We lead and participate in global, national and regional partnerships to advance our impact against the sustainable development goals.

Global

Globally, we’ve partnered with academic, government, industry and NGO partners in East Africa, Ghana, Myanmar, Jordan and India on FutureDAMS – the world’s largest programme into the sustainable development of the world’s dams.

We’ve partnered with the European Commission and its member states through our Energy Poverty Observatory (EPOV) programme.

Our Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) partners with organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Save the Children (SCF) to advance research and practice in humanitarianism.

National

Nationally, we’re in the highest performing category in England for the proportion of our research undertaken alongside non-academic partners.

An example is our leadership of The Productivity Institute, which brings together world-leading experts from a range of disciplines, working directly with policymakers, businesses and the HM Treasury to improve productivity and advance living standards and wellbeing across the whole of the UK.

Regional

Our researchers partner with public, private and not-for-profit agencies across our region in areas such as health, education and innovation.

We’re working with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and secondary schools on a pioneering #BeeWell programme to create a framework to measure and improve mental health and wellbeing in secondary schools across the region.

Our Global Development Institute has led the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) Research Centre, a global partnership that spans 26 countries and a myriad of partners, for more than a decade.

The Centre investigates the kinds of politics that promote development, deepening the understanding of governance in the developing world in ways that impact on policy and practice around areas such as economic growth, natural resource governance and women’s empowerment.

The University is one of the seven international universities to contribute towards a global University Social Responsibility Massive Online Open Course (MOOC).

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.

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.

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.

Examples of our civic partnerships include:

• those with Manchester City Council on education, planning and the environment;
• the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and other local universities on a new Civic University Agreement to enhance regional social, economic and environmental wellbeing;
• a Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Health Innovation Manchester to drive local health improvements;
• the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership to deliver growth, jobs and prosperity for the area;
• Innovation GM to catalyse inclusive economic growth, level up the north, and increase global trade.

We also prioritise global partnerships to advance our work towards the SDGs. These include:

• our Engaged Member status of the global Talloires Network;
• as a founding member of the global University Social Responsibility Network;
• as a member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI).

In 2018, we signed the international SDG Accord as part of our ongoing commitment to social responsibility and environmental sustainability. In 2019 our Alliance Manchester Business School signed the Principles for Responsible Management in Education (PRME).