On Tuesday 29 September, 57 representatives from Tameside’s VCFSE, public and community sectors gathered for the Tameside Voluntary Sector Summit to explore how collaboration can address local challenges and improve outcomes for residents.
Amy Foots, Assistant Director of Policy, Strategy and Change at Tameside Council, opened the Summit by introducing the Tameside Borough Strategy. Amy explained how partnership working will help the borough achieve its ambitions. The strategy was developed through resident engagement, who identified Tameside's strong community spirit, green spaces, cultural offer and vibrant VCFSE sector as key assets.
Annette Turner, Public Health Strategic Lead for the VCFSE Sector, provided an update on the renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord. The Accord sets out a shared commitment between public services and the VCFSE sector to work together more effectively, strengthen community influence in decision-making and recognise the invaluable contribution that voluntary organisations make to improving outcomes for local people.
Anna Hynes, Director for Action Together in Tameside shared early findings from the forthcoming State of the Sector report, highlighting the sector’s social and economic value, trusted local relationships and role as a first point of support. She also reflected on some of the challenges facing the sector, including pressures around funding, volunteering, premises and increasing levels of need and complexity, all of which can impact organisations' ability to plan, develop and meet growing demand.
Sian Goodwin, Deputy Director for Action Together in Tameside, highlighted funding opportunities available to support community activity across the borough which focussed upon the Tameside Communities Fund for community-led activity and the new Live Well Spaces Fund for Community Anchor Organisations, which aims to strengthen their long-term sustainability and further develop equality, diversity and inclusion practices.
Abby Turner, Community Navigation Manager at Action Together in Tameside, introduced the newly commissioned Tameside Live Well Community Navigation Service. The service is being established and will launch in phases across the borough. Community Navigators will help residents aged over 18 years, find appropriate services and resources, strengthen local connections, access the right support at the right time and prevent issues from escalating wherever possible.
A key part of the Summit was the Community Marketplace, which brought together local VCFSE organisations for networking, knowledge sharing and relationship building.
Attendees learnt more about services and support across the borough, made new connections and explored opportunities for future partnership working. They also took part in an interactive workshop about how organisations can work together to better support local people. Using a range of personas, participants discussed practical ways to strengthen collaboration and improve outcomes for residents.
Common themes included community navigation, stronger signposting and referrals, closer working with statutory services, and practical, person-centred support. Attendees said effective collaboration depends on strong relationships, good local knowledge, trusted professionals and a willingness to work across organisational boundaries. They also identified barriers including transport challenges, social isolation, language barriers, limited capacity and the complexity of navigating support systems.
Examples of good practice included the value of culturally appropriate, wrap-around support, peer mentoring, buddying schemes and approaches that build confidence, independence and long-term community resilience.
