Renewed GM VCFSE Accord signed, building on a proud legacy of collaboration
Today, a renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord for 2026 - 2035 was signed by leaders across Greater Manchester’s public sector, including the health and care system, and the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector (VCFSE).
Greater Manchester stands on a proud legacy of partnership-working between the public sector and our diverse VCFSE sector.
As many of Greater Manchester’s communities navigate hardship, the role of the VCFSE sector has never been more important. It is with this in mind that the Accord has been refreshed, renewing our commitment to each other across three priority areas for change:
- Involve and Devolve
- Resource and Enable
- Recognise and Value
The Accord will act as a framework for how we will work together for the next nine years underpinned by honesty, ambition, accountability and trust. Together, we will build a thriving Greater Manchester where everyone can live a good life.
Signatories include:
- Greater Manchester VCFSE Leadership Group (on behalf of the VCFSE sector in Greater Manchester)
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
- NHS Greater Manchester (NHS GM)
- Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS)
- The 10 Local Authorities in Greater Manchester(Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan).
This Accord is open to welcoming additional signatories.
As part of the agreement, all signatories will embed the Accord into governance, leadership and accountability structures, creating a consistent, system-wide approach that will deliver meaningful, measurable change for our residents, communities, places and the environment.
Councillor Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council, Cabinet Member for Growth, and GMCA’s portfolio lead for Equalities and Communities, said:
“We know how important our work with the VCFSE groups and organisations across Greater Manchester is to serving our residents. The updated Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord indicates just how much of a priority these relationships between the public sector and VCFSE sector are.
But the Accord is much more than a piece of paper - we will work together to make significant progress against all the pledges made in the Accord, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s communities.”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“Over the coming decade, we see our not-for-profit sector playing a much bigger role in the delivery of services and everyday support for our residents through Live Well. This is why it’s vital to update this Accord to ensure it provides a foundation for that and for the VCFSE organisations we will be relying on and working side by side for the benefit of our residents. By renewing our commitment to the Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord, we are reaffirming our intention to do exactly that.
The Accord’s shared commitments - from working together to devolve decision‑making to communities, to increasing investment in locally rooted, community‑led organisations so wealth stays within our neighbourhoods - are essential to delivering a decade of good growth which is touched and felt by everyone across the city region.
I’m delighted that colleagues across the public sector and the VCFSE sector are united in driving this forward together.”
Prof Colin Scales, Acting Chief Executive of NHS Greater Manchester, said:
"This Accord reflects the direction set nationally for a more integrated, preventative and community-focused health and care system, and shows how Greater Manchester is at the forefront of putting that into practice.
We know we cannot improve population health or tackle inequalities without the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. These organisations bring reach, trust and insight that the NHS alone cannot replicate.
This is about moving beyond partnership in principle to partnership in practice, where power, resource and responsibility are shared to deliver better outcomes for our communities."
Warren Escadale, Chair of the GM VCFSE Leadership Group, said:
"Across Greater Manchester, there are over 17,000 groups, tens of thousands of staff, hundreds of thousands of volunteers and carers, active in everyday voluntary and community action in every part of our city region.
People and communities who recognise that the world can be better, and commit to making that happen.
A few of us are signing this Accord today, but doing things differently with our voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector must be felt, lived and delivered by all of us.
Greater Manchester, its opportunities and its challenges, belongs to everyone."
Our Track Record
The renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord 2026-2035 builds on a decade of formal collaboration, succeeding the first Accord (2021–2026) and, before that, our groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (2017–2021) which marked the first formal commitment to ensuring the VCFSE sector could contribute fully to Greater Manchester’s devolution journey.
The Accord has played a pivotal role in raising the profile of Greater Manchester’s VCFSE sector among public sector partners, strengthening recognition of its vital contribution to society, and the health and wellbeing of our communities. Our shared vision for collaboration ensures that lived experience and meaningful representation remain central to the decisions that impact communities.
By supporting inclusive decision-making, the Accord has enabled VCFSE organisations to be better represented in strategic spaces, helping to ensure that the needs of communities are considered in planning and delivery. This collaborative approach directly enhances outcomes for people by making public services more responsive and equitable.
The Accord’s role as an enabler has led to a significant range of community-driven solutions. Examples include improved funding and commissioning practices to support VCFSE sustainability (e.g. the development of the Fair Funding Protocol), the establishment of the Alternative Provider Collaborative (now a CIC), increased support for the VCFSE workforce, including volunteers, through the GM Workforce Hub, and the development of the Inclusion and Wellbeing Partnership Fund by GM=EqAl as part of GM Live Well.
The Accord has also seen national recognition- its pioneering approach was included in the UK Government’s Civil Society Covenant, as an example of best practice to working with civil society to deliver lasting change.
The wider context
Developed in consultation of over 750 participants, the renewed Accord stands alongside and contributes to a wider landscape of shared ambitions, including:
- Local VCFSE strategies across our ten boroughs;
- and Greater Manchester’s Live Well and Prevention ambitions.
The Accord aims to complement these strategies and existing work by offering a clear framework for how our sectors work together to achieve these ambitions, while fully respecting the independence, and diversity of all partners.
We intend for the Accord to build on our understanding of effective partnership reflects our local context, our specific Greater Manchester priorities and ways of working.
