Research and Impact @ Manchester (April 2025)
30 Apr 2025
A message from Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research
Welcome to Research & Impact @ Manchester, an edition that really showcases the impact in our title – and the value of our work here in the research community.
Our University’s far-reaching benefit to the region and to the UK was revealed in a new impact report by leading consultancy, London Economics. For every £1 invested in research activities, we generate £5.95 in productivity benefits to the UK economy – concrete evidence you should all be proud of, as I am.
Mayor Andy Burnham noted how our research generates economic growth and influences strategies and policies that make a real difference in people’s lives in a discussion around devolution for Greater Manchester. Our University further catalysed innovation through initiatives like Unit M, he added.
One direct channel for impact is our University’s Innovation Factory, which commercialises cutting-edge technology and intellectual property (IP) originating from our academics and researchers. Its new CEO, Dr Catherine Headley aims to “strengthen our partnerships, empower our academics, inventors and researchers, and accelerate the journey from discovery to real-world solutions that benefit society and bolster the UK’s position as a global leader in innovation.” Please visit the website for further information about how the Innovation Factory can help commercialise your research. Our new Intellectual Property Policy, revised to match IP trends, regulations and the changing academic environment, such as artificial intelligence (AI) developments and increasing student enterprise and research commercialisation activities, now incorporates a new mixed model of equity and royalties.
Further innovation and influence includes strong partnerships with a range of collaborators across the world, from Kenya, where we launched our new Africa Strategy, to Beijing and Texas.
I am delighted to report some of the ways in which our academics are securing influence and impact through prestigious appointments. These include four academics from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health who have been appointed as National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators, in recognition of their leading and transformative research.
Other notable appointments include Professor Dan George, who has taken a secondment as Chief Scientific Advisor for National Security at GCHQ; Professor Duncan Shaw, appointed to chair a Cabinet Office committee on national security risk assessment; Professor Cecilia Wong (ESRC), Professor Jayne Lawrence (STFC) and Dame Professor Nancy Rothwell (MRC), all appointed members of the UKRI Council; and an unprecedented five academics named as Academy of Social Science Fellows.
And our efforts are responsible, too. We have reaffirmed our environmental sustainability commitment by signing the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, developed by the UK research and innovation (R&I) sector.
Two major projects have added weight to our commitment. Our new Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity Partnership with Bupa aims to develop novel methods and strategies to drastically reduce the healthcare sector’s environmental impact upon our planet. The JUST (Joined-Up Sustainability Transformations) Centre will promote socially just, people-centred sustainability transformations by collaborating with communities, governments and businesses to develop low-carbon living initiatives. In addition, we have also contributed to a River Rescue Kit, designed to support individuals and grassroots organisations in holding polluters and policymakers accountable with guidance on gathering water quality data, lobbying decision-makers and raising public awareness.
Supporting your impact
Impact was the theme of this year’s Research Communications Conference, which was extremely well attended in terms of numbers – 122 delegates – and representation, with research-enabling colleagues and researchers from across the University and at various career stages in attendance. Do visit the conference’s tools and resources page to meet the teams who can help you communicate the impact of your work and raise your profile. Also, please do watch Professor Nigel Hooper’s speech, which further explains our action plan to improve citations and rankings.
Our University is among the first recipients of a grant from UK Research & Innovation’s new Metascience Unit, launched to find better ways to conduct, distribute and fund research – and there are opportunities for you to get involved.
You could have a direct impact on our research culture and environment for up-and-coming researchers by encouraging them to have their say in our PGR Voice survey. Part of Your Voice Matters, the University’s new approach to listening to staff and students, the survey launches on Monday, 12 May. The insight we gain from our PGRs’ feedback will help us make improvements wherever required. For this, we will need as many responses as possible so if you supervise, work with or support PGRs, please encourage them to complete their survey.
The research community were among those who had their say in the University-wide colleague engagement survey earlier this month. Thank you to all those who completed it – your experience informs the University’s strategy as you will see in the coming months. Keep a look out for the results that will be shared in June.
And a final ask – consider getting involved in our Universally Manchester community festival, which showcases our impact to thousands of visitors from our local neighbourhoods and beyond. As a colleague said, “I look forward to this event every year, and connecting with colleagues across departments and teams, as well as seeing some familiar faces.”
Colleague news
Congratulations to our new Senate members, whose term of office will run from 1 September 2025 until 31 August 2028, and thank you to colleagues who voted and those who ran the nominations and election process.
Finally, I would like to pay my respects to Professor of Sociology and Star Lecturer, Lou Kushnik. Lou, who founded the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre, was the very best of scholar-activism and leaves a superb legacy much needed today. We will miss him.
Colette