Sharing Power in a Place

By Claire Muhlawako Madzura

In the years 2018-2022, a total investment of £7.6 million was made through the Youth and Play Funds. This aimed to provide quality universal open access youth and play provision for children and young people across Manchester, with support from the #iwill Fund and match funding from Manchester City Council and Curious Minds.

We carried out an investigation into whether the socio-economic gap in youth social action participation has been reflected in Manchester and how we put power into its young people’s hands.

It was important to us that we learned from those who know their communities the best. Interviews from youth workers from across the city and feedback from young people involved in our grant-making and evaluations illustrated the value of place-based partnerships in our report.

We found that giving time and space to take risks, being bold in our decisions and not being afraid to be the first to try something allowed us to really push the boundaries on what was possible for the communities that make up our city.

Amplify the voices of those who best understand the context that they are operating in, their area’s strengths and weaknesses, so we can address and overcome its challenges. They are the experts about their place.

It’s really important to recognise that the most marginalised children and young people often are forced to grow up too quickly so creating space for play is key!

We know that placed-based partnerships are powerful. Working collaboratively reduces competition over resources and the children and young people in our communities benefit from these stable support systems.

By sharing our learning, we hope to learn and adapt whilst providing opportunities for other funders and organisations to do the same.

‘I hope that the evaluation will encourage more organisations to commit to place-based partnerships and bring about more investment into the socio-economically deprived areas of Manchester.’

- Claire Muhlawako Madzura, report author.