Blog: Reflections on the Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord Launch Event
Earlier this month we held the launch event for the renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord - and, after more than a year of planning, engagement, drafting and partnership working, it was a joyful and significant moment. One that gave me pause to reflect.
The renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord had its proper launch earlier this month after over a year of shared work across sectors and its formal signing in March. This was chance to celebrate what partnership in Greater Manchester has already made possible, and to set our sights ahead to what the Accord can help us achieve next. As the officer leading on the consultation and development of the new Accord through the months of workshops, meetings and consultation conversations, it was a strange yet brilliant feeling to have it all finally come to life in the room.
The Accord, now in place until 2035, is Greater Manchester's shared commitment to working differently across the VCFSE and public sectors. Put simply – it’s a practical tool for shifting power, strengthening accountability and making sure decisions are shaped by the communities they affect. It’s not supposed to sit dustily on the shelf, it’s supposed to be used, dogeared, creating a fundamental shift in what’s possible when partners use it to change how they work together.
Colleagues joined us from across the VCFSE sector, local authorities, GMCA, NHS Greater Manchester, transport, research, fire and rescue and more. The room reflected exactly what the Accord is about: different organisations, roles and perspectives, with a shared purpose in how we work better together for residents, communities, places and the environment.
A recurring theme was that the Accord is bigger than one project, programme, person or organisation. It's about creating the conditions that make better work possible: relationships, our (party!) 'HAAT' values in practice - Honesty, Ambition, Accountability, Trust - and a willingness to keep showing up. That's easy to say and much harder to hold onto day to day, which is probably why it was worth making silly and memorable, for all who are trying to do exactly that.
Eve Holt's keynote gave us a helpful, poetic challenge for the next phase. One line that stood out to me was about the Accord no longer being on the edges, but in the design lines of the system - not in the margins, but in the mainstream. That feels like our real task ahead. The renewed Accord shouldn't be treated as an additional process or add-on. It should be baked in, as the way we design and deliver everything else.
The three headline areas for the renewed Accord - Involve and Devolve, Resource and Enable, and Recognise and Value - are deliberately practical. They're about long-standing questions around power, funding, decision-making and recognising the VCFSE sector's contribution. This will shape a lot of what I’m now going to be working on with other Accord officers, VCFSE leaders and public sector colleagues.
A huge thank you to everyone who made the launch possible: speakers, workshop leads, panellists, performers, facilitators, colleagues behind the scenes (in particular Lucy) and everyone who came ready to reflect, take part and celebrate. From thoughtful discussion to actual dancing(!), the day captured the energy and collaborative spirit that defines Greater Manchester's VCFSE sector.
The launch marked the beginning of the next phase - turning the commitments we've made into action. That's the bit of this role I'm most looking forward to, helping turn this into practical shifts that people can rely on. There's still much to do, but the launch showed a strong foundation to build from: energy in the room, honesty in the conversations, and a growing group of people ready to make the Accord real.
Read the Accord in full.
Visit our new Accord microsite.
