Creative Communities > Culture and Devolution > Greater Manchester Combined Authority – Culture and Devolution

Greater Manchester Combined Authority – Culture and Devolution

Culture Devolution:

The Greater Manchester Trailblazer Deeper Devolution Deal outlines that GMCA is committing investment of between £5 million and £15 million of its UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation to cultural investment, alongside £4.3 million of locally raised investment via the Greater Manchester Culture Fund. GMCA and the government will establish a Greater Manchester Strategic Cultural Partnership, providing a clear, codified framework for collaboration between national and local partners, identifying shared priorities and aligning resources, ensuring Greater Manchester’s voice is heard on issues of national importance.  This will result in a five-year Greater Manchester Culture Strategy, to be published in 2024.

DCMS will work with GMCA and DCMS’ arm’s length bodies, to maximise the overall benefit of local, regional and national initiatives that drive local economic growth, support wellbeing and build pride in place. This could include increased alignment around funding and programmes, such as Creative Improvement Districts, Heritage Action Zones, and Greater Manchester Moving. Investment decisions should take into account strategic priorities, such as those identified in the NP11 Place Strategy for the North, Levelling Up for Culture Places and Arts Council Priority Places, the Greater Manchester Moving in Action strategy, and other policies to support health, wellbeing, skills and international activity.

Autumn 2024 Budget:

The first integrated settlement for Greater Manchester will be introduced from 2025-26, delivering a single flexible pot of funding with a single outcomes framework to support MCAs to deliver growth. The government will invest £115 million in 2025-26 to deliver Connect to Work, a new supported employment programme matching people with disabilities or health conditions into vacancies and supporting them to succeed in their roles. From 2026-27, this will support nearly 100,000 people a year. Greater Manchester will receive even greater flexibilities than local authorities to tailor their delivery of Connect to Work in ways that meet their local needs, with funding included in their integrated settlement. The government will extend Innovation Accelerators into 2025-26 to continue to bolster high-potential innovation clusters in Greater Manchester.

Culture Strategy:

The first Greater Manchester Culture Strategy, Grown in Greater Manchester, Known Around The World, was published in 2018. The strategy set out a five-year vision for culture across the city region. The new culture strategy, CreateGM, 2024-30, will set out how, over the next five years, Greater Manchester can protect, develop, and democratise culture, heritage, and creativity to continue to share our stories with the world and reap the societal and economic benefits of a thriving creative ecosystem.

  • Strategy priorities are split into two distinct areas: Foundational Priorities and Thematic Priorities.
  • Foundational Priorities are areas where conscious action needs to be taken to ensure the sustainability, success and accessibility of culture, heritage, and creativity in Greater Manchester over the life of this strategy.
  • They are: 1) Insight 2) Representation 3) Care 4) Ethics Insight
  • Thematic Priorities are areas of existing strength or opportunity with Greater Manchester, where sector partners are already delivering work or where there is opportunity to better align the work of culture, heritage and the creative industries with Greater Manchester’s wider strategic priorities and ambitions.
  • They are: 5) Wellbeing Health, Wellbeing, Ageing 6) Prosperity Economy, Education, Skills, Talent 7) Environment Place, Environmental Sustainability 8) Reputation Visitor Economy, Trade, Vibrancy

Current Culture Projects:

  • In 2023, GMCA agreed a new investment approach, including investment of almost £4m p/a.
  • The new investment approach includes three-year grant funding for 40 Greater Manchester organisations through the Spirit and Sustain funds
  • It includes continued support for strategic activity like the Greater Manchester Town of Culture, Creative Improvement Districts, the Greater Manchester Music Commission and StreamGM
  • The new approach also includes Inspire, a £300,000 small grants programme for creative freelancers and small culture, heritage, and creative businesses, which launched in January 2024  
  • The Greater Manchester Culture Fund provides funding to properly constituted, not for profit, voluntary organisations, who are provide cultural experiences or work that has significant social impact across the ten boroughs in Greater Manchester. 28 organisations are set to receive a share of £7 million investment over the next two years.  
  • In 2025, GMCA will begin the process of looking at the investment approach for April 2026 onwards, which will be closely informed by priorities within this strategy.

Brought to you by