Export Control Satellites

The university’s export control process safeguards compliance with national and international regulations governing the transfer of controlled technologies, data, and knowledge. Until now, the Regulatory Compliance Team managed all assessments centrally. 

To enhance agility and embed compliance awareness across the university, a pilot programme has been initiated to test a decentralised model, whereby sites manage their own export control caseloads with support and oversight from the central team when required.  

The initiative is being tested through several pilot programmes - collectively referred to as ‘Due Diligence Satellites’ - designed to explore whether decentralising case management can enhance efficiency, compliance accuracy, and local ownership. 

The pilots have been strategically located in departments operating within export control “hot spots”, such as graphene, synthetic biology, and advanced materials, to ensure that the model is tested in high-risk environments. These pilots are based in Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), the Department of Materials (DoM), and the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB). 

If you have any further questions, please do contact the team at regulatory.compliance@manchester.ac.uk