Reviewing VCSE Infrastructure In Manchester

Manchester’s VCSE sector has received support from a centrally coordinated infrastructure service since 2009. Since then, significant changes have challenged the sector and impacted the support needed. This includes population growth and demographic changes, austerity, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Manchester City Council wanted to understand how these factors have changed the support needs. They asked us to help and independently review the scope of the infrastructure service contract to inform future provision.

During this review, we:

• Reviewed over 30 strategies, reports, reviews, and evidence.
• Interviewed and surveyed nearly 130 VCSE organisations to explore their support needs.
• Interviewed nearly 40 public sector stakeholders to understand what they felt was important for the sector.
• Explored five infrastructure service models from similar areas around the country to understand lessons and best practice useful for Manchester.
• Reviewed the contract monitoring framework and made recommendations for an outcomes-based framework.

The breadth and depth of our review led to the development of five options for future service delivery. We also identified a series of factors to consider when implementing a new approach. These were presented and discussed with senior elected representatives and officers, and the most feasible options were used to shape future commissioning and contracts.