David has devoted the bulk of his professional life to supporting strong relationships between men and their children, including setting up an innovative community-based Fathers Support Centre in London and, in 1999, co-founding the Fatherhood Institute (then Fathers Direct).

The Fatherhood Institute (the UK's fatherhood think tank): collates key research on fatherhood; shapes Government policies; influences public debates about fathers; informs and supports fathers and their families
and advises children and family services on how to be father-inclusive.

The Institute is also the UK’s leading provider of training, consultancy and publications on father-inclusive practice, for public and third sector agencies and employers.

David manages the Institute’s public policy work and the ‘Think Fathers campaign’, which aims to transform British culture, politics and public services, so that fathers’ significance in their children’s lives is fully recognised. He advises nationally and locally on developing father-inclusive policies and services, and has written widely about fatherhood, including co-authoring the Institute’s ‘Toolkit for Developing Father-Inclusive Services’.