New hosting and support hub for VCS groups
GMCVO is part of a new partnership of VCS, business and faith organisations developing a new hosting and support hub for voluntary action and community enterprise in Greater Manchester.
Currently called GM AddVentures, the project will provide a legal and governance structure that small groups and projects can ‘plug in’ to, and broker high-quality support and resources for them at low cost.
The initiative aims to free-up local people with ideas and skills to focus on delivering their project or service, without needing to set up a charity or company.For its first 18 months it will be funded by a Transforming Local Infrastructure grant from the Office for Civil Society.
The implementation project is being managed by GMCVO’s Chris Heard, and two project officers (Helen Clayton looking after partnerships and Jo Nightingale handling communications)were appointed in June. The team is currently working on AddVentures’ business model, structure and brand, and will start piloting services in the autumn.
Contact: Chris Heard, 0161 277 1030,
Gathering evidence for poverty report
GMCVO has been providing the secretariat to the Greater Manchester Poverty Commission, helping to gather written evidence of the impact of poverty across Greater Manchester from frontline voluntary and statutory services.
The Commission began work in May to “define the nature of poverty and inequality across Greater Manchester, examine the extent and impact of poverty, raise awareness of the issue and report on its causes and possible solutions”. Enjoying cross-party support, the Commission includes representation from Greater Manchester’s key stakeholders in the private, public and voluntary sectors.
GMCVO is also working in partnership with Church Action on Poverty to organise participatory events where members of the public who are living in poverty can tell their stories to the Commissioners.
So far, 23 people have provided first-hand testimonies, and 49 organisations have made 73 submissions of written evidence.
Contact: Andy Rawling, 0161 277 1032,
Generating renewable energy projects
In April, GMCVO was delighted to receive a contract from DEFRA to deliver Generating Success, an 18-month community renewable energy project.
GMCVO’s Community Hubs team, in collaboration with MERCi and the Carbon Co-op, will be providing start-up support to new community energy enterprises and sharing learning through future events. We have started work with four ‘Trailblazer’ projects in rural Greater Manchester. The role of these projects is to inspire others, provide peer support and negotiate collectively.
The public launch of Generating Success is on 6th September at the Hat Museum in Stockport; with a masterclass workshop immediately before and a network social event afterwards. More information will be given about our Trailblazers in Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Wigan; and there will be an update on the Stockport hydro-projects.
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Transport plan to reduce carbon and congestion
Transport for Greater Manchester recently secured £32.5 million from the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund.GMCVO is supporting the plan to invest in sustainable transport and travel across the region.
Projects in the bid include: cycling and walking initiatives; community transport schemes connecting people to employment; and using IT to improve traffic management. It will also support the expansion of Greater Manchester’s ‘smart’ ticketing scheme, and the provision of ‘real-time’ travel information through the internet and smartphone apps.The plan has the potential to take 26 million kilometres of commuter car journeys off the roads, turning them into 10 million extra public transport journeys and two million extra cycling trips each year; and to reduce carbon emissions by around 1,000 tonnes a year.GMCVO will be helping to consult, engage and involve the voluntary sector, communities and local people as the plan develops.
Contact:David Campbell, 0161 277 1014,
Making research interviews more effective and fun
In June, GMCVO hosted the internationally-renowned Morgan Centre to bring cutting-edge qualitative research techniques to a voluntary sector audience.
GMCVO worked with the Manchester University-based Morgan Centre to ensure that the content of a half-day workshop was specifically tailored to the needs of a third sector audience. Participants heard about a wide range of innovative techniques that can enhance the effectiveness and overall experience of qualitative interviews. The workshop highlighted how these can be adapted to a voluntary sector context. Each participant had brought a personal object or photograph of their choice with which they conducted their own one-on-one interviews during the workshop. There was also opportunity to share experiences and get feedback and advice.
Due to the strong demand for this course and the excellent feedback, GMCVO is in negotiation with the Morgan Centre about the possibility of offering future research training at the St Thomas Centre.
Contact: Susanne Martikke, 0161 277 1031,
New identity for wellbeing consortium
The Greater Manchester wellbeing consortium has undergone a branding exercise and now has a new identity: Converge.
In alignment with its marketing strategy and plan, Converge now has an online presence where you can find information on its current membership and download its new business plan for the next three years.
Converge’s 41 member organisations have access to a ‘members area’ of the website where there is stored information designed to enable partnership and collaboration. This information has been gathered as a result of a number of ‘supply-chain formation events’ run earlier in the year where groups came together to map their potential for service delivery under a number of health and social care headings. These headings are derived from the Whole Place Community Budget initiative and are a means to position the sector in preparation for the oncoming public service reforms.
Contact: Neil Walbran, 0161 277 1036,