De Montfort University
De Montfort University has a track record of research that impacts society and makes a real difference to people’s lives. Our commitment to research is integral to develop our students as critical thinkers. This was recognised in our 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework award, which stated that our research “fed into the curriculum through a focus on application to real-world settings and research-led work placements”.
Our ’empowering university’ strategy has as its vision: ‘Creating a community of participation, fairness and collective responsibility; transforming individual lives and championing a fair and sustainable society.’ Through our research strategy, we seek to ensure that our research and knowledge exchange activities address key challenges. We see a sustainable research environment as key to empowering our researchers. We are the only British university to have been awarded Global Hub status for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16, ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’.
DMU Policy Unit
The DMU Policy Unit is an academic-led initiative that serves as DMU’s dedicated Knowledge Mobilization body, translating research excellence into policy impact. The Unit extends DMU’s commitment to SDG16 (as the international hub for SDG16) by promoting peaceful societies and inclusive institutions through strategic policy partnerships. The Unit distinguishes itself through its unique academic governance structure, being fully led by researchers and steered by the University Professoriate. The Unit works on fostering knowledge exchange infrastructures that facilitate 2-way communication flows between research and policy domains. In so doing, it coordinates expertise across key policy areas including post-war recovery, community resilience, modern slavery, criminal justice, and equity in healthcare. The Unit places strong emphasis on reciprocal research partnerships and facilitates meaningful contributions to complex global challenges through coalition-building and policy engagement, establishing frameworks for rapid integration of research innovation into policy practice. The Unit’s work supports DMU researchers in becoming effective agents of change, while developing sustainable pathways for evidence-based policymaking at local, national, and international levels.