How the University handles your information

The University of Manchester handles a wide variety of information which is used for teaching, learning, research, commercial and administrative activities.

The University's Information Governance Office (IGO) provides a framework of people, policies and technical and organisational controls to help protect this information, promoting openness but mindful of the needs and rights of individuals who entrust their personal data to the University and the requirements of other interested parties, funding and regulatory bodies.

Through a network of Information Governance Guardians, we provide training, support and guidance to enable staff to ensure that information is created, used, archived and disposed of appropriately and in accordance with records retention requirements.

The use of some information is constrained either by legislation, such as current data protection law, or in order to protect the interests of the University, while other information may need to be made freely available, such as information in response to freedom of information legislation requests and research papers.  The IGO co-ordinates responses to these requests.

Information is a valuable asset to the University and we facilitate a risk-based approach to ensure these assets are protected.  If incidents occur which jeopardise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of this information, we ensure that appropriate action is taken to minimise any harm or distress to individuals or impact on the University, and requires that arrangements are put in place to prevent the incident reoccurring. 

Vision

Our vision is: 

  • To build and embed an Information Governance framework to establish best practice, ensure the University’s legal and statutory compliance and to achieve a recognised standard of excellence.
  • To challenge established processes, manage risks, develop policies and provide guidance to ensure leadership and staff process all information in a secure, consistent way.