About the Thomas Ashton Institute
The Thomas Ashton Institute for Risk and Regulatory Research (TAI) is a unique strategic partnership between The University of Manchester and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
This collaboration enables the co-production of world-leading research in regulatory science by encouraging genuinely cross-disciplinary research.
“Unpicking those complex systems is really what the Thomas Ashton Institute’s all about ... understanding failure can help design it out to enable safe deployment of new technologies.”
Andrew Curran / Director of Science, HSE & Co-Director, Thomas Ashton Institute
We tackle complex research questions that lie at the intersections of the physical, engineering, medical, and social sciences. Our technical strengths, expertise, and reputation support transformational change in policymaking through active engagement across our networks in government, industry, and academia.
Our vision and goals
Our vision is to deliver research, learning, and regulatory insights that widen the global conversation to enable a better working world. We aim to become a global player in improving health, safety, and wellbeing within the workplace. Our key goals include:
Understanding and mitigating risk from previous lessons is absolutely essential to the way in which we improve safety. That’s why what the Thomas Ashton Institute does is so important.
Chris Johnson / Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- Advancing knowledge about health, safety, stress, and wellbeing in the workplace through high-quality research.
- Translating research into wider knowledge exchange and facilitating evidence-based policy and practice.
- Reducing risk, increasing assurance, and shaping the leaders of tomorrow to transform working environments.
- Transforming the handling of complex risks to deliver safer, more resilient workplaces.
Our approach
Working with the Institute gives you access to a unique combination of skills, knowledge, and talent with a wide range of experiences, including Great Britain’s national regulator. We leverage the research capability and experience of the UK’s National Health and Safety lab and the full resources of The University of Manchester, including their world-leading equipment and facilities.
We are really committed to moving in this space … particularly in the area of resilience and security and the use of AI in critical systems.
Neil Bourne / Co-Director, Thomas Ashton Institute
This enables us to pull together effective teams quickly and partner with you to deliver world-leading solutions that balance theory and practice. Unlike conventional research institutes, we actively co-produce research in ways that deliver distinctive insights into challenging and complex problems with academic depth and rigour.
Our approach is innovative, creating solutions that others may find difficult to develop. We work with organisations to co-create evidence-based, achievable solutions that consider regulatory, academic, industrial, and government perspectives.
It is our observation that the TAI core team is high-performing and collaborate well together. We will be seeking to utilise the expertise of TAI should we hold workshops in the future.
The HSE Workshop Team on Autonomous Systems
Our impact
The things that the Thomas Ashton Institute stands for are part of this narrative … valuable and essential for the next 10 years.
Chris Johnson / Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
We aim to improve the visibility and reach of our research, enhancing our national and global reputation for the highest quality risk and regulatory research. By understanding problems at a systems level and using the best available evidence, we address the whole problem, not just parts of it.
Our solutions are immediate, direct, and tailored to the needs of the sectors we work with, making a measurable and sustainable difference in creating a safer and healthier society.
