Nearly 500 people from across Greater Manchester came together (on 3rd October 2024) to talk about growing community power and decision making at our third Live Well event.
The event harnessed the strength and creativity of our Live Well movement, edging us closer in our ambition to transform neighbourhood working towards prevention.
Live Well is Greater Manchester’s shared commitment to ensuring consistent, everyday support across all neighbourhoods. It’s about helping residents manage life’s pressures, to live as well as possible, and to find good work.
Mayor and co-chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, Andy Burnham, called for devolved control over employment funding, so that communities can design for themselves what support they get to overcome everyday practical issues. This would be a Live Well offer in every neighbourhood. You can read more about Andy’s ambition on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority website.
Attendees came from diverse and varied backgrounds and organisations including:
- Councils,
- Voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations,
- NHS organisations,
- Universities and research,
- Community champions, leaders and lived experience groups,
- National and local funders,
- Housing associations,
- National think tanks and campaigns,
- Action networks and equalities panels.
Every single person is crucial to realising our Live Well vision, which is to create a radical shift in how public services collaborate with communities. We must prioritise prevention, economic inclusion, and social connection as the foundations of a healthier and stronger society.
Elephants Trail team of community reporters defined community power as ‘finding ways to make things happen’. They saw people coming together and shifting things for the better and created a film called ‘Able’ – which is available above.
Some key take home messages from our event.
Community-led.
We learnt how communities are laying the vital groundwork to make their voices heard. People and places showed how they are working in new and creative ways to ensure community voice is at the heart of decision-making, changing the way support is designed and delivered, and growing community power in their neighbourhoods.
Locally delivered.
We heard how the different areas of Greater Manchester are having open and honest conversations with residents and community organisations that recognise people’s strengths –co-producing services together.
Regionally supported.
Alison McKensie Folan, Chief Executive Officer of Wigan Council and Live Well portfolio lead opened the day and was later joined by leaders, including Mayor Andy Burnham and Mark Fisher, Chief Executive of NHS Greater Manchester (plus others) to respond to questions from attendees.
They highlighted their collective call for the devolution of power out of Westminster, across our systems and into the hands of neighbourhoods and communities, and commitment to shifting our public services towards prevention, and away from high-cost reaction, to support everyone to Live Well.
Nationally enabled.
Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, gave a keynote address, talking about the importance of joining up support for work, health, and skills to support people into good work. And how working with Mayors, local areas and community groups is essential to delivering this. She said: “You’re pioneering in Greater Manchester. We want to learn and unleash the huge potential.”
More about our Live Well events
Live Well has been gaining momentum over the last year. It is supported by £1million from the National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. Five projects in Greater Manchester have received funding, plus our Live Well events, to bring people together and drive forward community-driven prevention.
Thursday’s event was developed with hundreds of people, voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations, community and lived experience groups, and partners from across public services, in partnership with Greater Manchester Networks Connect, bringing together a range of digital, food poverty, climate, and homelessness social justice and action networks across the city region.
Visit our Live Well pages for more information.
