GM=EqAl has the following commitments under the Greater Manchester Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Accord agreement (GM VCSE Accord):

1. To help develop the VCSE equalities sector and its infrastructure.
2. To support VCSE equalities sector engagement the Greater Manchester Integrated Care System (ICS).
3. To identify the most effective approaches to equality policy and practice, to form a 'framework' of practical pan-equalities commitments for partner organisations.
4. To develop a shared set of principles to ensure the voice of lived experience is heard in policymaking.

The GM=EqAl Working Group meeting in May will include a workshop to plan and design the equalities framework project (no.4) 

Manchester City Council and Manchester Health Care Commissioning have commissioned Forever Consulting to find out what support the VCSE sector in Manchester needs to deliver their work and achieve their goals.

Use this survey to tell them what your organisation would like support with, and how you would like to receive it. It will take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Deadline: 25th April

Impetus are open for applications to their Leadership Academy, a professional development programme supporting people from ethnic minority backgrounds to progress into senior leadership roles in the UK youth sector.

They are recruiting for their second cohort, starting in October 2022. If you would be interested in applying or know someone who would benefit from this programme, please encourage them to apply to this free programme. 

Deadline: 2nd May

The Civil Society Group helps charities that are experiencing problems with banking. This short survey will help them understand the scale of the challenges in order to better advocate on their behalf to the Charity Commission, Government and the banking sector.

Deadline: 6th May

People's Voice Media have teamed up with Co-Production Collective to explore what co-production processes can bring to services, research and policy.

They are looking for people from across the UK who have been involved in co-producing services, research and/or policy, who are willing to share their stories with their team of storytellers. They are interested in positive experiences and negative ones, from different types of co-production projects and activity. 

Deadline: 8th May

Black, South Asian, Arab and other ethnic minority groups have had higher rates of COVID-19 infection, with worse severity and death rates than seen in the White British population. Although so far there is no evidence that post-COVID syndrome (or long COVID) is higher in these groups, lack of trust in healthcare, racism, stigma, discrimination and language barriers have a potential to hinder reporting of symptoms and lead worse consequences or poor care for those with long COVID.

The Public Community Involvement Engagement (PCIE) team is looking for volunteers to join their Patient Advisory Group to contribute to research on this issue.  Volunteers will support the PCIE team to create culturally appropriate study materials, interview questions and material for dissemination of findings. Meetings will be online, and participants will be paid for their time. 

To find out more or to take part, contact Carolyn Chew-Graham c.a.chew-graham@keele.ac.uk 

The Community Learning Fund (CLF) is making available grants of between £27,000 and £167,000 to organisations who can support disadvantaged communities and individuals in Manchester to access  learning and/or sustainable employment.

The aim of the fund is to build the skills levels of Manchester residents and to complement existing progression routes to learning, employment and volunteering.

Deadline: 6th May 

The Fore’s Summer 2022 funding round offers unrestricted grants of up to £30,000 that can be spread over one to three years. They are interested in funding small charities that are ready to take their next steps in terms of organisational development. 

The Fore is particularly looking to fund small organisations working with marginalised groups and led by people in the community that may have found it hard to access trust and foundation funding in the past.  

Deadline: 9th May 

The Skelton Charity has around £100,000 to disburse in 2022. It awards one-off grants of between £500 and £3,000 to registered charities based in GM, Lancashire or Merseyside, which work to improve the quality of life of children, older people, disabled people and their carers.

Deadline: 13th May 

Does your organisation want to play a part in boosting cancer screening rates in Greater Manchester? Grants of up to £5,000 are available for Greater Manchester-based VCSE organisations to promote cancer screening amongst priority groups: LGBTQ+ communities, disabled people, people who care for others, or people experiencing mental health problems.

Deadline: 27th May 

GMCVO have launched the 3rd year of a grants programme to support mental wellbeing in communities of identity or experience. Initially, micro-grants of £100 - £750 are available for not-for-profit faith organisations.

A further round of micro-grants, open to organisations with an annual income under £50,000, will be launched in May.

An online briefing event for potential applicants is being held on the 28th April - see the Events section below. 

April's 10GM Funding Ebulletin is now available to download. This month's edition has over 20 pages of grants and investments, including local and national funds with a broad range of funding priorities.

TfGM are recruiting for a Consultation and Inclusion Officer to help make sustainable transport as accessible as possible to everyone living, working in and visiting GM. This is a permanent, full time position. 

Deadline: 26th April

GMCVO are recruiting for an Organisational Support Officer. This is a full time, permanent position. 

Deadline: 3rd May 

This survey of NHS trust leaders shows high board-level commitment to tackling health inequalities and making action on health inequalities 'core business'. However, the report describes several barriers to progress, with 65% of respondents saying that wider pressures on the system and operational challenges hinder their ability to progress this work. Nearly half of trust leaders expressed concerns about the lack of access to data about health inequalities within trusts, and across the health system.

This report from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) summarises the written responses received from 436 organisations and experts in women's health in reply to their call for evidence. Topics raised include a need for greater support for pregnancy loss, and menopause training for clinicians. The responses will help shape the first government-led Women’s Health Strategy in England.

In 2016, Greater Manchester’s productivity was 89% of the UK average, down from 92.2% in 1998. In addition, for every 100 people looking for a job in the North, there are only 79 available – in London, the corresponding figure is 102. Even when in employment, the average annual earnings in the North are 10% lower than in the rest of England.

This report discusses the UK’s productivity performance across different regions and puts forward policy recommendations on how they can be addressed.

This project report from Maternity Action shows that pregnant women seeking asylum are at high risk of poor maternal health. It finds evidence that policies in place to promote and protect maternal health are not being followed by the agencies responsible for the asylum support system.

A new report looking at the ongoing impact of the pandemic, and wider inequalities in services, on disabled children and their families.

Beth Sharratt, Project Manager at GMCVO, has written this blog to explain what is meant by the term 'Inclusive Economy', and to highlight the related activity and policy initiatives which are happening across Greater Manchester.

This set of downloadable 'evidence cards' from the Centre for Ageing Better aims to highlight the contributions of and inequalities experienced by people from racialised communities as they approach retirement age. The authors found inequalities in terms of health, wealth and life circumstances. They call for better paid work, more affordable and better housing, and targeted measures to reduce ill health.

This JSNA for Manchester City Council focuses on identifying and removing barriers present in society that can impact upon disabled people living in Manchester.

Key points in this update:

• The first results from the 2021 Census are expected in early summer 2022.
• A guidance note was issued on subnational population projections. The next subnational figures will be out in early 2024.
• Understanding Towns includes statistics on how the population of a town has an impact on the house price.
• Several data releases on migration will be published on the 26th May.

Health and care organisations across Greater Manchester have accelerated the deployment of the GM Care Record for all of its 2.8m citizens, in order to provide staff with vital information in the fight against COVID-19.

This event brings together different perspectives from clinical, academia, industry and the GM health and care system to showcase the work that has gone in to creating the GM Care Record and the benefits it will bring to the care and treatment of GM residents.

Part of a broader project on Trans Healthcare and Creativity at the University of Manchester, this event will explore the past, present and 'what might have been' of trans healthcare provision in the UK. What is trans healthcare now, what has it been, and what could it be?

In 2020, the Greater Manchester Big Mental Wellbeing Conversation (GMBMWC) was launched to better understand the needs of people across the city-region and hear what they think is most important for their mental wellbeing. The resulting report captures Deaf and disabled people’s perspectives on what good mental wellbeing looks like. It also provides clear recommendations, at individual, community, and GM-levels, for how challenges to improving and maintaining a positive state of mental wellbeing can be overcome.

Hosted by the Head of Population Health Transformation, David Boulger, with speakers including Warren Heppolette (GM Health & Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP)), Suriya Aisha (Colours Youth Network) and Mari Saeki (GM Autism Consortium).

The PaCCT project was a piece of work carried out by the University of Manchester's Institute of Education, which examined how the pandemic intensified and escalated racialised inequalities in education, health and social care for community members in Rochdale, and formulated some specific demands. 

Now, a year on, this event will discuss what has happened since the project, and future plans for this initiative. Use the Zoom link below, with passcode: KPI 

GMCVO, with funding from GMHSCP, are delivering Year 3 of a grants programme to support people from communities of identity or experience, based in Greater Manchester, who may struggle to achieve higher levels of mental wellbeing. In this rolling micro grants round, not-for-profit faith organisations can apply for £100 to £750 to run activities that will support people from communities of identity or experience.

The online briefing event aims to give potential applicants information about the broader context of the grants and the application process, and an opportunity to ask any questions.

This conference will explore innovative approaches to reducing health and social inequalities through social prescribing. It will provide an opportunity for practitioners, commissioners, providers, community organisations and academics to share ideas, experience and practice on a range of issues and challenges.

GMCVO and the GM Third Sector Research Network are hosting a free one-day face to face event, funded by the Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN), to consider how we can learn from failure. Doing so can help us unlock useful insights, not only about what works but how it works.

The event will bring together staff, volunteers and researchers working in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Greater Manchester for a day of reflections and discussions about what failure means and how telling stories of failure can enable learning.

Organised by the Runnymede Trust, We Move is a weekend-long race equality and migrants’ rights summit, which will bring together academics, companies, policymakers, trade unionists, civil society, journalists, students and the general public in Leeds. It will explore how to harness opportunities for positive change, address the threats to, and maintain the recent momentum for, racial equality. A sliding scale of registration fees will be in operation, starting from £25. 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is requiring the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to improve its treatment of disabled benefit claimants. This is in response to serious concerns about failures to meet the needs of its customers with mental health impairments and learning disabilities. 

The DWP outlined the steps being taken to address the problems identified. However, the Commission has concluded that further action is necessary, given the seriousness of the issues.

The EHRC is therefore drawing up a legally-binding agreement with the DWP to commit them to an action plan to meet the needs of customers with mental health impairments and learning disabilities.

The latest GM Poverty Action newsletter includes an evaluation of the Money Advice Referral Tool currently running in Tameside. There’s an update on the GM Living Wage Campaign and information about local support for the people of Ukraine. You can also read an article by the Child Poverty Action Group on what must be in place to end the need for food banks, and Change Grow Live shares important information about their Be Smoke Free service.