Change Points

We worked with colleagues at The University of Sheffield on Change Points to develop new ways of understanding how householders’ routine activities end up demanding resources, including energy, food and water.

A key output was the co-design of a toolkit to support policy makers and other non-academic stakeholders interested in developing nuanced policy processes and business practices around household sustainability.

SCI Festival

Every year, our Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) holds the SCI Festival, promoting active discussion and networking among the public, practitioners and policy makers working on the front line of social change towards sustainability.

Sustainable materials research

Our One Bin to Rule Them All research programme has drawn on our Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub in our Henry Royce Institute, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and  Sustainable Consumption Institute to work with 17 industry partners and local authorities to address key challenges in the plastics lifecycle.

Researchers from our Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub are also working with the manufacturer Callaly to develop alternative sustainable materials for menstrual hygiene products to help combat the growing need for natural-renewable alternatives for plastics.

Towards Inclusive Environmental Sustainability

Our Towards Inclusive Environmental Sustainability research project is engaging with communities of Pakistani and Somali heritage (two of the largest and fastest-growing groups in Manchester) on research to understand how knowledge and practices of migrants from the Global South contribute to building just and sustainable cities in the Global North.

Air quality

Our Policy@Manchester publication On Air Quality explores how air pollution affects public health, economic outcomes and acts to widen existing inequalities.

Some of the recommendations include extending projects such as the Manchester Urban Observatory and citizen science projects like Britain Breathing to provide accurate on-the-ground information about poor air quality, which disproportionally affects already-disadvantaged communities.

We’ve also helped create the Clean Air for Schools Framework, which engages and educates the next generation to help them and their families make cleaner air choices.

Talking Migration

Academics from our Department of Politics have created Talking Migration, a free, publicly accessible podcast filled with discussions, debates and interviews on all aspects of the politics of migration.

Work and Equalities Institute

Our Work and Equalities Institute identifies and promotes the conditions for more inclusive and fair work and employment arrangements.

The research explores challenges for equality, fairness and sustainability in the workplace, and considers how employers are responding to the challenge of an increasingly diverse workforce and what new institutions are needed to enforce fair rights and responsibilities at work.

Global inequalities

Global inequalities is one of our five research beacons.

We support dedicated Institutes, Centres and Networks to foster world-leading interdisciplinary research into making our city, our region, our nation, and our world a fairer and more equal place to live.

Manchester Innovation Labs

Our Manchester Innovation Labs provide a robust, effective means of co-developing research projects with companies to address a business need.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

We have been placed top in the UK for our knowledge transfer partnerships.

Through our structure and funding support, we place graduates to support businesses in addressing key innovation challenges.

Innovation research

Our Digital Futures network of 1,500 researchers across 30 disciplines is working with citizens, businesses and government to help understand and drive digital innovation.

We’re part of Health Innovation Manchester – an integrated ecosystem to discover, develop and deploy new solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million citizens.

Our Henry Royce Institute is a UK national institute for advanced materials research and innovation. Our National Graphene Institute and Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre provide an innovation ecosystem to research and develop graphene and other 2D material applications in areas such as energy storage, nanomedicine and water purification.

The Productivity Institute

Our Alliance Manchester Business School hosts The Productivity Institute – a new UK-wide £32 million research organisation exploring what productivity means for business, for workers and for communities, how it is measured and how it contributes to increased living standards and wellbeing.

It will help pinpoint the causes of stagnation in UK productivity and lay foundations for sustained and inclusive productivity growth by directly informing government policies and business strategies to improve productivity.

FutureDAMS Approach

As part of our world-leading FutureDAMS programme, we’ve produced a guide (PDF) to propose a series of steps and principles for conducting public, private and community stakeholder engagement in decision-making around water-energy-food-environment (WEFE) interventions.

This is underpinned by the principle that better decisions are generated when a broad range of stakeholders are included in a genuinely participatory manner.

Energy poverty

Our researchers have established a framework to explain how domestic energy deprivation affects households and communities.

Through a prolific programme of European-wide engagement – 100 events, 200 high-level presentations, ten policy briefs, two sets of EU member state energy poverty reports, and three pan-EU energy poverty reports – our research shaped the policy direction of the European Commission’s Vulnerable Consumer Working Group, the body responsible for developing EU energy policy.

Energy research beacon

Energy is one of our five research beacons and we have more than 600 academics addressing sustainable energy challenges.

Our On Energy publication is a collection of thought-leadership pieces from a selection of our staff, bringing together expert commentary, analysis and policy recommendations on issues such as climate change, fuel poverty, energy storage, and the economic viability of nuclear power and multi-energy systems.

Creating a fairer and greener energy supply

Our Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Tyndall Manchester have been collaborating with Electricity North West to help better manage its network, improving sustainability and saving money for the company and customers alike.

Our research with them addressed three key areas that impact electricity supply: smart distribution networks for managing supply with demand; managing power flow fluctuations; and assessing the carbon footprint of different network investment options.

Our work led to changes in their network investment, enhancing renewable energy sources and reducing energy bills for customers. This work could fundamentally change electricity supply in the UK, with approval being agreed for national rollout.

Graphene water filtration

Our National Graphene Institute Membranes Lab has pioneered a graphene-oxide membrane that can filter salts out of water, making it safe to drink.

This game-changing technology is more efficient and affordable than other desalination technologies and could provide affordable and sustainable clean water solutions to millions of people.

UK river microplastic pollution

Researchers from our School of Environment, Education and Development have found a direct link between the disposal of untreated wastewater with raw sewage and microplastic contamination of river habitats.

Having highlighted the alarming levels of microplastic pollution in UK rivers and the evidence of poor regulation, our academics are now calling for urgent action by governments and regulators to protect our rivers.

#LetsTalkLynch campaign

We partnered with gynaecological cancer charity The Eve Appeal to raise awareness of our research into Lynch syndrome and what it means for cancer screening practices.

We created a series of short videos outlining this research, what it means, and the real stories of women and families who have been affected by Lynch syndrome and Lynch-related cancer.

Women in STEM

We have a range of initiatives that empower women and girls to enter predominantly male fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Our academics have set up ScienceGrrl – a grassroots network to address the under-representation of women in science and engineering.

A Women in Environmental Science group has been established to create space for environmental discussion among women from diverse backgrounds.

We also host Girls Night Out – a twice-yearly event at our Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre to celebrate and encourage females to pursue careers in STEM.

Students’ and women’s rights

Our students started a Misogyny Is Hate campaign, leading to the government directing police to record crimes motivated by a person’s sex or gender for the first time.

Our Students’ Union also runs Reclaim the Night, resulting in around 2,000 women marching in the streets each year to raise awareness of sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

Imagine Me Stories

Our Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health partners with Manchester Metropolitan University and Keele University on Imagine Me Stories.

This is a school library diversity initiative designed to tackle under-representation in UK school libraries by curating diverse resources and promoting better representation in literature for all students.

Great Science Share for Schools

Our Science and Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub undertakes a range of public engagement campaigns.

These include the Great Science Share for Schools and the Greater Manchester Engineering Challenge, which enhances the University’s work in broadening the pipeline of young people with an interest in STEM subjects.

IntoUniversity Manchester North

We partner with the IntoUniversity Manchester North educational charity to support and engage some of the most disadvantaged young people in Manchester.

IntoUniversity helps young people to attain a university place or another chosen aspiration. 71% of its students progress to university, compared with 43% of students from similar backgrounds nationally.

Educating the region’s school children during lockdown to minimise disadvantage

During the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns of 2020, our partnership with the Tutor Trust charity provided online sessions to ensure disadvantaged students didn’t suffer the risk of falling behind in their education without regular teaching in the classroom.

Students from The University of Manchester make up more than half of those who work as Tutor Trust tutors in Manchester.