[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”on” _builder_version=”3.17.6″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ specialty_columns=”4″][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.17.6″ featured_placement=”above” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n
By Professor John Holden<\/span>, Vice-President for Civic Engagement & <\/span>Innovation<\/span> and CEO <\/span>\u2013<\/span> Unit M<\/span>, and Professor Aline Miller, <\/span>Associate Vice President for <\/span>Enterprise<\/span> and Chief Scientific <\/span>Officer <\/span>\u2013<\/span> Unit M<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The spotlight is increasingly on Manchester as one of Europe’s leading innovation cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Across our city-region, we are seeing growing strengths in advanced manufacturing and materials, health innovation, digital and AI, clean growth and creative industries. The city is attracting talent, investment and attention from around the world. The question for us is how we can harness this opportunity and create one of Europe’s leading innovation ecosystems.\u00a0<\/p>\n The University of Manchester has a critical role to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n We are our region\u2019s largest innovation asset. We have world-class research, exceptional students, a growing community of founders and entrepreneurs, and deep partnerships across business, government and education. In 2024\/25, we generated nearly \u00a3120 million in innovation income and continued to strengthen our position as one of the UK’s leading universities for innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The University has internationally leading strengths in every aspect of what it does, but our greatest opportunity lies in our ability to bring those strengths together.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year we launched From Manchester, for the world<\/i><\/a>, our strategy to 2035. It set an ambitious vision: to become Europe’s most impactful and inclusive innovation ecosystem. Leading this ambition is Unit M<\/a>, the University’s gateway to innovation, with a mission to unleash our full potential by connecting people, ideas and opportunities across the University and beyond, helping unlock greater impact from Manchester’s strengths in research, teaching, enterprise and partnership.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Today, we\u2019re pleased to share our Innovation Delivery Plan<\/a>, the next step in turning that ambition into action.\u00a0<\/p>\n This plan matters because innovation is one of the most powerful ways we deliver on our purpose as a university. It is how we turn research into real-world impact. It is how we create opportunities for students. It is how we help solve challenges facing Manchester, the UK and the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crucially, it is how we ensure that the benefits of knowledge, creativity and discovery reach more people at pace and at scale. Innovation thrives when different perspectives come together and our goal is to create a culture where everyone feels empowered, enabled, equipped and encouraged to participate.\u00a0<\/p>\n What this plan is<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a shared roadmap rather than a detailed operational plan, setting out where we will focus our effort over the next three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is built around three priorities:\u00a0<\/p>\n Together, these priorities will create a more connected, visible and impactful innovation community.\u00a0<\/p>\n What we’ve heard<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n The Innovation Delivery Plan has been shaped through extensive conversations with colleagues, students and partners from across the University and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n A consistent message emerged. People recognise our extraordinary strengths but believe we could unlock greater impact by working in a more connected way.\u00a0<\/p>\n You told us you wanted innovation to feel easier to navigate, with clearer routes to support, stronger connections between existing activities and more opportunities to collaborate across disciplines. Partners told us they wanted it to be easier to access the University’s expertise, talent and facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those conversations reinforced the importance of taking a One University approach \u2013 joining up our capabilities while building on the distinctive strengths that already exist across faculties, professional services and partner organisations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three things you should know<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the most important shifts in this plan is how we think about innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Too often, innovation is seen as something that happens after research, or as the responsibility of specialist teams. In reality, innovation can take many forms: new technologies, new services, new partnerships, new policies, new approaches to teaching, and new ways of tackling societal challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n Our ambition is to make innovation part of everyday life at the University, creating more opportunities for staff and students to develop ideas, build entrepreneurial skills, work with partners and create impact beyond our campuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n The future success of our innovation strategy depends on more people seeing innovation as something they can participate in, shape and benefit from.\u00a0<\/p>\n We heard clearly that people want simpler, faster and more visible routes into innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the next three years, we will make it easier to access funding, advice, facilities, mentoring, partnerships and opportunities. We will bring together our innovation assets more effectively, simplify how people engage with support and create a clearer route from ideas to impact.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of this work, the University has launched Shaping the Future of Our Innovation Services<\/i>, a strategic review that will examine how innovation services work together across the University and how they can best support our ambitions over the next decade. Its aim is to create a more connected, user-centred innovation system that is easier for colleagues, students and partners to navigate, and that helps us seize new opportunities and make a bigger impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n The University Executive has agreed that Unit M will become the University’s innovation directorate. It will bring innovation leadership together and make sure innovation is woven through research, teaching, social responsibility and external engagement. With closer links to Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange and with the Innovation Factory, and the Professional Services Office for Social Responsibility team joining the unit, more people at the University will be enabled to generate tangible impact from their research, teaching and social responsibility activities. That in turn will support student recruitment, financial sustainability, our civic mission and our response to a changing research funding landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n The University sits at the centre of one of the UK’s most dynamic innovation environments. But achieving our ambition requires us to think beyond institutional boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n The most successful innovation ecosystems are built through collaboration between universities, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, public services, communities and civic leaders. Our role is not just to participate in those relationships, but to help convene and strengthen them.\u00a0<\/p>\n That is why partnerships such as Sister, Atom Valley, the Greater Manchester Civic University Agreement, Innovation GM, and The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership are so important.\u00a0<\/p>\n Our ambition is to become the university to partner with \u2013 helping connect people, ideas and opportunities in ways that create greater impact for Manchester and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n What you’ll see happening next<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n A strategy succeeds if people can see it making a difference. Over the next 12 months, you’ll start to see:\u00a0<\/p>\n What this means for you<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n Building an innovation ecosystem is a collective effort. Whether you work in research, teaching, professional services or external engagement, there is a role for you to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n You may have an idea that could create impact beyond the University. You may be developing a partnership with an external organisation. You may support students to develop entrepreneurial ambitions. Or you may help connect colleagues with opportunities and expertise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Join the conversation<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n The Innovation Delivery Plan marks an important milestone, but our approach will continue to evolve as we learn, test new approaches and respond to a changing external environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n We are excited by what lies ahead and by the opportunity in front of us. Manchester has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish itself as one of Europe’s leading innovation ecosystems. This plan sets out how we will help make that happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n We’d welcome you contacting us at hello@unit-m.co.uk<\/a> or hearing your thoughts, questions and ideas in the comments below.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n More to come<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n The Innovation Delivery Plan is part of a wider programme turning From Manchester, for the World into action. Colleagues have already seen the International and Research plans, and the Teaching and Learning plan will follow soon, completing the picture of how we will deliver our 2035 ambitions.<\/i>\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=”3.17.6″ prev_text=”Previous” next_text=”Next” in_same_term=”off” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Related posts” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ locked=”on”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=”Subscribe” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ area=”et_pb_widget_area_3″ locked=”on” \/][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.17.6″ area=”sidebar-1″ show_border=”off” locked=”on” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Professor John Holden, Vice-President for Civic Engagement & Innovation and CEO \u2013 Unit M, and Professor Aline Miller, Associate Vice President for Enterprise and Chief Scientific Officer \u2013 Unit M\u00a0The spotlight is increasingly on Manchester as one of Europe’s leading innovation cities.\u00a0Across our city-region, we are seeing growing strengths in advanced manufacturing and materials, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":4251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" [et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" fullwidth=\"off\" specialty=\"on\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\"][et_pb_column type=\"2_3\" specialty_columns=\"4\"][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=\"Row\"][et_pb_column_inner type=\"4_4\" saved_specialty_column_type=\"2_3\"][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" featured_placement=\"above\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=\"3.17.6\"]<\/p> When I\u2019m out and about meeting staff I hear much debate about the why, what, when and how of change in our University. I wanted to share my thoughts on this often contentious topic \u2013 and hear your views too.<\/p> Early in 2020 we will launch our University\u2019s new vision and strategic plan \u2013 Our future. In order to fulfil Our future we need to ensure that we are in a financially sustainable position so that we have the funds to invest in the new staff, facilities and infrastructure which will be needed to bring our plans to life.<\/p> Our Financial Statements<\/a> for 2018\/19, which have been published following approval by the Board of Governors, confirm that more than 95% of our \u00a31.1bn income is spent on our core goals - on our staff and our students - to deliver research, education and social responsibility; with the remainder invested in the long term sustainability of our University. You can find a summary<\/a> of the Financial Statements on StaffNet.<\/p> However, this is a testing time for UK universities, due to the many external factors that have an impact on us - current home tuition fees are falling in real terms, whilst our costs (not just pay but non-pay too) are increasing. There are further and even greater tuition fee funding risks outlined in General Election manifestos as well as a range of Brexit-related risks that could affect our operations. The Office for Students (OfS) demands that we demonstrate both value for money for our students and our financial sustainability (in the sense of being able to invest to deliver our ambitious strategy, rather than survival). There are, of course, also ongoing unresolved national issues around pay and the continuing challenges around funding pensions in the higher education sector.<\/p> Our Financial Statements show an improved operating surplus (3.7% of income compared to \u00a324.7m (2.3%) in 2017\/18), with a rise in income from tuition fees, education contracts and research. As I mentioned earlier, we re-invest the surplus we achieve each year in activity in line with our strategy. Recently our funds have been used to create some new academic and Professional Services posts; to invest in key infrastructure including IT; to invest in some new buildings like our student accommodation at Unsworth Park; to improve the student experience by funding more full-time Residential Life staff and to upgrade a range of buildings and research and teaching spaces and resources. Increasingly it is also invested in environmental sustainability and meeting our ambitious carbon targets. So even when we are making difficult decisions in some parts of the University we continue to invest our surplus.<\/p> Whilst we have reported an operating surplus, our Board of Governors expects us to deliver a much larger surplus than this (at least 5%) if we are to be sustainable in the long-term. Our strategic change programme (including IT Modernisation<\/a>, the Student Experience Programme<\/a>, and the Research Lifecycle Programme<\/a>), alongside our continuous improvement plans, will ensure that we create the financial headroom to invest in people and facilities. The strategic change programme will also enable us to embrace new technologies and new ways of doing things that better support all our staff and students to be the best that they can be.<\/p> Yes, this means that some individual roles will change. New roles (some that we haven\u2019t yet identified) will be created and some roles will no longer be required. I appreciate that this will cause some uncertainty and where that is the case we will do everything we can to support staff, but the alternative is that we never change anything. If we fail to take advantage of advances in technology and develop more joined-up ways of working we will ultimately find ourselves outdated in the eyes of future students, funders and other stakeholders. Staff want to work for a progressive and successful institution, of which they can be proud. This means we cannot stand still.<\/p> When I talk to staff and students I often hear their frustrations about how difficult it be can be to get some straightforward things done, grappling with paper-based, manual and repetitive processes, on outdated systems and infrastructure, all of which serves to increase staff workloads. Everyone wants to do a good job, but regularly feel that our world-class status is earned in spite of our internal systems and processes, not because of them.<\/p> To deliver our new vision and strategic plan we will need to embrace new opportunities and face challenges with courage and determination. That will sometimes mean we have to make tough decisions and no-one is claiming it will be easy or that mistakes will not be made along the way. But where we do have tough choices to make we will commit to implementing changes fairly and with compassion to support the wellbeing of all our colleagues.<\/p> [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" prev_text=\"Previous\" next_text=\"Next\" in_same_term=\"off\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" custom_button=\"on\" button_text_color=\"#ffffff\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_text admin_label=\"Related posts\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" locked=\"on\"]<\/p> [related-posts-thumbnails]<\/p> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\"1_3\"][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=\"Subscribe\" _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" area=\"et_pb_widget_area_3\" locked=\"on\" \/][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=\"3.17.6\" area=\"sidebar-1\" show_border=\"off\" locked=\"on\" \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-2035"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4002"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4253,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4002\/revisions\/4253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/viewpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Related<\/h1>\n
Related posts:<\/h3>
Carol Prokopyszyn and Martin Schr\u00f6der - Manchester 2035: Funding a world-class university\u202f<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Professor Duncan Ivison: North Star and Foundations<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Jenn Hallam and Ashley Blom: Making the Leap: Flexible, Personalised and Digitally Enabled Learning<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
Improving our financial performance will help to deliver our ambitious future plans, but we must also increase our capacity to create the funds and time to invest in our core goals. One of the ways we can do this is by changing what we do and how we do things.<\/p>Related<\/h1>