Lord Mandelson launches MMU think tank

Lord Mandelson, Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, will today launch MetroPolis, the university’s own policy think tank.

MetroPolis will provide a platform for government, policy-influencers and local authorities to access the kind of research that will enable informed decision-making.

There will also be a series of Chancellor’s Fellowships, focussing on a variety of research/policy areas with partner organisations and a programme of events and training courses.

Fellows will work within the offices of elected parliamentary members, policy organisations, major charities, public sector bodies and local and national government, enabling clear pathways between research and policy impacts.

Lord Mandelson said: “MetroPolis and the fellowships will underpin improvements in the delivery of effective public services. I am very much looking forward to seeing the impact of these fellowships on policy development that will benefit the economy and society.”

Michael Taylor, co-founder of MetroPolis and external affairs adviser to the Vice-Chancellor, said: “For Manchester and the North, there is a very real danger that important economic and social challenges will not receive sufficient attention and care from a government rather consumed – and overwhelmed – with the challenge of delivering Brexit.

“Yet if anything, at a city regional level and in the frontline of public service delivery, there are real pockets of innovation and dynamism. Brexit may bring fears and concerns, but this shows how the North can be a vibrant and dynamic home for new policy ideas.”

Manchester Metropolitan University has more than 200 researchers rated ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’, and has an 85% research impact rated world-leading and internationally excellent.