As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated. I now work mainly on climate issues, especially in Brighton and Hove, and new work can be found on the website of Climate:Change, our independent think-tank on socially inclusive action in the City: www.climatechangebh.org.uk.
Meanwhile, however, this website has over 850 entries, mostly representing my work on international development from 2010-2025. Among much else, there are over 50 book reviews, more than 20 papers and training cases on bridging research and policy and on managing think-tanks, nearly 100 articles on climate change, and many papers on other topics, including aid, food security and nutrition, and the future of international development. See ‘Topics and Themes’ for more details. I can be reached at sm@simonmaxwell.net.
Farming Systems Research: Hitting a Moving Target
'Farming Systems Research: Hitting a Moving Target' in World Development, Vol 14, No 1, pp 65-77, 1986
The paper argues that although targetting is a key element in farming systems research (FSR), neither the concepts nor the procedures take sufficient account of the fact that farming systems are in constant flux: the “target” is not static, but continuously on the move. A framework is presented for the analysis of change and the practical implications for farming systems research are analyzed.