The VCSE Devolution Reference Group was formed in 2016 as a coalition of leaders from the VCSE sector who wanted to promote the role and involvement of the VCSE sector and communities in Greater Manchester devolution.

The group now oversee a number of significant projects/initiatives and feel that they need a name that better reflects the work that they do. After careful consideration the group will now be called the GM VCSE Leadership Group with the strapline: ‘the sector’s voice in Devolution’.

Warren Escadale, Independent Chair of the group, said:

“We believe that our sector plays a critical role in our communities. As a leadership group we want to make sure that voluntary, community, and social enterprise groups and organisations are not taken for granted and that we influence the future of Greater Manchester and the devolution agenda. Greater Manchester’s 16,000 groups cannot engage in everything but we need to make sure, collectively, that our sector is better understood, that where groups can be engaged they are engaged, and that we are fighting for the principles and programmes of activity that benefit and support our communities and beneficiaries.”

A new website will be launched soon that will explain more about the group, who they are, how they operate and what they do. In the meantime you can find out more on Voluntary Sector North West’s website here.