Social responsibility

Social responsibility describes the way we are making a difference to the social and economic well-being of our communities through our teaching, research, and public events and activities.

Social responsibility is one of our three core strategic goals in Our future: The University of Manchester’s vision and strategic plan, sitting equally alongside our commitments to world-class research, and outstanding learning and student experience.

The impact of our social responsibility initiatives

We strive to make a positive difference to the life and future of our region by taking socially responsible decisions that have real, beneficial, measurable impacts on the people and the world around us.

We make a significant contribution to our communities and society as a whole through our research, our education and a wide range of activities undertaken by our staff, students and alumni.

Find out more about the impact of The University of Manchester’s social responsibility initiatives by exploring the links below.

• Making a Difference - a summary of the impact of our social responsibility activity (PDF, 740KB)
• Measuring the Difference: Social and Economic Impact Report 2016/2017 - an in-depth look at the positive impact we have on society (PDF, 5.3MB)
• Impact in numbers - headline figures on the impact of our social responsibility  

Our social responsibility strategy

Our strategy for social responsibility includes a commitment to pursue change across the following priority areas:

Research with impact

Our research is making a positive difference to society, addressing the major challenges of the 21st century.

Socially responsible graduates

Our Ethical Grand Challenges enable all our undergraduates to tackle and understand problems relating to equality and diversity, sustainability, ethics and social justice.

Through Stellify, we also encourage all Manchester students to participate in activities such as volunteering and to undertake diverse roles of responsibility among their peers and in the wider community.

Engaging our communities

Our events and activities are harnessing our knowledge, resources and visitor attractions for the benefit of our communities.

Responsible processes

Our processes are balancing efficiency with opportunities to create social and environmental benefit. 

Environmental sustainability

Our research, teaching and activities are guided by our commitment to environmental sustainability. 

We also have a number of signature programmes for our research, teaching, community engagement and processes, allowing us to focus and measure our efforts in making a difference to society.