He is known for his work on "Systemic Intervention;"[1][2] which he defined as "purposeful action by an agent to create change in relation to reflection upon boundaries.
[4][5] From 1997 to 2003 Midgley was Director of the Centre for Systems Studies at the University of Hull.
[6] Midgley's research interests are in the fields of philosophy, methodology and practice, especially in interrelationship between those three.
With Michael Jackson, Robert L. Flood and Werner Ulrich he originated Critical systems thinking, and with Ulrich he developed the theory of boundary critique.
[6] Midgley has authored and/or edited eleven books and over 300 papers.