Michael is a rural policy specialist and social scientist with particular interests in applying inter-disciplinary approaches to policy-relevant research and in direct engagement in the policy process.  His current research focuses on the governance of sustainable agro-food systems and food security; the historical and contemporary sociology of west country agriculture; & farmer environmental attitudes and decision-making, particularly in the context of diffuse pollution and water quality. He leads Project 2 of Defra’s Sustainable Intensification Research Platform. 

He chairs the UNESCO North Devon Biosphere Partnership and the Stakeholder Group for the Avon Demonstration Test Catchment. He is a board member of Natural England and a member of the governing board of Rothamsted Research. 

Previous appointments include: Visiting Programme Director in Food Security at Wilton Park (Foreign Office), member of Defra’s Panel of Agricultural & Environmental Economists, the National Ecosystem Assessment Expert Panel, & DEFRA’s Science Advisory Council, and a Commissioner for the Commission for Rural Communities from its inception in 2006 until its abolition in 2013. In 2000, he was a member of the Committee of Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs in England and Wales chaired by Lord Burns. In 2008-09 he vice-chaired an inquiry into the future for the uplands reporting to the Prime Minister.