As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated.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.
The Social Scientist In Farming Systems Research
'The Social Scientist In Farming Systems Research' in Journal of Agricultural Economics xxxvii: 1 January 1986
The involvement of social scientists in agricultural research institutions has contributed to the improvement of research methods but has often been associated with conflict. The paper describes the development of such conflict in one composite situation and analyses five explanations: personal inadequacy; interdisciplinary communication barriers; poor group dynamics; inadequate institutional structure; and power struggle. It concludes that structural problems are more important than is usually recognised, and makes some suggestions as to the practical lessons of the analysis for social scientists, for the colleagues of social scientists and for policy-makers.