Insights
How can knowledge be shared better across the NHS?
Building on experience from the COVID-19 response, IfM PhD student Carl-Magnus von Behr explains how new research is looking at knowledge sharing across NHS trusts.
Lessons for emergency healthcare logistics
IfM PhD student Rob Glew reflects on the lessons learned from two years of working on emergency healthcare logistics during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From idea to patient: the IfM approach to healthcare
The IfM has been working on research in healthcare for over 30 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, this meant the institute could respond to new challenges using past experience. Now, the IfM is building on that work across its research and practice.
In COVID-19 vaccines and economic recovery, supply chains loom larger than ever
Jag Srai explores the biggest global supply chain challenges as we look toward vaccinating the world — and riding out the peaks and troughs of supply and demand as economies reopen.
Business model innovation is key to beating COVID-19 debt
New business models are essential to unlocking the economic growth potential of digital technologies, and offer a way out of rising debt-to-GDP ratios.
The power of repurposing: How smaller manufacturers helped the UK withstand COVID-19’s first wave
As COVID-19 battered Britain’s economy and threatened to overwhelm the NHS, many small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms regrouped, repurposed and provided the vital materials the country needed. How did they do it, and when a new crisis arises, could they do it again?
Mission critical supply chains: When recall isn’t the best option
When crisis hits and critical products are in short supply, the risk of recalls rises as corners are cut in production. But when these products are needed to save lives, recall isn’t the best option.
The Maker Movement vs COVID-19: How a DIY community responded to the pandemic
The availability of 3D printers, laser cutters and other digital fabrication tools has led to the rise of the Maker Movement, a growing community with a DIY approach to design and production. As the COVID-19 crisis hit the UK, these ‘makers’ sprang into action. Their response has revealed the potential for innovation among the general public — but also the limitations of an informal network and a lack of standardisation.
How manufacturing can emerge stronger: Policies to support industrial recovery and growth after COVID-19
This briefing note examines key policy instruments aimed at supporting the recovery and future growth of manufacturing industries in the wake of COVID-19.
Manufacturing a better world after COVID-19
Tim Minshall, Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation and Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, shares an overview of how teams of Cambridge engineers have helped the local, national and international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can use the lessons learned to support a strong and sustainable recovery.
How IfM students helped the NHS in Cambridge during COVID-19
Three teams of students from the MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management course at the Institute for Manufacturing worked with the NHS on issues including testing processes, oxygen supply mapping and patient flow modelling during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Top tips to get your firm fighting fit post-COVID
Leading experts advise how businesses can best prepare for the months and years ahead, and any future disruption that may come.
Test, Tag and Trace: A digital solution for getting back to the office safely
As people across the UK gradually return to offices, a widely available, low-cost technology can help business protect their employees and ensure a COVID-safe workplace, write Dr Veronica Martinez and Dr Mahsa Honary.
COVID-19: Manufacturing at a turning point
At this IfM Briefing, leading experts from the Institute for Manufacturing draw lessons from the response of firms and governments to the COVID-19 pandemic, and look at how the manufacturing industry is likely to change and adapt in the months and years ahead.
COVID-19 and the global contraction in FDI
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing massive disruptions to flows of foreign direct investment. Jostein Hauge and Adnan Seric explain why developing countries are likely to be hit the hardest.
UK supply chains: Learning the right lessons from COVID-19
Carlos López-Gómez addresses the myths surrounding the weakness of UK supply chains in the coronavirus crisis, and explains what must be done for UK supply chains to emerge stronger.
COVID-19 critical supplies: The manufacturing repurposing challenge
Amid the COVID-19 emergency, policy makers are calling for manufacturing firms to temporarily repurpose their production to make critical supplies such as masks, ventilators and test kits. Building on a recent study from the Policy Links Unit, this article reviews some of the challenges involved in repurposing and potential ways to mitigate them.
Connecting healthcare and manufacturing: The challenges of COVID-19
Tim Minshall, head of the IfM, looks at the many challenges of matching offers of support from the manufacturing community with the dynamic and uncertain needs of the healthcare system.
What does lockdown mean for the future of our food supply?
Supply chain collaboration at local and international levels will be crucial in the months ahead, but ultimately COVID-19 will result in a rethinking of our reliance on global supply chains, in favour of more resilient and more local production.
Could intellectual property concerns slow the response to COVID-19?
A new paper from IfM and University of Cambridge researchers explores how to avoid IP-related delays in the pandemic response.
COVID-19: International manufacturing policy responses
How are governments supporting manufacturing during the COVID-19 crisis? A new report from the IfM’s Policy Links Unit reviews the current responses of 11 countries and the EU, providing a snapshot of the international policy landscape.
