Dr. Safari’s research interests lie at the intersection of innovation and entrepreneurship, and operations management. Utilizing his technical as well as management/leadership knowledge and experiences, his approach is to take away the complexity of real systems or models, isolate or control key parameters that impact the system and build mathematical, statistical or conceptual models to better understand the impact of parameters on the system as a whole. The scope of his research ranges from technological innovation, entrepreneurship, business development and strategy as well as advanced analysis of business efficiency and effectiveness, to practical problems in operations management in both manufacturing and service industries.

• Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Business Development and Financing
• Management of Technology, Technology Development
• Operations Management & Strategy
• Business Analytics, Advanced Statistics and Econometrics

• External: Modeling and Improving Supply Chain Risk and Disruption Management in Qatar: Effective Solutions and Recommendations for Qatari’s Start-ups, SMEs and Large Corporations (Funded by Qatar Foundation-NPRP in 2021, Total $304,000USD) (with Dr. Shaligram Pokharel, Dr. Mahour Parast and Dr. Ismail Gelgaci). I am the lead principal investigator.
• External: Concept to Prototype (CTP) fund: An interactive, smart diagnostic and training tool for supporting SME export performance (Funded by Marubeni Company, a Japanese company working in oil and gas sector in Qatar, funded in 2020, Total 493,900 QAR=$135,000 USD) (with Dr. Ali Salman Saleh and Dr. Jerome Donovan). I am the lead principal investigator.
• External: A Platform to Promote Entrepreneurship for Women in Qatar through International Collaboration and Co-Innovation (Funded by Qatar Foundation – NPRP in 2017, Total $599,388 USD). I am a principal investigator.
• External: Capacity Building to Accelerate SME Export Performance in the Region (Funded by Qatar Foundation – NPRP in 2016, Total $330,060 USD). I am a principal investigator.
• External: Financing Entrepreneurial Ventures and SMEs in Middle East (Funded by Organization of Islamic Cooperation – COMCEC in 2015, Total $198,000 USD). I am the lead principal investigator.
• Internal: Family Business Governance, Leadership & Succession in Qatar: Current Challenges and Improvement Opportunities (Funded by QU, Total 90,000 QAR)
• Internal: Designing and Developing a New Enterprise Architecture Framework for Startup and Small Business Expansion (Funded by QU, Total 35,841 QAR)