He often works at the interface between research, policy and practice and values the opportunities it offers to engage with the policy and practitioner communities and to put ideas into action. He has particular interests and expertise in quality and performance in healthcare organisations; the governance, accountability and performance of public services; and the use of evidence in policy evaluation and learning. He has led a wide range of research projects funded by the ESRC, Department of Health, NIHR, and EU FP7 programmes, and other government departments and NHS organisations.
His current research is mainly focused on reforms to health professions regulation, on the use of inspection and rating in the regulation of healthcare organisations and services; and on organisational capabilities and processes for improvement.