We’re a Leadership Group dedicated to promoting the role and involvement of the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector in Greater Manchester.

We are are a partner in the VCFSE Accord which is a three-way agreement between us, the GMCA and the GM NHS Integrated Care System, based in a relationship of mutual trust, working together, and sharing responsibility. 

As we enter the final year of the Accord, following the pause of the Greater Manchester Equality Alliance's (GM=EqAl) work in November 2024, we’re keen to gather your insights on their future priorities and governance.

A review process is currently underway with the membership. Alongside this, we are seeking insights from external stakeholders to help shape our understanding of the wider landscape for GM=EqAl in the year ahead, possible opportunities, and help inform discussions on the Alliance’s future governance.

We would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete this short survey. Your input is invaluable in ensuring that GM EqAl remains impactful and representative of the VCFSE sector.

GM Live Well aims to tackle health, social and economic inequalities by changing how public services work and are delivered, and how they work with people and communities.

Our new blog shares more about GM Live Well and the role of our sector within it. We have also produced a one-pager visual summary of key points which you can read here.

Last week, we attended the GM Live Well conference on 'growing great everyday support in every neighbourhood' at the beautiful Manchester Monastery in Gorton. It was great to see such incredible representation from the GM VCFSE sector, including some members of the GM VCFSE Leadership Group.

We have shared key learnings and event highlights in a blog which you can read at the link below.

GM VCFSE Leadership Group member Liz Windsor-Welsh, CEO of Action Together and Director at 10GM, and John Hannen, have joined the GMCA in advisory roles after years of pioneering relationship building in Greater Manchester.

In this blog, Susie Wight, Strategic Lead at 10GM and VCFSE Accord Officer, provides a recap on another lively recent VCFSE Commissioning and Investment meeting, which discussed critical issues around unfair funding decisions, systemic barriers, and the gap between words of comfort and action. Discussions focused on disparities in uplift rates, delayed contracts, and the financial instability facing VCFSE organisations.

Caroline Simpson, provides a welcome, covering Greater Manchester's 10-year growth plan and inspirations for GM Live Well following the conference on 19th March, among other things. 

A quicker, easier way to pay for travel across Bee Network buses and trams is now here.

Contactless tap and go is the hassle-free way for full fare paying adults to pay – and know you’ll be charged the best fare.

Simply tap your contactless card, phone or smart watch on the bus or tram card reader. No need to work out what you’ll pay. Keep tapping with the same card or device and you’ll pay the cheapest fare based on the number of journeys you make.

For buses you’ll pay no more than £5/day or £20/week to make as many journeys as you like. And if you regularly use both buses and trams, you’ll get unlimited travel for a max of £9.50/day or £41/week.

How does it work? On bus: tap once on the ticket machine when you get on. On tram: tap the card reader at your tram stop before you get on – and after you get off. It’s that simple.

NHS Greater Manchester, and other local Integrated Care Boards, have been asked to cut staff and reduce running costs by 50% in the next 6 months. This is of considerable concern, and we offer our support and thoughts to our NHS colleagues across Greater Manchester at this difficult time.

At this point, it is difficult to assess what this will mean, in terms of the impact on VCFSE groups in Greater Manchester. We know this is a difficult time for all those who do what they do for the communities and citizens of Greater Manchester. Partners have been supportive, but the reality is that the operating environment is challenging for all.

We are happy to share that Rob Bellingham, recently retired Chief Commissioning Officer at NHS Greater Manchester (GM), will be supporting the VCFSE sector in GM on a short-term piece of work.

The work, hosted by VSNW will involve supporting the GM VCFSE Leadership Group’s s ‘Influencing Health’ programme which aims to enable the VCFSE sector to play a meaningful role in the shaping and delivery of health strategies in the city-region.

NHS Greater Manchester is inviting you to join them for a collaborative workshop on 10th April to co-create a shared understanding of co-production that reflects the incredible work and diverse viewpoints from all sectors across Greater Manchester. 

This monthly bulletin is an overview of the work underway across our health and care system; the progress being made and any key developments.

GM Mayor Andy Burnham shares more about the WorkWell pilot - Greater Manchester is one of 15 areas selected to pilot the WorkWell service, running until 31 March 2026. With £7 million Government funding, we’re able to offer tailored support for people struggling to stay in work due to health issues or disabilities, as well as for those who have recently left work due to poor health, helping them return to employment.

10GM want the Greater Manchester VCFSE Data and Intelligence Network to be a collective space with shared ownership. So they're inviting you to a co-design session on 23 April to develop and structure our next peer learning network meeting (in June) where they will be focusing on how to approach data in smaller and less resourced VCFSE organisations.