Building a Secure and Resilient World: Research and Coordination Hub

This blog explores how a whole-of-society approach to resilience offers extraordinary value – ethically, socially, and financially.

Introducing SALIENTcast, a podcast series exploring community practice and perspectives related to security, resilience and risk.  

This blog explores UK prison system reviews and reports, and the lessons learned, touching on notable examples such as the Woolf and Woodcock reports.

Announcing our new creative arts partnership with Odd Arts, a charity using theatre to challenge inequalities & increase opportunities for people facing discrimination & disadvantage

Steel is still one of the most widely used materials – but producing it is one of the largest industrial sources of carbon emissions worldwide.

A SALIENT Lunch and Learn webinar is your chance to:​ Discover the latest developments in the world of National security and resilience​ Hear short TED-style talks… Read more: Join Us! SALIENT Lunch & Learn Webinars in 2026

RISE is an accelerated interdisciplinary programme led by SPRITE+ and VAWG experts at the University of Manchester, funded via UKRI’s R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.  SALIENT is pleased… Read more: Call for Projects | RISE: Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls

The SALIENT Hub is proud to spotlight Research into Intervention, Safety and Empowerment (RISE) – an ambitious new programme led by the University of Manchester that tackles one of the UK’s most pressing societal challenges: violence against women and girls (VAWG).

The team behind our Salient project on subsea infrastructure security have recently published a pilot podcast episode, exploring the unseen arteries of the global economy. Hosted… Read more: Security at Sea Podcast

🎉 This week the Building a Secure And Resilient World: Research and Coordination Hub (SALIENT) marks its 2nd birthday!  Established to build a more secure and resilient world, SALIENT has grown rapidly into a… Read more: Celebrating SALIENT’s 2nd Birthday

Natalie Poole joins the SALIENT team as the new Project Manager for the Network for Security Excellence and Collaboration (NSEC), which operates within SALIENT.

How will AI impact religious beliefs and cultural resilience? Generative artificial intelligence (AI) represents a step-change in digital technology and is facilitating transformative change in contemporary… Read more: When AI Meets Faith: Forging Cultural Resilience in Uncertain Times

In a reflection by Professor Mike Lewis, SALIENT Work Package Lead, Harwell Campus emerges as a powerful example of how constraint can foster innovation. Originally farmland,… Read more: Harwell: From constraints to commons

The University of Manchester is hiring a Project Manager to lead the UKRI funded Network for Security Exellence and Collaboration (NSEC) — which connects researchers, policymakers, and practitioners across the… Read more: We’re Hiring! Lead a National Research Network on Security & Resilience

The Network for Security Excellence and Collaboration (NSEC) is a nationwide community of multi-disciplinary academics with experience, expertise or interest in UK national security and resilience… Read more: NSEC and SALIENT join forces to strengthen government-academic collaborations in national security and resilience.

Written by Vicky Turner, SALIENT Hub and Programme Manager On Tuesday 29th July, Gartside Gardens in Brunswick, Manchester came alive with the buzz of over 200… Read more: Brunswick Comes Together: A Day of Community, Conversation, and Creativity

By SALIENT co-investigator Michael A. Lewis, Professor of Operations and Supply Management, University of Bristol I have finally read Priya Satia’s prize-winning history, Empire of Guns, which firmly connects… Read more: The Manufactory: Samuel Colt’s Three Years in London

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), in collaboration with NHS England, has published a new policy paper outlining its strategic approach to managing medicines shortages and enhancing the resilience of the UK’s supply chains.

The UK government has published a ten-year strategy outlining how it aims to boost productivity and innovation across eight key sectors of the economy. From the future of… Read more: The UK has published a ten-year industrial strategy to boost key sectors of the economy – here’s what the experts think

written by SALIENT Academic Lead Dr Richard Kirkham and SALIENT co-investigator Prof Mike Lewis , University of Bath The 2025 Strategic Defence Review [1] (SDR) emphasised the integration of autonomous and semi-autonomous… Read more: Drones and the UK Strategic Defence Review 2025

SALIENT co-investigator Prof Mike Lewis explores the ramifications of the recent Ukranian drone operation (Spiderweb) in a new article for The Conversation Michael A. Lewis, University… Read more: Ukraine drone strikes on Russian airbase reveal any country is vulnerable to the same kind of attack

By Richard Kirkham, SALIENT Academic Lead I was delighted to be invited by SALIENT colleague Prof. Mark Elliot and the SPRITE+ plus team to speak at… Read more: Safety and security: a systems perspective on the UK’s prison ‘crisis’

We’re thrilled to welcome Professor Daniel Dresner—renowned cybersecurity expert and thought leader—for an engaging Lunch & Learn session hosted by SPRITE+. 🗓 Date: Wednesday, 18th June 2025🕛 Time: 13:00 –… Read more: Join Us for a Sprite Lunch & Learn with Professor Daniel Dresner

Digital technology is becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives, shaping how we communicate, work, and interact. To build trust in technology, its design, development, and deployment… Read more: Digital Technology, Crime, and the Law Conference 2025

7 projects have been awarded funding through our first Devolved Funding Call! These bold, interdisciplinary projects tackle urgent resilience challenges across society, tech, defence, and more… Read more: Announcing the 7 projects funded through the first SALIENT Devolved Funding Call!

Join us to explore practical strategies for addressing flood risk through community resilience. Learn from experts and local leaders how to build safer, more prepared communities.

What is ‘The National Briefing on Societal Resilience [UK+]’? The National Briefing on Societal Resilience [UK+] is produced by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) on behalf… Read more: The National Briefing on Societal Resilience [UK+]

Sprite+ are re-launching the SPRITE+ Community of Interest on Extended Reality and Trust, Identity, Privacy, Security and Safety (previously the COI for “TIPSS in the Metaverse”), with an in-person meeting on Friday 20th June in Manchester.

To close the gap between UK society’s expectations and public sector capacity we need to think differently, says Duncan Shaw and Andrew McClelland.

Guest Speaker: Professor Chris Johnson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) This lecture will provide a comprehensive overview of the critical intersections between… Read more: You are invited: TAI Lecture 2025 – Ethics, Regulation and Innovation on the Digital Frontier

‘How to… communities’ webinars are especially aimed at local community resilience groups but everyone is welcome to attend. NCSR+ / RBOC+ webinars are designed for resilience practitioners,… Read more: Join a NCSR How to… communities webinars

We are pleased to announce the successful closure of our recent SALIENT devolved funding call. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with a diverse array of… Read more: SALIENT: First Devolved Funding Call Closed

Dr. Ben Collier recently delivered a fascinating talk on the cutting-edge techniques UK police are using to shape behaviour and prevent crime through digital campaigns. This innovative… Read more: Influence policing: Law enforcement domestic digital influence campaigns in the UK

Please note, this opportunity is now closed About the Project The geopolitical and geo-economic shifts we are experiencing have stress-tested the national security and resilience of… Read more: SALIENT: Building a secure and resilient world – PhD Opportunity

SPRITE+ invites organisations to attend their annual Academic-Industry Meeting (AIM) day to network with colleagues and apply for funding for academic-industry collaborative projects.

Salient Hub is proud to celebrate its first anniversary, marking a year of foundational achievements and future potential.

This conference organised by the National Consortium for Societal Resilience [UK+] (NCSR+) will again provide a vital networking forum bringing together partners from policy and practice to share insights, learn together, and identify collaborative opportunities on how to enhance societal resilience.

SPRITE+ is pleased to invite Members and Expert Fellows to apply to attend a blended sandpit on the TIPS and Resilient Futures.

The story of Tadcaster’s resilience, particularly during Storm Eva in 2015, underscores the need for effective, locally coordinated responses to crises.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awards £13 million to make UK supply chains more resilient.

The SALIENT hub wishes to create a peer reviewer community drawn from a wide range of people.

SALIENT’s Richard Kirkham joined a small delegation of UK academics on a 3-day visit to Delhi where he participated in a workshop being held in partnership with the Economic and Social Research Council and the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) to discuss priority areas within the overarching theme of ‘Prosperous and Resilient Futures.

SALIENT’s Richard Kirkham visited The Snaith School in the East Riding of Yorkshire on the 9th December 2024, where he spoke to Year 9 students as part of their studies exploring ‘Life on the Edge’ and wider issues associated with crime and punishment

The University of Manchester’s SALIENT initiative has released a working paper titled “Characterising the Landscape of UKRI Funded National Security and Resilience Research.”

In this blog, Professor Mike Lewis explores researching resilient and secure supply chains and the 4 foundations of work package 4.

In this blog, Professor Duncan Shaw discusses developing a community hub emergency capability.

Copilot for Bing is an AI assistant that enhances productivity, creativity, and information comprehension.

Manchester’s researchers are on a mission to tackle some of the UK’s most challenging resilience and security problems.  Backed by a £4.2 million funding award from… Read more: Manchester resilience researchers awarded £4.2 million to help build a secure world