Policy@Manchester


Policy@Manchester is a public policy research network based at The University of Manchester that highlights the influence of academics upon public policy development in the United Kingdom. Policy@Manchester was initiated by Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell and was founded in 2011 by Manchester Business School Professor Colin Talbot, the director of the network.

Aims and objectives

Policy@Manchester is committed to the following objectives:

Policy expertise

Policy@Manchester academics undertake research in the following areas of public policy:

Manchester Policy Week

In October 2012 Policy@Manchester hosted the first ‘Manchester Policy Week’, a series of public policy related events over 5 days. The second Policy Week ran from 28 October– 1 November 2013. Manchester Policy Week has attracted noteworthy keynote speakers including Tim Harford, Lord McFall, John Amaechi OBE and Ivan Lewis MP; as well as leading academics, both from The University of Manchester and other universities, such as Professor David Hunter from Durham University.
On 29 October 2013 a keynote event, Battle of the Thinktanks, brought four leading UK Thinktanks; IPPR North, Resolution Foundation, Centre for Social Justice and the Equality Trust to discuss what government might look like in less turbulent times.
Manchester Policy Week 2013 had 714 registrants across 14 events and 752 official Twitter hashtag mentions.
Other Policy@Manchester events have featured influential speakers including Margaret Hodge, Bernard Jenkin and Sir Jeremy Heywood. Officials from Select Committees in Parliament have also engaged with Policy@Manchester events, including the Clerk to the Science and Technology Committee, Dr. Stephen McGinness.

Manchester Policy Blogs

In September 2013, Prof Colin Talbot’s blog site, Whitehall Watch, merged with Policy@Manchester’s blog to form Manchester Policy Blogs, which provides insight, analysis and comment on all key public policy issues, with specific subject streams for Whitehall, Science Technology and Environment, and Westminster.
Since launch, authors have included Professor Brian Cox, Professor Kevin Anderson and Yaron Matras.