. Her remit also included responsibility for supporting ministers through the transport response to Covid19, EU Exit as well as the development of business cases and post opening evaluation for Scottish Minister's trunk road and rail investment programmes.

Prior to joining Transport Scotland Alison spent eighteen years working in the consultancy sector as a transport planner. She is a graduate from the University of Strathclyde and a Chartered Civil Engineer


Professor Iain Docherty

Professor Iain Docherty
Dean, Institute for Advanced Studies
University of Stirling

Iain's research and teaching addresses the interconnecting issues of public administration, institutional change and city and regional competitiveness, with particular emphasis on the structures and processes of local and regional governance, policies for delivering improved economic performance and environmental sustainability, and the development and implementation of strategic planning and transport policies.

He has worked with and advised a range of private sector, governmental and other organisations including governments and public agencies in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands and Sweden, and the OECD.

In 2015 he was appointed by the ESRC and Innovate UK as one of five Thought Leaders working to integrate scientific innovation and social science research across the UK, and subsequently as one of the Co-Investigators and Infrastructure Theme Lead of the £1.2m ESRC Productivity Insights Network bringing together leading social science academics to help address the UK economy's resilient productivity gap. He is currently one of three senior researchers leading the UK Research and Innovation-funded project on the transport and mobility implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 was appointed as a Director of the National Transport Authority in Ireland.


Dr George Hazel OBE

Dr George Hazel OBE
Director
George Hazel Consultancy

Dr Hazel is a Director of the George Hazel Consultancy, an Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology and Chair of the Advisory Panel for the Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University.

He was a member of the UK Secretary of State for Transport’s Steering Group for National Road User Charging, chair of the World Roads Congress C10 Committee, researching urban areas and transport, chair of the Scottish Public Policy Unit’s Transport Commission and Chair of Transport 2000’s Forum on Revitalising Communities on Main Roads. In January 2005 he was awarded the OBE for services to transport. He is an expert on towns and city regions and has written a book on Making Cities Work, published by Wiley.

Previously he was Professor of Transport Policy at the Centre for Transport Policy where he looked after the consultancy business. From 1996 to 1999 he was Director of City Development for the City of Edinburgh Council responsible for planning, economic development, transportation and property.


Daisy Narayanan MBE

Daisy Narayanan MBE
Head of Placemaking and Mobility
The City of Edinburgh Council

Daisy Narayanan is the Head of Placemaking and Mobility at the City of Edinburgh Council where she leads on delivering a city-wide integrated approach to transport and placemaking.

Daisy is on the Board of Architecture & Design Scotland and a member of the Evidence Group for Scotland's Climate Assembly. She was on the Active Travel Task Force set up by the Minister for Transport and the Islands and is a member of the Scottish Transport Awards judging panel. She recently won the Civic Servant of the year award from the Academy of Urbanism.

Drawing on her previous experience working as an architect and urban designer in India, Singapore, England and Scotland, Daisy believes passionately in the importance of creating places for people: places that reflect and complement the communities that live in them.

A music aficionado, a bookworm and a linguist, Daisy spends her time enjoying the Scottish outdoors with her husband and two children.


Bettina Sizeland

Bettina Sizeland
Director of Bus, Accessibility and Active Travel
Transport Scotland

I recently joined Transport Scotland as Director for Bus, Accessibility and Active Travel (BAAT), having previously worked for the Scottish Government as Deputy Director for Culture and Historic Environment and before that, as Deputy Director for Tourism and Major Events.

I'm a chartered civil engineer and hold an MBA. Before my time in the Scottish Government, I worked for ten years overseas in Africa and Asia as an engineering adviser for the Department for International Development. Here, I worked on transport, water and building projects – working with communities to build roads, paths and bridges in Nepal, water points across East Africa and rebuild villages after the war in Mozambique.

Closer to home, I've been part of projects such Edinburgh's Usher Hall and Kings theatre refurbishment, Wester Hailes master planning, Edinburgh City Centre redevelopment, NHS asset management and eHealth development.

As Director for BAAT, I oversee the delivery of an ambitious policy agenda, working with delivery partners to improve sustainable, accessible transport options and get the travelling public back to buses, walking, cycling and wheeling. My Directorate also operates concessionary travel schemes for disabled, older and young people and we're working with operators to ensure all journeys on Scotland's bus, rail, ferry, subway and tram networks can be ticketed or paid for using smart technologies.


Robert Jack

Robert Jack
Managing Editor
Passenger Transport

Robert has worked as a journalist, editor and publisher in the passenger transport sector for 25 years. He is Managing Editor and Publisher of Passenger Transport, which he co-founded in 2011 to provide this vital sector with a first-class source of news, analysis and comment.


GOLD SPONSORS
SUPPORTERS