Working together in “the spaces where we meet the world every day.”
06 Jul 2026
Professor John McAuliffe and our Cultural Institutions help colleagues develop transformative, interdisciplinary research from our treasure troves across the University.
“We are stewards,” says Professor John McAuliffe, Director of the Creative Manchester research platform and Associate Vice-President for the Culture Portfolio.
That is, stewards of some amazing treasure: 4.5 million items in Manchester Museum, more than 10 million items in our Library and over 160,000 different art objects at The Whitworth. And we can explore the depths of the Universe from Jodrell Bank.
“We have so many utterly invaluable articles for which we are responsible.” John adds. “But there’s also something on us at the University of Manchester to make more of these collections.”
Now John and our Cultural Institutions are helping our researchers do just that with their project, ‘Creating interdisciplinary soft infrastructure for research and impact in partnership with our Cultural Institutions’, one of seven projects supported by the University’s Enhancing Research Culture Fund.
For not only do we have a treasure trove of artefacts, we also have skilled and curious colleagues across many disciplines, as John explains:
John is speaking from personal experience, having worked with our Cultural Institutions and seen the spark they can provide for his work and others, too: “I’ve been here 22 years, and I do not want to be doing the same things I was doing 22 years ago. I’ve really loved that at the University of Manchester – to be able to change direction, learn new skills and develop a different strand of work entirely.”
And he says: “A very interesting thing about our Cultural Institutions in terms of our research culture is that they are shared spaces with the city region and with international visitors as well.
“They are the places where we meet the world every day.”
Discover more
The project team are developing and testing training materials and a decision tree to help researchers work with our Cultural Institutions more easily and will be hosting workshops and research cafes for colleagues to share best practice. To find out more, sign up for the Creative Manchester newsletter.
Their project was one of seven funded following the launch of the University’s Research Culture and Environment framework.
The University’s research culture is defined as the way that we collaborate, communicate, and interact with each other; the behaviours, attitudes, and values that shape how our research is developed, conducted, and used; and the mechanisms by which we support research and recognise and reward that work. The funded projects align to one of the University’s four research culture themes:
- Supporting diverse and rewarding careers;
- Enabling open and impactful research;
- Upholding the highest levels of responsible and ethical research;
- Building collaboration and interdisciplinarity.
Associate Vice-President for Research, Professor Melissa Westwood said: “The applications received in response to this call showed a real breadth and diversity of ideas to help shape our research culture and demonstrated the passion and innovation of colleagues across our University.
“The seven funded projects address a range of challenges, and we are excited to see the impact they will have in such important areas of our research culture.”
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