The journey towards establishing Greater Manchester Systems Changers (GM SC) began in the mid-2010s with Lankelly Chase’s commitment to creating systems-level change in Greater Manchester. Initially, the work focused on changing systems that perpetuated severe and multiple disadvantages (SMD). Over time, and thanks to people with lived experience of systems of oppression leading and shaping this work, Lankelly Chase recognised the limitations of this framing and widened its field of vision to look at how to challenge and shift systems that are designed to marginalise, exploit and oppress people based on ethnicity, class, gender, disability and geography. 

This first post is about the history of GM SC (as it is currently known) and how the principles of power, perspective and participation created the conditions for the approach to change from SMD and place-based systems change towards devolving power and governance to grassroots communities where resources and control are returned to the people.

Founding principles and vision (2015–2016)

In 2015, Lankelly Chase defined its role as a funder of systems change and social innovation specifically for people with lived experience of severe and multiple disadvantages (SMD). They published Systems Change: A Guide To What It Is and How To Do It and Hard Edges: Mapping Severe and Multiple Disadvantage in England. SMD encapsulates overlapping lived experiences of homelessness, extreme poverty, substance misuse, mental ill-health, violence and domestic violence and coming into contact with the criminal justice system.

There is an understanding that naming your boundary is vital to any systems change work. Like other place-based funders, Lankelly Chase decided to use the physical boundary of a place in a part of their approach to change. Combining the data in Hard Egdes with a few key relationships and grant partnerships, it became evident that Greater Manchester should become part of this work.

The approach was set when they launched Systems Changers. A programme specifically for frontline workers and people with lived experience of SMD in the North West. People were given the space to explore how to create systems change and the themes of power, perspective, and participation. Long-standing and critical connections were made here that continue to shape the current work with people like Christa McCiver, Chris Woodward and Matt Kidd.

Building a foundation through early partnerships (2016–2018)

Between 2016 and 2018, Lankelly Chase awarded several grants instrumental in creating the network that would eventually evolve into GM SC. These grants were for experimental initiatives that fostered connections and trust between individuals and organisations committed to exploring and testing systemic interventions often led by and centred people most affected by SMD.

These partnerships and initiatives include:

• Dadly Does It: Led by the brilliant people from Unlimited Potential in Salford and Rochdale.
• Justlife’s advocacy for the ‘Hidden Homeless’: highlighting the plight of people living in unsupported temporary accommodation. They were looking to influence policy change by showing the precarity of ‘hidden homeless’ and the often ‘hidden and bleak nature of living in unsupported temporary accommodation.’
• The Centre for Local Economic Strategies examined how Greater Manchester’s devolution could address poverty through a holistic systems approach. Initially focusing on Wythenshawe, CLES soon expanded its work to create Elephants in the Room, a project to bring decision-makers together with people experiencing SMD. This initiative paired 15 individuals affected by SMD with 15 decision-makers, offering a rare platform for genuine co-production and collaboration in tackling inequality.

The Elephants in the Room project represented a significant shift in Lankelly Chase’s approach to funding, as it directly embedded the voices of those with lived experience into decision-making processes. This work laid the groundwork for a lasting legacy of co-production across Greater Manchester. By 2019, the Elephants in the Room network evolved into The Elephants Trail, a community reporting initiative supporting people with lived experience sharing social justice content with platforms such as The Guardian and NHS Live Well.

Another key outcome of this period was the formation of Our Agency. They are a collective that goes beyond co-production to challenge larger systems of oppression like neoliberalism and the structures of philanthropy itself. Our Agency questioned traditional charity models, arguing for justice, freedom, love, agency and mutuality over domination, exploitation and extraction not just of labour but of knowledge. They continue to visualise a world where resources and systems are held by people facing social injustice. This fundamentally shifts the paradigm from charitable aid to individual and collective agency and explores radical concepts of resource redistribution rooted in justice.

Thanks to close relationships with grantees like Our Agency and the Elephants in the Room, and a commitment to ongoing learning, reflecting and adapting it soon became clear that the concept of SMD had limitations.

Evolving understanding and shifting away from SMD (2019)

By 2019, based on the learning and insights from its funded work, Lankelly Chase began reassessing its approach to change. While the concept of SMD had been helpful, it ultimately centred whiteness and failed to fully acknowledge systemic and structural oppressions. Additionally, in the place-based systems change work, grants were awarded to projects led by people with lived experiences of SMD and/or systemic oppression. And yet, a London-based philanthropic institution was still making top-down decisions about money and strategy. This felt both disingenuous and limiting to the potential for genuine, transformative systems change

Ultimately, there was a recognition that true systems change requires a shift from top-down decision-making to devolving power directly to those affected by systemic oppression. This led to a focus towards community-led governance, where resources and control are returned to the people.

Reflections on 2015–2019: From SMD to Collective Power

These early years were foundational in shaping what would become GM SC’s approach to social change. Lankelly Chase’s initial investments and grant-making in Greater Manchester nurtured trust, connections, and critical reflections. However, it became clear that genuine systems change required a break from top-down, charitable models and a more profound commitment to devolve power to community leaders with lived experience of these systems of oppression. 

With this realisation, Lankelly Chase set out to create the conditions for a new way forward, ultimately paving the way for the creation of Greater Manchester Systems Changers. You can read part 2 here.