Professor Susan Baines died on the 10th November 2023 at the age of 67.

Sue was diagnosed with cancer in September. Initially, she hoped that with treatment she might continue to work for some time to come and over recent weeks she talked to colleagues about research projects and a book that she was editing. However, her illness progressed rapidly in the last few weeks and she died at home with her family around her.

Sue was Professor of Social Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan. Prior to that she was at the University of Newcastle where she did her PhD and worked as a researcher for many years. Sue’s research was inter-disciplinary and she was committed to feminism and the co-production of knowledge. Her earlier work sought to understand ‘work’ in all its diversity with a particular focus on entrepreneurship.

Latterly her focus shifted towards the co-creation of public services and she co-led the large European project on Innovative Social Investment: Strengthening communities in Europe (INNOSI). She was the driving force on an edited book on innovation in social investment that drew on research undertaken during the INNOSI project.

Sue then led the main empirical research Work Package on Co-creation of Service Innovations in Europe (CoSIE), another large, European project and continued to work on research projects in the UK until very recently. When she died, she was in the final stages of co-editing a book on co-creation in public services based on the CoSIE project, which will be published next year.

Over the last few years, Sue was Head of Faculty Ethics for Arts and Humanities. Many people in the Faculty and across the University appreciated her clear, careful and supportive approach.

Sue was a wise and generous colleague who collaborated with a wide range of researchers and practitioners including those just starting their careers and senior professors. She travelled extensively and many of us remember evenings in different European cities, sharing food and wine, laughing and debating ideas with her.

A commemorative event is being planned to take place at Manchester Metropolitan University next year and will be advertised through PERU’s website and social media channels.

Sue leaves behind her husband, David, her children Jack and Josephine, and grandchildren Rosie and Henry.