New market opens up in Greater Manchester

A phased programme of work that will take Greater Manchester’s voluntary sector into a new market was launched by GMCVO on 24th January.
The initiative was outlined at a trade fair event, Get Connected – Go to Market, which came in response to the exciting news that Greater Manchester is to be one of four pilot sites for the Whole Place Community Budget initiative.
Groups came together in a friendly and welcoming environment with the aim of forging links between their services and exploring the opportunities for collaborative partnership.
Within themed service headings, derived from the Whole Place priority areas of work, organisations were asked to consider what the supply chains might look like in the delivery of these services. As the event progressed it became apparent just how enormous the contribution from the sector could be to improving the wellbeing of local people simply by joint delivery and co-operation.
Event organiser, Neil Walbran, said: “This is just the beginning of our sector gearing up for some real contracting opportunities. We’ll be running more events such as this within specialised themes over the coming months.”

Further details from: Neil Walbran, Senior Policy and Partnerships Officer, GMCVO, 0161 277 1036, neil.walbran@gmcvo.org.uk.