Matt Bassford

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Director, Defence and Security, RAND Europe
Cambridge Office

Education

Ph.D. in environmental chemistry, University of Bristol; M.B.A., Imperial College, London; B.S. in chemistry, University of Bristol

Overview

Biography

Matt Bassford is director of the Defence and Security team at RAND Europe. Prior to joining RAND Europe, he worked in the UK Ministry of Defence for more than seven years in a number of areas, including strategic policy planning, climate change and security, defence acquisition, and programme management. During a secondment to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, he led an assessment of future global trends and regional stability. His most recent RAND publications include Strengths and Weaknesses of the Netherlands Armed Forces: A Strategic Survey (Bassford et al., 2010) and The National Audit Office and Defence Value for Money: Identifying Financial Savings (Bassford et al., 2009). Bassford received his Ph.D. in environmental chemistry from the University of Bristol.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Deputy Director, Acquisition Change, UK Ministry of Defence; Senior Analyst, Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, UK Cabinet Office

Recent Projects

  • Economics of European defence industry
  • Cost and risk assessment
  • Evaluation of public procurement programs
  • Benchmarking national armed forces
  • Climate change and migration

National Security

Biography

Matt Bassford is director of the Defence and Security team at RAND Europe. Prior to joining RAND Europe, he worked in the UK Ministry of Defence for more than seven years in a number of areas, including strategic policy planning, climate change and security, defence acquisition, and programme management. During a secondment to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, he led an assessment of future global trends and regional stability. His most recent RAND publications include Strengths and Weaknesses of the Netherlands Armed Forces: A Strategic Survey (Bassford et al., 2010) and The National Audit Office and Defence Value for Money: Identifying Financial Savings (Bassford et al., 2009). Bassford received his Ph.D. in environmental chemistry from the University of Bristol.

Recent Projects

  • Evaluation of Netherlands F-16 Replacement Project
  • Climate Change and Migration
  • Evaluation of MOD Routine Procurement
  • Benchmarking National Armed Forces