Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-2035

Launched alongside the strategy, ‘Together we are Greater Manchester’ is a new partnership identity that recognises Greater Manchester’s ‘hyper-collaborative’ approach. Collaboration is key to the approach of the GM Strategy which recognises the importance of uniting all sectors – public, private, academic, voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise – under a single shared vision in order to share risk, hold each other to account and provide rigorous and constructive challenge informed by data and deep local knowledge.

This ethos was reflected in the development of the GM Strategy. Over the past couple of months, GM VCFSE Leadership Group members have fed into and helped shape the strategy to ensure our sector’s priorities were reflected. These included an emphasis on community wealth and power sharing as a means of tackling inequality, a recognition of the complex intersections that impact people and their ability to grow wealth and have power, a recognition of the valuable role the VCFSE sector as a system partner, and of our role as service providers in health and social care.

Greater Manchester Strategy: The key messages

The Strategy lays out its overall vision for the future of a thriving city region where everyone can live a good life. It recognises that economic and social progress have always gone hand in hand, which means that key to the strategy is growing the economy and ensuring all GM residents are able to live well.

Greater Manchester is only successful if every part of our city region and every person in our city region is successful.

These plans for growth and for residents are underpinned by seven workstreams which are designed to fix the foundations of life – shelter, safety, mobility, opportunity and support - each delivered in a way that ensures a greener, more equal future for all.

Investment for the VCFSE sector

To support sustainable, community-led change, the Strategy recognises the vital role of the VCFSE sector. It also recognises the work of the Accord in improving outcomes for Greater Manchester citizens. By handing over power, funding and investment to the VCFSE sector, Greater Manchester will be able to grow the resilience and agency of communities and individuals, as well as social and economic capital. The Strategy reads:

“For years, our voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector has plugged the gaps in our welfare state, fostering hope, connection and resilience in our communities.”

“We will properly recognise the vital role social, civic and community institutions play in supporting our people day to day by handing over power, funding and investment, so they have the resources they need to continue what they do so well.”

Specifically, investment will come through GM’s Live Well ambitions. A network of Live Well centres will provide community spaces and everyday support, bringing together public services and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, with dedicated funding and an investment strategy that recognises the foundational benefits that the VCFSE sector offers.

A focus on prevention

Greater Manchester is looking to become a national Prevention Demonstrator which will provide more control and flexibility to deliver a new approach to public service that prioritises preventions as a means of tackling ill-health.

“Instead of waiting for people to fall into crisis or for existing problems to escalate, we will be proactive, investing in prevention, early intervention and community-led health, care and support.”

The VCFSE sector are experts in prevention and are well positioned in communities to support people to live well – to tackle the social determinants of ill-health, so we look forward to investment to grow this work and deliver for Greater Manchester residents. The Strategy notes that:

“the best of public services and social, civic and community organisations will work together at a very local level, embedding everyday support in every neighbourhood to create health and wellbeing and give the next generation the best start in life.”

Read the full strategy here: togetherwearegm.co.uk

We look forward the GM Strategy delivery plan in the coming months to better understand how it will be implemented.