Policy@Manchester

Policy@Manchester is our University’s sector-leading policy engagement institute.

It connects researchers with policymakers and influencers, nurturing long-term policy engagement partnerships and impact.

Public engagement partnerships

We partner with a range of organisations to carry out meaningful public engagement with diverse audiences and share ideas and research as well as inspiring informed discussion, debate and creativity.

Examples include:

• partnering with the British Society of Immunology and Royal Society of Biology on a citizen science Britain Breathing programme;
• patient and public involvement and engagement partnerships to inform our clinical research and education;
• working alongside diaspora communities, the British Museum and galleries in the global south to design our Museum’s South Asia Gallery;
• working with private festival organisers on our annual bluedot festival;
• partnering with the cultural sector on the Manchester International Festival, Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Histories Festival;
• leading public engagement partnerships such as the Creative Ageing Development Agency and international Asociación de Arte Útil.

Q-Step data partnerships

We partner with small local charities in Manchester right through to major government departments through our Q-Step programme.

This places students on internships in organisations that require data skills and analysis and we’ve collaborated on projects with the Office for National Statistics on global, national and regional datasets used to measure progress on SDGs.

Student learning partnerships

We’re committed to empowering students with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to address all of the SDGs through partnerships with public, private and civil society organisations.

Our University Living Lab platform connects student projects with external organisations to address the SDGs.

Our Volunteer Hub acts to advance partnerships between hundreds of charities and our student volunteers.

And many academic programmes offer service-learning partnerships, where external organisations benefit from practical student interventions in areas such as dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, business and legal advice.

Justice Hub

Our Justice Hub allows students to explore and apply various arms of the law to make real change in our communities.

The Hub runs a free legal advice centre for economically disadvantaged people in areas such as family, housing and immigration law.

During the pandemic, our Justice Hub set up the Virtual Vacation Scheme, which aimed to simplify some very complicated areas of law impacted by the pandemic, and created an accessible and informative method of legal help for the community through workshops, videos, briefings and webinars.

In Place of War project

In Place of War (IPOW) is a global spin-out charity from research in our School of Music and Drama.

IPOW works with grassroots organisations in refugee camps, war-affected villages, towns under curfew, cities under occupation, and refugee communities, using creativity in places of conflict as a proven tool for positive change.

IPOW enables communities and grassroots change-makers in music, theatre and across the arts to transform a culture of violence and suffering into hope, opportunity and freedom.

Manchester Innocence Project

As part of our Justice Hub, The Manchester Innocence Project (MIP) is one of only 13 organisations outside of the US to join the Innocence Network.

Law students volunteering with MIP have the opportunity to take on live criminal appeals for those who maintain their innocence.

Cultural venues and nature

The Whitworth created the UK’s first dedicated post of Cultural Park Keeper.

This has led to the creation of a Natural and Cultural Health Service programme of outdoor activities to raise awareness, educate and inspire our diverse visitors to connect with and protect life in our park.

At Jodrell Bank we work with community and voluntary groups, including the RSPB and the Cheshire Beekeepers Association, to protect and enhance our natural environment.

Nature Recovery Network

A renowned engagement expert from our School of Environment, Education and Development is using her Ketso Connect community and stakeholder engagement toolkit to help the government’s Natural England advisers launch their National Recovery Network.

This network aims to restore 75% of protected sites and to create or restore 500,000 hectares of additional wildlife-rich habitat.

The project is piloting public and civic engagement models with local libraries across Manchester.

Social Value Portal

We’ve become the first higher education institution in the UK to adopt the Social Value Portal, the leading online tool that helps organisations prioritise and measure their social value when they procure, or pay for, major services.