 GM Live Well is Greater Manchester’s commitment to ensuring great everyday support is available in every neighbourhood. It will tackle health, social and economic inequalities by changing how public services work with people and communities to grow opportunities for everyone to Live Well. GM Live Well will ensure everyone has the support, control, connections and resources to lead a healthy and happy life.
#GMLiveWell
We are excited to share the latest version of the Live Well Hallmarks that have been developed in true Live Well style - through hundreds of co-production sessions, workshops, and community conversations. The hallmarks also reflect collective learning from public services, the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector, and local communities.
The hallmarks aim to capture a shared vision of what great everyday support should look like in every neighbourhood across Greater Manchester. They have been designed to support those involved in the local implementation of Live Well by offering a set of guiding principles and examples drawn from real practice.
It’s important to say that this will be a live and evolving document - not a fixed blueprint. We expect it to develop further as we continue learning and working together across neighbourhoods, localities and sectors, with communities.
Read the hallmarks here
If you have any thoughts, comments or reflections to share learning and develop the hallmarks further, please email GMLiveWell@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
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Our ten local boroughs have developed plans to spend their share of the £10million GM Implementation Support Fund to develop Live Well centres, spaces and offers locally.
In this issue, we share some of what Stockport is doing to grow great everyday support for everyone.
Over 500 people have already joined Stockport’s ‘Welcome to Live Well’ and ‘Making Every Contact Count’ training sessions, helping community-facing staff feel confident connecting residents to local support.
At one of these sessions, when Clare Taylor, Neighbourhood Co-ordinator for Werneth, heard that Stockport Homes' 'Your Local Pantry in Woodley’ was struggling to meet demand, she brought together a local team to run a successful food drive with Morrisons Bredbury. Nancy, a volunteer reflected:
“We only moved to Bredbury/Woodley in September last year. And we’d heard that the Woodley Pantry was an important local amenity. I wanted to give something back to the community that’s been so welcoming towards my family and I.”
It’s just one example of how Live Well is connecting people in their communities, offering more ways for them to help and support each other where they live.
You can sign up for Stockport’s November training sessions here
Click here to learn more about Stockport Live Well
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The Live Well Communities Fund has been created to attract more resources for the communities of Greater Manchester and ensure that funding has the biggest possible impact on health inequalities. Over the last year, we have been prototyping this Fund – to see how it could work - and building the partnership. Every locality has contributed to the prototype, by exploring new ways of shifting power and getting grant funding to grassroots groups experiencing inequalities
Through this we have deployed over £1m, which has so far (with just over half of it spent) been allocated to over 250 groups, with over 750 people involved in decision making, and with projects funded so far likely to positively impact 5,000 people, from all walks of life
But it doesn't stop there - we have begun developing an agreement with key partners to enable the Fund to operate as a robust independent entity in its next stages and have attracted national attention for its ambition and delivery, and are in line as an ‘early adopter’ for a national match funding scheme.
Grant funding applications as part of the fund are now open in Manchester and Rochdale
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Warren Heppolette, Chief Officer for Strategy, Innovation and Population Health at NHS Greater Manchester, has announced he will be starting a secondment at the GMCA as the Prevention Demonstrator Director – a new role in recognition of Greater Manchester being at the heart of the national 10 Year Health Plan.
Being the UK’s first Prevention Demonstrator will give us more control and flexibility to deliver a new approach to public services that focusses on preventing ill health and worklessness, shifting how public services work in partnership with people and communities. This is key to the delivery of our region wide commitment to Live Well.
In a message to his directorate, Warren said:
"The prevention demonstrator work is a chance to show the country what’s possible when prevention is hardwired into public services. It’s about shifting the centre of gravity - from treating illness to creating good health - and Greater Manchester is uniquely placed to lead that shift.”
Warren will start the role on 10 October and you can read more about becoming a Prevention Demonstrator on pages 84-87 in the refreshed Greater Manchester Strategy: Greater Manchester Strategy 2025–35
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On 16 September, we had a fantastic first event exploring Live Well for the Armed Forces Community in Bury. The day brought together networking, insights from the Office of Veterans Affairs, and interactive discussions on how Live Well spaces and centres could be shaped to meet the needs of the community. Aligned with the development of the National Armed Forces Covenant, the event highlighted the commitment to support those who have served, and the drive to embed this within Live Well was warmly welcomed. Many thanks to our Bury colleagues for leading this on behalf of GM. You can watch a video of our Mayor Andy Burnham, opening the event here: Andy Burnham video for Bury Armed Forces Conference
And see an example of community-led practice by veterans in Denton in our community reporting video about great everyday support in our neighbourhoods at 3.02 onwards in Connection.
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On 17 September, 100 people came together at Stretford Public Hall with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to celebrate the Ageing in Place Pathfinder. A short film from the event shows why this work matters for Greater Manchester’s Live Well plans: Ageing in Place Event 2025
For the past three years, the Pathfinder has tested new ways to support older people in their communities. The Ageing Hub, Manchester Metropolitan University and nine local lead organisations worked with older residents to build connections and improve quality of life.
The project focused on areas where older people are more likely to feel lonely or face health and money problems. By listening to older people and building on local strengths, the Pathfinder has reached over 3,000 people aged 50 and over, started 140 local projects and activities, involved 86 residents and 89 organisations in partnership boards and trained 19 residents in community reporting.
At the final event, residents and organisations shared their stories. They showed how trust and strong relationships have been key to success. Early findings from Manchester Metropolitan University confirm that working with older people in this way improves health, social contact and community pride.
You can read more here: Annual reports - Greater Manchester Combined Authority
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On 17 September, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham joined cultural and public health leaders to explore how creativity can support wellbeing and Live Well implementation.
In attendance were representatives from GM Libraries, Arts Council England, Salford City Council and Public Health, Greater Manchester’s Civic University Board, and the wider cultural sector.
Discussions focused on how to maximise the impact of cultural and creative engagement across the city-region, including identifying potential resources, addressing workforce training needs, and developing future cross-sector collaborations. The shared ambition is for Greater Manchester to become the first city-region where residents can truly thrive through inclusive, community-rooted creative opportunities.
A follow-up roundtable, planned for later this year, will explore how creative practice can be used to support people into work and embed this approach across the region.
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On 25 September we launched the GM Live Well Alliance Blueprint.
The blueprint sets out learning so far from the five National Lottery Community Fund Live Well Accelerator Sites, including the kinds of leadership and cross-sector collaboration required to partner with communities - particularly those most impacted by structural inequalities - to actively shape how Live Well evolves.
It is not a formula, but instead offers a guiding framework to support local areas in strengthening their approaches to planning, designing and delivering Live Well in partnership with communities.
The blueprint can be used to:
- Reflect on existing community partnerships and where they could be strengthened or adapted to grow Live Well
- Engage partners around the strategic opportunities for developing Alliances, connected to your Live Well plans
- Convene a cross-sector, community-led Alliance to lead work aligned to your Live Well implementation
Please do read and use the blueprint here
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The blueprint was launched at a GM Live Well Learning Event – Partnering with Communities to Lead Live Well Together, where locality teams came together to explore how we can grow and embed community voice, leadership and decision making in local Live Well implementation across the city-region, a key principle of the GM Live Well approach.
Teams shared learning and examples of brilliant community partnerships, and explored together how we can strengthen our community-led approach in our Live Well ambitions.
We heard from Live Well Accelerator sites on how they have partnered with communities through Live Well Alliances and explored a range of community-led partnerships through Learning Deep Dives:
Partnering with communities to transform decision-making: Hearing from the Rochdale Live Well Accelerator team about their approach to growing relationships across community and system leaders to transform decision-making on anti-poverty and prevention.
Partnering with communities to invest in grassroots neighbourhood prevention: Hearing from the Oldham Live Well Accelerator team about their work to co-design participatory ways of investing in neighbourhood prevention.
Partnering with communities to grow hyper-local ecosystems of support: Hearing from Manchester's Winning Hearts and Minds about their approach to growing community power and improving access to support by fostering locally-rooted connections.
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On 30 September, we hosted a Live Well Live Webinar exploring Participatory Budgeting. We had an incredible lineup of speakers who shared:
- The origins of Participatory Budgeting and what it really means for local communities.
- Young Manchester shared their Hope from Cheetham project and why giving young people a voice in decision-making matters.
- CommUNITY Little Hulton explained how they used Participatory Budgeting to allocate their Live Well Communities Fund and highlighted the importance of inclusive grant applications and voting processes.
Watch the webinar here
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The GM Live Well podcast is in its final stages of production. Hosted by our Mayor Andy Burnham, GM Shapers' Folashade Alonge and the GM Live Well team, the series brings together the voices of more than 100 local people, partners, and national experts with lived and learned experience.
This isn’t your usual podcast. Instead of one-to-one chats, it takes a documentary-style approach, weaving together voices and stories from across our brilliant city region, recorded at our system-wide movement-building events over the past 18 months.
Across eight episodes, you’ll hear the journey Greater Manchester is on to grow everyday support in every neighbourhood through community-led and system-enabled approaches. Together we’ll explore how communities are growing action, power and wealth – and what it really takes to create a Greater Manchester where everyone can live well.
The series launches soon, with new episodes released each week over Autumn/Winter.
9:30am-12:30pm, Manchester – in-person
We have been working closely with a fantastic group of participatory experts to co-design the GM Participation Playbook: Shaping how we Live Well Together. This resource brings together tools and examples of participatory methods from citizens’ assemblies and participatory budgeting to co-production and digital democracy.
At this launch event you will:
- Celebrate the launch with Mayor Andy Burnham, voluntary and community leaders and explore why participation matters more than ever.
- Be the first to receive your own copy of the Playbook and explore the approaches inside.
- Hear directly from colleagues and communities across Greater Manchester who are already putting these methods into practice.
- Meet and connect with others driving the movement for community power and begin to design a participatory process of your own.
- Contribute to a Greater Manchester's shared commitment to action.
Why attend? Connect across the system, strengthen participation in your own work, and align with the growing city-region movement.
Register Here to press PLAY on participation
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10:00am – 11:30am (online)
Regeneration has the power to shape not just places, but people’s lives. Across Greater Manchester, community-led placemaking is showing how regeneration can be done with communities, drawing on local strengths, voices, and ambitions.
In this webinar we will:
- Highlight inspiring examples of community-led placemaking, including the Ageing in Place Pathfinder and resident-led partnerships in Miles Platting.
- Explore how residents, councils, Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations, and partners are working together to create thriving neighbourhoods.
Why attend? If you’re involved in regeneration, planning, housing, or community development, this is a chance to learn and build approaches that put residents in the driving seat.
Register here to reimagine regeneration with communities
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We’re pleased to share an early heads-up: During the week of 9 March 2026, we will be hosting a Live Well Festival.
As always, this will be co-designed with you – communities, partners, and colleagues across Greater Manchester.
Looking back, our March 2025 event ‘Growing Great Everyday Support in Every Neighbourhood’ was a fantastic day of energy, connection and system-wide movement building. Whether you joined us on the day or just want a flavour of what GM Live Well movement building events are all about, you can watch a short highlights video here: Live Well Event - Growing Great Everyday Support in our neighbourhoods
Over the coming months, there will be:
- An open space co-design session in November – open to all who want to shape the festival together.
- Smaller co-design sessions from November at Live Well events, in teams and across GM– providing plenty of opportunities to get involved.
Main ask for now: Please keep that week free of major events so we can come together to learn, reflect, connect, and showcase what Live Well means across our communities, and what impact we are making, together.
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Pride in Place strategy. Central Government’s Pride in Place strategy will invest £150 million across 339 of the UK’s most deprived communities by 2027 – including 19 areas in GM. The investment focuses on improving community spaces, public spaces, and supporting high street regeneration.
The strategy represents a groundbreaking shift in how government works with communities. Unlike previous approaches, it has been developed in consultation with local people, recognising the importance of collaboration and community-led action.
Community-led principles remain at the heart of Pride in Place implementation, with Neighbourhood Boards bringing together local authorities, residents, businesses, campaigners, faith leaders, and community representatives to ensure decisions reflect the needs and aspirations of the whole community.
Find out more here
The decline of the MP-Constituent relationship and how to fix it. A new Demos report highlights a growing disconnect between MPs and the citizens they represent. Drawing on interviews with MPs, constituency staff and focus groups with citizens, the research finds that while MPs are busier than ever responding to constituents, many people feel unheard, unseen and unrepresented. The paper proposes a new model for engagement and rebuilding trust in polities from the ground up.
Read here
Spotlight on Social Prescribing – national rollout findings. A new study published in The Lancet Public Health highlights how social prescribing has rapidly become part of everyday NHS primary care. Since 2019, more than 5.5 million GP consultations have included a social prescribing referral, with 1.3 million people referred in 2023 alone – far exceeding national targets. The report also points to important next steps: ensuring equity of access, supporting community and Voluntary, Faith, Community and Social Enterprise partners, and strengthening evaluation of outcomes. This is a timely and encouraging signal for our Live Well work across Greater Manchester, where we are already building the data, workforce and system partnerships to deliver sustainable impact. Read the full Lancet report here
Government expands Youth Guarantee through sport and community partnerships. The Government has announced a major expansion of the Youth Guarantee, working with football and rugby organisations across the country to help more young people into work or training.
Every Premier League Football Club charity and Rugby Football League is now in discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support the Youth Guarantee. Together, they will use the power of sport to inspire young people, remove barriers to opportunity, and create pathways into employment and skills development as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
A £25 million investment will also see the Youth Hub network nearly double to over 200 locations across the country. Based in community venues such as football clubs, libraries, and community centres, Youth Hubs offer wrap-around support in employment, skills, and wellbeing, bringing services closer to where young people live.
Read more here
Renew raises £1.6 million for Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations. Greater Manchester’s Renew programme is celebrating four years of delivering social and community impact across the city-region. Since its launch, the Renew programme has diverted hundreds of thousands of reusable items from waste, with money from the sale of repaired and upcycled goods reinvested into the Renew Community Fund.
Since 2021, the GM Renew hub has awarded £1.1 million to 110 local projects, supporting a wide range of voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise initiatives.
Find more information on how you can support Renew here
Live More: Shared Lives support for people with Dementia. The Live More Dementia Programme is testing how early, community-based support can help people living with dementia stay well and independent for longer. Delivered by Greater Manchester ADASS, Shared Lives Plus, and all ten GM councils, the programme matches individuals with trained Shared Lives “Sharers”, who offer companionship and meaningful activities in their home and community. The programme is being independently evaluated to build the evidence base for preventive support, ensuring people and families can “live more” with dementia.
You can hear directly from Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, in this short video.
For more information, visit or contact ellie.walsh@sharedlivesplus.org.uk
Creating SPACES for young people's wellbeing. GM #BeeWell data shows that creative health approaches engaging young people into arts, culture, entertainment, and sports (SPACES) improve wellbeing over time.
However, research from the University of Manchester highlights a sharp decline in adolescent well-being in the UK, and participation in SPACES remains unequal, with LGBTQ+ youth and those from disadvantaged backgrounds less likely to access these opportunities.
The findings have pushed researchers to call for a national Creative Health Strategy shaped by young people's voices and informed by local initiatives like the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, GM Moving’s Feel Good Your Way campaign, and Bolton’s youth-led Creatives Now collective.
Read more here
Hate crime information poster for people seeking asylum. Everyone has the right to feel safe where they live. For people seeking asylum, that sense of safety can sometimes be harder to find. A new multilingual poster has been created to help asylum seekers know their rights and understand how to report a hate crime. Download the English version here.
A preconception care toolkit developed in response to public and expert consensus on the need to tackle inequalities in preconception health and care.
UK Preconception Partnership | Preconception care toolkit
Dave and Theo's story about how a bike library is making a difference. Bike libraries act like traditional libraries, but instead of borrowing a book, you can borrow a bike. Leigh’s Bike Library is helping make cycling accessible to more residents, supporting healthier lifestyles, sustainable travel, and community connection.
Watch Dave and Theo’s story here to see how the library is making a difference
Get in touch and find your nearest bike library here
Meet Nolan: Wheels For All’s Pedal Away sessions have helped Nolan to embrace cycling – a hobby which gives him some breathing space along with the chance to make lots of new friends: Instagram
Meet Nolan! | Wheels for All — The UK inclusive cycling charity
Join some Poverty awareness training. A session exploring how we can better understand and support people living in poverty across Greater Manchester. You’ll gain best practice approaches, discover useful resources to support people in need, and explore how strategic and policy responses can help tackle poverty. The session also includes time for discussion and questions, giving you the opportunity to share experiences and reflect with others. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/resolvepoverty/1738856
Join a focus group exploring health and leisure spaces in communities. The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is working in partnership with Good Boost to explore the challenges, barriers, and enablers for building stronger pathways between health and leisure, and communities. As part of this work, they’re running virtual focus groups to share perspectives, highlight what’s working well, and identify some opportunities. You can register here: RSPH - Barriers & Enablers for Partnerships & Pathways Between Health and Leisure
Beat the Street in Salford and play an interactive walking, cycling, and wheeling game that turns the entire city into a real-life active travel competition. The six-week game started on 24 September and takes place until 5 November – during that time, people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are invited to get active by exploring their local area and earning points by tapping special sensors, called Beat Boxes, located across Salford.
The aim is to inspire healthier habits, reduce car use, and bring communities together in a fun and engaging way. The more Beat Boxes you tap, the more points you earn—and there are prizes up for grabs for the top teams. It’s free to take part and open to everyone. Already 14,835 people are taking part, and have clocked up an active travel tally of nearly 33,000 miles.
www.beatthestreet.me/salford
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Apply for a grants for physical activity providers. Grants of up to £3,000 are available to support physical activity projects for people living with Parkinson’s across the UK. The funding aims to help providers develop and deliver inclusive activities that improve wellbeing, mobility, and community connection. Applications close on 23 October.
For more information and to apply click here
Join the ENO Breathe Network. ENO Breathe is an award-winning breathing and wellbeing programme developed specifically for people recovering from COVID-19, who are still suffering from breathlessness and associated anxiety. Delivered by ENO in collaboration with Imperial College Healthcare teams entirely online, the programme focuses on breathing re-training through singing. English National Opera is working to grow its network across Greater Manchester so the programme can reach more people who might benefit. You can find out more at: ENO Breathe - ENO
If you’d like to know more about how to refer someone, email info.breathe@eno.org.
Be part of Greater Manchester’s #BeeWell coalition of partners and stay up to date with the latest local data insights on young people’s health and wellbeing. Hear how communities across the city-region are taking action in response to key findings, sharing best practice, and collaborating to improve the health and happiness of children and young people.
Sign up here
This year's Black History Month theme is 'Standing Firm in Power and Pride.' Join this panel discussion that brings together expert midwives to explore their career journeys, how we can improve Black maternal health, and support Black mothers and babies through birth and beyond.
Sign up here
Housing is a fundamental determinant of health and a prevention priority in the Ten Year Plan, yet 3.8 million households are living in non-decent homes, including 10% of social rented homes. Awaab’s Law was introduced by the Government in response to the tragic death of 2-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 from a severe respiratory condition caused by mould in his social home. Awaab’s Law will set strict timelines for social landlords to fix hazards in the home, coming into force on 27 October. This webinar will explain more. You can register your interest here: https://bit.ly/4nMTrPF
This webinar offers an introduction to the asylum system, rights and entitlements and the lived experiences of those residing in asylum accommodation within Greater Manchester. This webinar is suitable for you if you are a Local Authority, NHS or voluntary sector volunteer or employee.
Book tickets for 1-2pm, 16 October 2025
Book tickets for 1-2pm, 21 October 2025
Poverty is the biggest driver of ill health and early death in Greater Manchester. This training is designed for NHS GM staff, VCFSE partners and health and care practitioners to deepen their understanding of poverty as a key driver of ill health.
Register and find out more here
Over the past year, we’ve expanded the Greater Manchester frontline peer support network beyond the personalised care workforce to those in social care working with people facing multiple disadvantage. This is an opportunity to sense-check what we have found over the past year, influence final recommendations, and continue shaping the future of the network. The frontline workforce is asked to sign up to either the 20 Oct 4-5pm or 22 Oct 9:30-10:30 am
As part of an open consultation, VSNW are hosting a workshop in Manchester where you can have your say on a refreshed GM voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) Accord agreement, which sets out how VCFSE and public sectors work together. Sign up here.
Join GM Moving’s' first Sports Club Conference. This is a day for grassroots sport leaders to connect, share best practice, and explore how community sport supports health and belonging across GM.
Book here
The Alternative Provider Collaborative Convention will celebrate the incredible work of APC providers across Greater Manchester, featuring a dynamic mix of exhibitors, engaging activities, and panel discussions with system leaders. Together the session will explore key themes across health, social care, equalities, and how a social value agenda can drive better population health outcomes.
This year’s VSNW Conference and AGM focuses on one key question: how do we move from uncertainty to strength? The event will explore how the sector can build its internal capacity, strengthen collaborative partnerships, and continue to play a leading role in shaping the future of public service delivery across the North West. VSNW Conference and AGM 2025: 'From Uncertainty to Strength – Building Capacity & Resilience in Our Sector'
Registration is now open for New Local's 2026 Stronger Things conference - the UK’s leading event on community power. Secure you place here
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