He is also Director of the School for Social Care Research, a position he has held since the School was established by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in 2008. His main research interests are in the areas of dementia, social care, child and adult mental health, and autism, with much of his work using economic arguments and evidence to inform policy discussion and influence practice development. He has published more than 500 papers in academic journals, and authored a dozen books.