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Araz TAEIHAGH

Araz TAEIHAGH

Araz TAEIHAGH

Assistant Professor

Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) at University of Oxford, UK

Araz Taeihagh is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Principal Investigator at the Centre for Trusted Internet and Community (CTIC), and a member of NUS Cities and the Centre for Computational Social Science and Humanities at the National University of Singapore. He served as Chair (2022–2023) and Co-Chair (2020–2022) of the PhD Programme in Public Policy. Taeihagh focuses on policy design and governance of emerging disruptive technologies. Taeihagh serves on the editorial boards of Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Transport Reviews, Policy and Society, Regulation & Governance, Humanities and Social Science Communications, Policy Design and Practice, Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Frontiers of Political Science, and AIMS Energy, among others. Taeihagh is the co-chair of the International Political Science Association Comparative Public Policy Research Committee (RC30) (2023–2025) a former elected member of the College of IPPA (2019–2023). Taeihagh is a member of the scientific committee (Governance) of AI Singapore (2023–2025, 2025–2027).

Recent Awards and Recognitions

In 2025, Taeihagh was recognised as a Highly Ranked Scholar (top 0.05% of scholars worldwide) for the prior 5 years in the area of Governance (3rd) and Autonomous Robots (4th) by ScholarGPS in recognition of exceptional productivity, noteworthy impact and quality of scholarly work worldwide. Across five-year ranking, he placed 3rd in Governance, 4th in Autonomous Robots, 10th in Public Policy, and 49th in Smart city. He was also named a Top Cited Scholar 2025 based on 10 years of citation data by Scilit.

From 2023–2025 Taeihagh was listed among the Top 2% of scientists worldwide for lifetime citation impact and from 2021–2025 for annual citation impact according to the Stanford/Elsevier study:

In 2024, Taeihagh was recognised as Highly Ranked Scholar (top 0.05% of scholars worldwide) for the prior 5 years in the area of Governance by ScholarGPS. Taeihagh placed 11th in Governance, 12th in Public Policy, 14th in Autonomous Robots, and 69th in Smart city. In 2023, he was ranked among the top 0.5% of scholars globally.

His works in Regulation and Governance and Policy and Internet (2021–2022) were the top cited publications for the period in their respective journals. Taeihagh won the best paper of the year award from Transport Reviews in 2020 for governing autonomous vehicles. On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 2020), Elsevier selected his Applied Energy paper on the study of four decades of evolution of policy mix for sustainable energy transition in China as one of 50 “foundations and future of energy research” papers.

Taeihagh received the Research Excellence Award in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024, the LKYSPP Writing Fellowship in 2022, and the NUS HSS Faculty Research Fellowship in 2023.

Background

  • Taeihagh earned his D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, UK, researching “A novel approach for the development of policies for socio-technical systems.” He matriculated in 2007 under Prof. Banares-Alcantara, passed his Viva under Prof. Venkat Venkatasubramanian (Columbia University, Samuel Ruben–Peter G. Viele Professor) and Prof. Ian Thompson (Oxford) and received his D.Phil. certificate in March 2012.
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales (2012–2014), working with Profs Michael Neuman and Bill Randolph.
  • Faculty, Singapore Management University (2015–2017).
  • Faculty, National University of Singapore (since 2018).
  • Taeihagh has more than two decades of consulting and advisory experience in the energy, environmental, transportation, and technology domains.

Visit him on Google Scholar | Scopus | Blog

  • Applications of Complexity and Systems Approach to Public Policy and Strategy

  • Governance of Disruptive Technologies (AI, Autonomous Systems, Robotics, Crowdsourcing, Sharing Economy, Ridesharing, Platforms, Smart Cities, etc.)

  • Infrastructure and Sustainable Development (Energy, Environment and Transport)

  • Policy Design, Analysis, and Analytics

64

Journal Articles

5

Book Chapters

53

Recent Presentations and Conference Papers

  • What is the relationship of trust in high-risk AI systems and institutional trust with policy preferences of public? Variations across Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo

    Khanal S., Pande D., Taeihagh A. (2025). What is the relationship of trust in high-risk AI systems and institutional trust with policy preferences of public? Variations across Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo, International Public Policy Conference (ICPP7), Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2-4 July 2025.

  • Designing policies for trust in digital information – Lessons from Singapore’s approach in building a digitally resilient society

    Sha, K. Wong YIW, Taeihagh A. (2025), Designing policies for trust in digital information – Lessons from Singapore’s approach in building a digitally resilient society, International Public Policy Conference (ICPP7), Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2-4 July 2025.

  • Adaptive and anticipatory policy design in smart cities: Evolution of Smart Nation Program in Singapore

    Sha, K., Nel D., Taeihagh A. (2025). Adaptive and anticipatory policy design in smart cities: Evolution of Smart Nation Program in Singapore, SMU Workshop on Technocratic Governance and the Politics of Smart City Knowledge Transfer, SMU Urban Institute, 22-23 April 2025.
  • Semantic Facial Features and Expression Manipulation Using Multi-Level IC-DGAN Framework

    Abbas F., Taeihagh A. (2024). Semantic Facial Features and Expression Manipulation Using Multi-Level IC-DGAN Framework, 2024 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2024), 30 June - 5 July 2024, Yokohama, Japan.

  • Mapping the nexus: Interconnections between Actor Networks, Policy Design, and Energy Transitions

    Chen G., Taeihagh A. (2024), Mapping the nexus: Interconnections between Actor Networks, Policy Design, and Energy Transitions, Ninth Annual AP–PPPN Conference, Guangzhou, China, April 25–27.

  • Conceptualising public trust in high-risk AI for governance: A comparison of three Asian cities

    Khanal S., Pande D., Taeihagh A. (2024). Conceptualising public trust in high-risk AI for governance: A comparison of three Asian cities, International Conference on Comparative Public Policy, April 19–21, 2024, Beijing, China.

  • Comparative analysis of governance of biometrics in ai systems

    Ng L.H.X., Lim A., Taeihagh A. (2023). Comparative analysis of governance of biometrics in ai systems, 6th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP6), Toronto, Canada, June 27–29, 2023. 

  • Local approaches to governance of ai systems in China: challenges of adopting national ai policy

    Khanal S., Zhang H., Taeihagh A. (2023). Local approaches to governance of ai systems in China: challenges of adopting national ai policy, 6th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP6), Toronto, Canada, June 27–29, 2023. 

  • On designing regulatory sandboxes: towards a general framework for fit-for-use sandboxes

    Chen G., Taeihagh A. (2023). On designing regulatory sandboxes: towards a general framework for fit-for-use sandboxes, 6th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP6), Toronto, Canada, June 27–29, 2023. 

  • Stronger policy measures facilitating the policy implementation of physical distancing? A survey experiment in Taipei

    Li L., Taeihagh A. (2023). Stronger policy measures facilitating the policy implementation of physical distancing? A survey experiment in Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore, and Seoul, 6th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP6), Toronto, Canada, June 27–29, 2023. 

  • An in-depth analysis of the failure of complexity science to get traction in mainstream policymaking

    Nel D. and Taeihagh A. (2023). An in-depth analysis of the failure of complexity science to get traction in mainstream policymaking. AESOP21: Complex Cognitive Cities: Sensing, Planning and Design in Urban Transformations, 20–22 April 2023, Manchester, UK

  • Innovation trends and clusters in smart cities: implications for regulatory design

    Sha K., Taeihagh A. (2022). Innovation trends and clusters in smart cities: implications for regulatory design, International workshops on public policy (IWPP3), Budapest, 28th – 30th June 2022.

  • Public’s attitudinal factors and expectations for the adoption and governance of autonomous systems: An exploratory factor analysis of user attitudes in Singapore

    Pande D. and Taeihagh A. (2022). Public’s attitudinal factors and expectations for the adoption and governance of autonomous systems: An exploratory factor analysis of user attitudes in Singapore, Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Annual Conference, April 7–10, 2022.

  • A Comparative Study of Community Energy Projects in Island Communities in the Philippines

    Quirapas M., Taeihagh A. (2022), A Comparative Study of Community Energy Projects in Island Communities in the Philippines, MPSA 7–10 April 2022.

     

  • Safeguarding the vulnerable populations during Covid-19 through social distancing: A global policy review of 10 countries

    Li L., Taeihagh A. (2022), Safeguarding the vulnerable populations during Covid-19 through social distancing: A global policy review of 10 countries, MPSA 7–10 April 2022.

     

     

  • An In-depth Comparative Analysis of Regulation and Governance of Autonomous Systems in Singapore

    Pande D., Taeihagh A. (2021), An In-depth Comparative Analysis of Regulation and Governance of Autonomous Systems in Singapore, D Thematic Area: Leveraging Technology for Governance in a Post-Pandemic World. NASPAA South Asia Conference 2021, Nov 2021

  • Governance of autonomous systems and implications for policymaking

    Pande D. and Taeihagh A. (2021). Governance of autonomous systems and implications for policymaking. IPSA 2021 Political Science World Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, 10–14 Jul 2021.

  • Understanding China’s Environmental Governance: An Investigation of the Central-local Government Interactions in Policy Implementation

    Taeihagh A. and Li L.(2021). Understanding China’s Environmental Governance: An Investigation of the Central-local Government Interactions in Policy Implementation. IPSA 2021 Political Science World Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, 10–14 Jul 2021.

  • Comparative Study of the Municipal Policies for Sustainable Energy Transitions: The Case of Five Cities in China

    Li L., Taeihagh A. (2021). Comparative Study of the Municipal Policies for Sustainable Energy Transitions: The Case of Five Cities in China. IPSA 2021 Political Science World Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, 10–14 Jul 2021

  • Renewable Energy Adoption in Poor Rural Areas: Why Communities Matter

    Quirpas M., Taeihagh A. (2021). Renewable Energy Adoption in Poor Rural Areas: Why Communities Matter. IPSA 2021 Political Science World Congress, Lisbon Portugal, 10–14 Jul 2021.

  • Sequencing policy instruments to accelerate low-carbon energy transitions: the case of China

    Taeihagh A. and Li L. (2021). Sequencing policy instruments to accelerate low-carbon energy transitions: the case of China, 5th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP5), Barcelona, Spain, July 5th–9th, 2021.

  • A systematic review of social distancing measures impact on vulnerable populations

    Li L., Taeihagh A., Tan S. (2021), A systematic review of social distancing measures impact on vulnerable populations, 5th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP5), Barcelona, Spain, July 5th–9th, 2021.

     

  • Designing effective strategies to enhance policy capacity for smart city developments

    Tan S., Taeihagh A., Li L. (2021). Designing effective strategies to enhance policy capacity for smart city developments, 5th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP5), Barcelona, Spain, July 5th–9th, 2021.

  • Renewable energy adoption in poor rural areas: why communities matter

    Quirapas M., Taeihagh A. (2021), Renewable energy adoption in poor rural areas: why communities matter, 5th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP5), Barcelona, Spain, July 5th–9th, 2021.

  • Public perceptions and governance of risks of autonomous systems: a Singapore perspective

    Pande D., Taeihagh, A. (2021). Public perceptions and governance of risks of autonomous systems: a Singapore perspective, 5th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP5), Barcelona, Spain, July 5th–9th, 2021.

  • Governing disruptive technologies: challenges for inclusive development in smart cities

    Sha K., Taeihagh A. (2021). Governing disruptive technologies: challenges for inclusive development in smart cities, 5th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP5), Barcelona, Spain, July 5th–9th, 2021.

  • Investigating User Acceptance of Autonomous Systems: A Singapore Perspective on Governance using an Extended UTAUT

    Pande D., Taeihagh A. (2021), Investigating User Acceptance of Autonomous Systems: A Singapore Perspective on Governance using an Extended UTAUT, 2021 Korean Association for Public Administration (KAPA), June 23–25 2021.

  • Reliability Testing for Natural Language Processing Systems
    Tan S., Joty S., Baxter K., Taeihagh A., Bennett G.A., Kan M.(2021). Reliability Testing for Natural Language Processing Systems, Proceedings of the Joint Conference of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics and the 11th International Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing (ACL–IJCNLP 2021), Jul 2021, Association for Computational Linguistics.
  • The Shift Towards Smart Cities: The Role of Urban Governance

    Pilsudski, T., Tan, S. Y., Tunas, D., Clavier, F., Stokols, A., & Taeihagh, A. (2019). The Shift Towards Smart Cities: The Role of Urban Governance. In Proceedings of the 55th ISOCARP World Planning Congress 2019 (pp. 1517–1530). 9–13 Sept 2019. Jakarta and Bogor, Indonesia.

  • An examination of discrimination and safety and liability risks stemming from algorithmic decision-making in AVs

    Taeihagh A. and Lim H.S.M.(2019) An examination of discrimination and safety and liability risks stemming from algorithmic decision-making in AVs, P04 Governing Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems Panel, 4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) June 26–28, 2019 – Montreal, Canada.

  • Adaptive and experimental governance in the implementation of autonomous vehicles: The case of Singapore

    Tan S. and Taeihagh A. (2019). Adaptive and experimental governance in the implementation of autonomous vehicles: The case of Singapore, P04 Governing Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems Panel, 4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) June 26–28, 2019 – Montreal, Canada.

  • A meso-level analysis of the evolution of the environmental policy mix to accelerate low-carbon energy transitions: policy sequencing in China from 1980 to 2020

    Li L. and Taeihagh A. (2019) A meso-level analysis of the evolution of the environmental policy mix to accelerate low-carbon energy transitions: policy sequencing in China from 1980 to 2020, P02 Advancing Thinking on Policy Tools: A Research Agenda Panel, 4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) June 26–28, 2019 – Montreal, Canada.

  • An examination of discrimination and safety and liability risks stemming from algorithmic decision-making in AVs

    Lim H.S.M., Taeihagh, A. (2019). An examination of discrimination and safety and liability risks stemming from algorithmic decision-making in AVs, 4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4), June 26–28, 2019 – Montreal, Canada.

  • Empirical analysis of the interactions between emission trading schemes (ETS) and other urban environmental policy instruments: case studies of five cities in China

    Li L. and Taeihagh A. (2019) Empirical analysis of the interactions between emission trading schemes (ETS) and other urban environmental policy instruments: case studies of five cities in China, P19 Beyond Typologies: Innovation in the Study of Environmental Policy Instruments Panel, 4th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP4) June 26–28, 2019 – Montreal, Canada.

  • An examination of challenges in adoption of crowdsourcing and sharing economy platforms in developing countries

    Taeihagh A. (2018). An examination of challenges in adoption of crowdsourcing and sharing economy platforms in developing countries, IPSA 2018 Political Science World Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 21–25 Jul 2018

  • Emerging Governance Responses to Risks Associated with Autonomous Vehicles

    Lim H.S.M., Taeihagh A. (2018). Emerging Governance Responses to Risks Associated with Autonomous Vehicles. IPSA 2018 Political Science World Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 21–25 Jul 2018

  • Examination of crowdsourcing as a tool for policymaking

    Taeihagh A. (2017). Examination of crowdsourcing as a tool for policymaking. 3rd International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP3) June 28–30, 2017 – Singapore.

  • Preparing for socio-technical transitions: Opportunities and challenges for policy design

    Nair S., & Taeihagh A. (2017). Preparing for socio-technical transitions: Opportunities and challenges for policy design. 3rd International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP3) June 28–30, 2017 – Singapore. 

  • Network-centric policy design for sustainable transitions, policy mixes for sustainability transitions workshop

    Taeihagh A. and Nair S. (2017). Network-centric policy design for sustainable transitions, policy mixes for sustainability transitions workshop, SPRU, University of Sussex, 1–3 Feb 2017.

  • Different Roles of Crowdsourcing in the Policy Cycle: A Systematic Analysis

    Taeihagh A. (2016). Different Roles of Crowdsourcing in the Policy Cycle: A Systematic Analysis, IPSA 2016 Political Science World Congress, Poznan, Poland, 23–28 Jul 2016 

  • International workshop on policy design and governance

    Taeihagh A., Network Centric Policy Design (2016), International workshop on policy design and governance, National University of Singapore, Feb 2016

  • A Framework for Policy Crowdsourcing

    Prpić J., Taeihagh A., and Melton J., (2014). A Framework for Policy Crowdsourcing, Oxford Internet Policy and Politics Conference (IPP 2014), University of Oxford, Sept 26–28 2014.

  • Experiments on Crowdsourcing Policy Assessment

    Prpić J., Taeihagh A., and Melton J., (2014). Experiments on Crowdsourcing Policy Assessment, Oxford Internet Policy and Politics Conference (IPP 2014), University of Oxford, Sept 26–28 2014 

  • Crowdsourcing the Policy Cycle

    Prpić J., Taeihagh A., and Melton J., (2014). Crowdsourcing the Policy Cycle, Collective Intelligence 2014, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jun 10–12, 2014 

  • Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active Transportation
    Taeihagh, A., Bañares-Alcántara R. (2014). Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active Transportation, 47th International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), Jan 4-9 2014
  • A Novel Approach to Policy Design Using Process Design Principles, Computer-Aided Chemical Engineering
    Taeihagh A., Bañares-Alcántara R. and Wang Z., (2009). A Novel Approach to Policy Design Using Process Design Principles, Computer-Aided Chemical Engineering, 27, 2049–2054.
  • Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active Transportation

    Taeihagh A., Bañares-Alcántara R., (2014). Towards Proactive and Flexible Agent-Based Generation of Policy Packages for Active Transportation, In proceedings of the 47th International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 47), Jan 4–9 2014, pp. 895–904

  • Application of an Agent-Based System as a Virtual Environment for the Formulation of Policies

    Taeihagh A., Bañares-Alcántara R. and Givoni M. (2011). Application of an Agent-Based System as a Virtual Environment for the Formulation of Policies, Energy & People: Futures, Complexity & Challenges, 20–21 Sept 2011 .

  • Formulating a Policy Package: What to Start With? A New Technique for the Ranking of Policy Measures

    Taeihagh A., Givoni M. and Bañares-Alcántara R. (2011). Formulating a Policy Package: What to Start With? A New Technique for the Ranking of Policy Measures, Universities' Transport Study Group (UTSG) conference in Milton Keynes, UK, 5–7 Jan 2011

  • A Case Study in the Application of an Agent-Based Approach in the Formulation of Policies for UK Transport Emission Reduction

    Taeihagh A. and Bañares-Alcántara R., (2010). A Case Study in the Application of an Agent-Based Approach in the Formulation of Policies for UK Transport Emission Reduction, European conference on complex systems (ECCS2010), Lisbon University Institute, Portugal, 13–17 Sept 2010 (special mention for remarkable overall quality)  

  • Exploring the Potential of Relations in Policy Formulation: A Case for Application of Network Analysis

    Taeihagh A., Bañares-Alcántara R. and Wang Z., (2010), Exploring the Potential of Relations in Policy Formulation: A Case for Application of Network Analysis, European conference on complex systems (ECCS2010), Lisbon University Institute, Portugal, 13–17 Sept 2010 .

  • Why Conceptual Design Matters in Policy Formulation: A Case for an Integrated Use of Complexity Science and Engineering Design

    Taeihagh A., Wang Z. and Bañares-Alcántara R. (2009), Why Conceptual Design Matters in Policy Formulation: A Case for an Integrated Use of Complexity Science and Engineering Design, European conference on complex systems (ECCS2009), University of Warwick, UK, 21–25 Sept 2009

  • A Novel Approach to Policy Design Using Process Design Principles
    1. Taeihagh A., Bañares-Alcántara R. and Wang Z., (2009). A Novel Approach to Policy Design Using Process Design Principles, Computer-Aided Chemical Engineering, 27, 2049–2054.