Michael Winter is a rural policy specialist and a rural social scientist in the department of Politics, University of Exeter. He has particular interests in applying inter-disciplinary approaches to policy-relevant research and in direct engagement in the policy process. He is Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research and the Food Security & Land Research Alliance (encompassing the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, Rothamsted Research and Duchy College). 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.