David spent 10 years as a practicing construction project manager while completing his undergraduate studies as a part time student. In 1998, he completed his PhD from Wolverhampton University as a Research Assistant and in undertaking a SERC funded research project on European Construction Productivity. He became a Lecturer in Construction Technology, before taking on several roles and then becoming the Head of the Department of Construction and Infrastructure in 2004. David then progressed to the University of the West of England in 2010 to lead what became the School of Architecture and the Built Environment. He moved to Birmingham City University in 2014 to take up an Associate Dean role, responsible for the development and maintenance of the University’s inaugural International Strategy and leading to a transformation of the university’s international performance.

David returned to the University of Wolverhampton in August 2021 as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

David is an internationally renowned expert in flood risk management and pioneered the development of research into flood recovery in the UK. He has gained research funding from organisations including the British Council, DEFRA, EPSRC, NERC, RICS and World Bank. He has published extensively on topics linked to flood damage, flood adaptation and resilience. His research has had significant national and international impact in the development of UK Climate Change Policy; as a trustee advising on global research grant awards; and through supporting the development of national flood risk strategies, for example in Brazil, China, Nigeria, Peru and the UK.

He is Editor of the International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, a Trustee to the Property Research Trust and a member of the Environment Agency’s Regional Flood and Coast Committee. He is Visiting Professor at Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Centre for Flooding, Communities and Resilience at the University of the West of England and Xiamen University of Technology, China.

2000 Member, The Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB)

2010 Fellow, The Chartered Institute of Building (FCIOB)

2000 The Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education / Higher Education Academy

2007 Fellow, The Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

2011The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) (invited Fellow through eminent route)

2018 Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA)

2021 Fellow, Wessex Institute

2017 MBA Higher Education Management, UCL

2000 Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University of Wolverhampton

1998 Doctor of Philosophy, Construction Management, University of Wolverhampton

1993 Bachelor of Science (Hons) Building Management (2.1), University of Wolverhampton

Recent publications:

1. Xu, W., Xiong, S. Proverbs, D. and Zhong, Z., L. (2021) An Evaluation of Humanitarian Supply Chain Resilience to Flooding, Water 2021, 13(16), 2158; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162158

2. Siavash Fasihi, S.. Lim, W., Wu, W. and Proverbs, D.G. (2021) Systematic Review of Flood and Drought Literature Based on Science Mapping and Content Analysis, Water 2021, 13, 2788. https://doi.org/10.3390/w1319278

3. Abu Bakar, M.F.; Wu, W.; Proverbs, D.; Mavritsaki, E. Effective Communication or Water Resilient Communities: A Conceptual Framework. Water 2021, 13, 2880. https://doi.org/10.3390/w1320288

4. Xu, W; Xu J and Proverbs, D. (2021) Life cycle perspective: critical elements of sustainable supply chain management of emerging manufacturing, Sustainability (in press)

5. Xu, W., Kong, Y., Proverbs, D., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y. and Xu, J. (2022) A water resilience evaluation model for urban cities, Water, Special Issue Natural Flood Management as an Adaptive Pathway to Climate-Resilient Communities Water 2022, 14(12), 1942; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14121942

6. Xu,, W., Yuan, Z., Proverbs, D and Zhi, Z. (2022) Enhancing the resilience of road networks to flooding, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-09-2021-0120

7. Lawanson, I. and Proverbs, D.G. (2022) The Impact of flooding on poor communities in Lagos: The case of the Makoko urban settlement, Journal of Flood Risk Management (in press)

8. Oladunjoye, O.. Proverbs, D. and Xiao, H. (2022) Retrofitting Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS): A Cost-Benefit Analysis Appraisal, Water 2022, 14(16), 2521; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14162521

9. Iskandarani, H., Proverbs, D., and Xiao, H. (2022) Towards improving the design and planning of post-conflict housing reconstruction projects: A Conceptual Framework, Built Environment Project and Asset Management, in press

10. Adedeji, T., Proverbs,D., and Xiao, H. (2022) Measuring Property Flood Resilience (PFR) in UK Homes, International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, DOI 10.1108/IJBPA-06-2022-0092

11. Xu, W., Xu, J., Proverbs, D., and Zhang, Y. (2022) A hybrid decision-making approach for locating rescue materials storage points under public emergencies, Kybernetes, in press

12. Xu, W., Xie., Yu, Q., and Proverbs, D. (2022)An Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Resilience of Flood Affected Communities in China, Hydrology, in press

External Examiner roles:

• MSc Construction Management, Bolton Institute of Higher Education / University of Bolton
• BSc (Hons) Construction Management, The University of Salford
• BSc (Hons) Construction Management & BSc (Hons) Building Surveying, The University of Greenwich
• MSc Construction Management, Loughborough University
• BSc (Hons) Construction Management, Glasgow Caledonian University
• BSc (Hons) Construction Management, Robert Gordon University
• BSc (Hons) Construction Management, Ulster University
• MSc Construction Engineering, University of Cambridge
• MSc Project Management, University of Aberdeen

• Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA); Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS); and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building (FCIOB).
• Invited co-author to the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017, on behalf of the Committee on Climate Change UK Government’s Adaptation Sub-Committee.
• Chair of the Council for Heads of the Built Environment (CHOBE) 2012 – 2016.
• Invited Chair of the QAA Review of the Construction, Property and Surveying Subject Benchmark Statement, 2015-2016.
• £10m in research and innovation  funding secured from a range of prestigious sources including DEFRA, EPSRC, NERC, Innovate UK, RICS and World Bank.
• 31 doctoral students supervised to successful completion
• Over 250+ refereed publications including 120+ journal papers, 4 key text books, numerous book chapters and reports.
• Member, Environment Agency, Trent Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.
• Visiting Professor Awards:
• Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, 2009-2010
• University of the West of England, 2014
• Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Sao Paulo, Brazil Laboratory of Geoprocessing (GeoLab), 2017
• Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, China, 2018
• Chair, International Conference on Flood Risk Management and Response, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020