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

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Have your say in our consultation to shape how the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector and the public sector in Greater Manchester work together to improve outcomes for communities and citizens.

A new agreement, implementation plan and programme of work will begin 1st April 2026 and we want to understand your priorities and experiences to shape this.

There are multiple ways to share your thoughts:

• Join our online session Tuesday 30th September, 10am-12pm: book your place here.
• an online survey
• an online ‘mural’
• an in-person workshop in Manchester on 23rd October - book your place here.

The deadline to respond to the consultation is Friday 31^st October.

This year marks a significant milestone for the GM VCFSE Leadership Group, as we celebrate 10 years of championing collaboration, community empowerment and strategic influence across the city-region.

Founded in 2015 in response to the growing momentum around Greater Manchester’s devolution agenda, the GM VCFSE Leadership Group is a coalition of 36 VCFSE leaders determined to ensure the voice of the VCFSE sector is heard in delivering a more equal city-region.

Greater Manchester has been selected as one of eight Trailblazer areas in the UK Government’s 'Get Britain Working' White Paper, which sets out reforms to supporting people towards work.

The £10million fund is being used to fill gaps in current delivery and starting to shape the system for the future. Part of this work, led by VSNW and 10GM, involves growing VCFSE capacity and capability to enable engagement with the programme.

This briefing from 10GM highlights how local VCFSE infrastructure organisations are driving and supporting the Live Well movement across Greater Manchester.

Over the past year, localities have tested participatory grant making, begun developing flagship Live Well Centres, Spaces and Offers, learned from Accelerator Sites, and explored the Neighbourhood Model to join up services around communities.

This work highlights how local infrastructure and the wider VCSE sector in Greater Manchester are central to shaping the next phase of Live Well.

Local Implementation

The ten local boroughs are planning how to spend their share of the the £10million GM Implementation Support Fund. The funding is being used to develop an initial Live Well centre in each locality as well as supporting the broader ambitions of Live Well to grow great everyday support for everyone. Locality Leads have been identified across all 10 areas and detailed implementation plans have been developed - a summary of which will be provided next month.

Co-creating emerging hallmarks for Live Well centres, spaces, offers and neighbourhoods

To support those at the forefront of Live Well implementation, a practical toolkit is being created for developing a locally-led Live Well approach. It will capture the emerging Live Well hallmarks - a shared vision for what great everyday support looks like in every neighbourhood across Greater Manchester. These hallmarks are the result of hundreds
of conversations, co-production activities and co-design sessions. Live document to follow for feedback.

Working with Primary Care

Following the engagement with Primary Care about Live Well that took place during April-June this year, a briefing is now available. Read it here.

Read the latest GM Live Well bulletin in full at the link below.

Thursday 9th October, Manchester

Join GMCA for the premiere of Unseen Voices: Fairytales from the Edge, a film spotlighting the lived experiences of people in Greater Manchester who have faced homelessness, poverty, addiction and other challenges.

GMCA is seeking to provide contract funding for the delivery of the Youth Civic Leadership Programme which aims to increase ethnic diversity in civic leadership roles by empowering young people across all ten Greater Manchester boroughs. Building on two years of success, the programme will develop young people’s leadership skills, confidence and understanding of public roles such as councillors, school governors and board members.

Closing date: 12pm, Friday 24^th October 2025

The latest edition of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership's (GM ICP) partnership bulletin provides an overview of the work underway across GM's health and care system; the progress being made and any key developments.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, provides reassurance that Greater Manchester will keep patient voice front and centre, whatever the future format of Healthwatch. He also notes that the Prevention Demonstrator is central to the approach in Greater Manchester. It will allow GM to test how the NHS 10-Year Plan can work in a devolved city region by looking at the implementation of Live Well and its prevention-first approach to health and wellbeing.

• Mark Fisher CBE, Chief Executive of NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, has announced he is to retire. Mark will leave NHS Greater Manchester at the end of March next year having completed 42 years full-time public service. He was appointed Chief Executive of NHS Greater Manchester when it was established in July 2022.

• Warren Heppolette, currently Chief Officer for Strategy and Innovation at NHS Greater Manchester, will shortly be taking up a secondment to the GMCA, as the Prevention Demonstrator Director - a new role in recognition of Greater Manchester being at the heart of the national 10 Year Health Plan.

This Toolkit has been developed by NHS Greater Manchester, with support from Resolve Poverty, as a practical and empowering resource for the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership to address poverty as a determinant of poor health and inequalities. 

Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW) has opened nominations for the Funding and Commissioning Awards 2025, celebrating commissioners and funders who have gone the extra mile to support the VCFSE sector across the North West.

The awards recognise examples of good practice where funders and commissioners have:

• Listened to and understood VCFSE organisations
• Built financial resilience in challenging times
• Worked in partnership to make a real difference for communities

Nominations are open until Friday 3 October 2025, and winners will be announced at the VSNW Annual Conference on Thursday 27 November 2025.

Anyone can submit a nomination, and it only takes a few minutes to complete the online form.

Is there something you would like to include in a future bulletin? Get in touch with lucy.north@vsnw.org.uk