Action plan – Greater Manchester Combined Authority, United Kingdom, 2025 – 2028

At-a-Glance

Duration

May 2028

Date Submitted

27th October 2025

Foreword(s)

Greater Manchester Combined Authority is committed to building a thriving city region where everyone can live a good life. Open government principles are at the core of this ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po..., specifically ensuring a culture of transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, accountability, and citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More. This is captured within the recently published Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-2035, which prioritises: access to timely and usable information about government decisions, equal opportunities for public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... in policy-making, accountability and transparency in public resource management, and collaborative governance involving civil society, academia, and the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More.

In this inaugural Open Government Action Plan for Greater Manchester 2025-2028, our first commitments will focus specifically on open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici.... It is recognised that opening up more data enables not only greater transparency with citizens and civil society but also creates greater opportunity for collaboration and innovative problem-solving.

The Greater Manchester Information Board, which provides representation of the public sector, supports this plan and the identification of open data as the focus of GMCA’s initial commitments. Being a member of OGP Local will support the strategic aims of the Greater Manchester Information Strategy and, in turn, enable the ambitions of the Greater Manchester Strategy.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

The long-term vision for open government in Greater Manchester forms part of a broader strategic ambition to create a thriving, inclusive, and transparent city region where every resident can live a good life. This vision is operationalised within the Greater Manchester Strategy (GMS) 2025–2035, which was written with input from hundreds of individuals and groups representing different parts of Manchester life, and sets out a decade-long plan to tackle inequality, improve well-being, and foster inclusive economic growth within Greater Manchester.

The Greater Manchester Information Strategy 2025–2028 serves to reinforce this open government vision by positioning information as a vital resource for tackling climate, equality, economic and health challenges; embedding ethical, secure and sensitive data practices and enabling systemic change and empowering people through data.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

Open government reforms in Greater Manchester centre around GMCA’s trailblazer devolution deal. Agreed with the UK Government in March 2023, this will provide GMCA with a department-style single funding settlement, replacing multiple fragmented funding streams. In turn, this gives GMCA greater flexibility, long-term certainty, and autonomy to allocate resources based on local priorities. This deal was part of the UK’s Levelling Up agenda, which aimed to decentralise decision-making and which has continued under the new Labour administration. It positions Greater Manchester as a national leader in local governance and is seen as a ‘vote of confidence’ in GM’s leadership and collaborative governance model.

Key reforms to date include new powers over transport, housing, and skills; a new data partnership to improve local decision-making; and the adoption of open data standards, particularly the Open ContractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... More Data Standard (OCDS).

These reforms support the promotion of open government within Greater Manchester by:

• Encouraging transparency through the adoption of open data standards and improved data sharing.
• Enhancing accountability through improved data capacity, allowing for clearer links of accountability to citizens for the delivery of local services and the use of public funds.
• Increasing participation by sharing more information and empowering local leaders, and encouraging greater civic participation in policy development and service improvement.

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

As a region, Greater Manchester is confronting several interconnected challenges.

• Climate Challenge: The city region is striving to become smarter and greener, with open data playing a key role in tracking and responding to climate impacts.
• Equality Challenge: There is a strong emphasis on creating a fairer city region where everyone can thrive.
• Economic Challenge: Efforts are underway to grow the economy and ensure prosperity is shared. Open data will support innovation.
• Health Challenge: Post-pandemic recovery and improving public health are key priorities. 

From a data transparency perspective, there are several internal and external barriers:

• Internal:
  • Data silos and legacy systems that hinder data sharing/reuse.
  • Lack of standardised practice for publishing and maintaining datasets.
  • Limited capacity and skills within teams to manage open data effectively.

• External:
  • Businesses and community organisations struggle to find/use relevant datasets.
  • Mismatch between available data and user needs.

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

Improve open data through co-creating an open data policy framework with the Greater Manchester system.

We will co-create a framework through which partners from across the region can develop their own open data policies using a shared set of principles and best practice standards. This will enable us to be consistent in the data we make open to the public in terms of quality, accessibility and where it is hosted. We will work with civil society to ensure that the framework meets the needs and requirements of the end user.

Improve the visibility of data by centralising open data portals from across Greater Manchester.

We will improve the visibility of open data across the region by working with our partners to create a centralised website for the different open data portals that exist throughout Greater Manchester. This will improve the experience of the end user, centralising all open data into one place, increasing access to and transparency of data to our residents.

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

This action plan seeks to address identified limitations in open data by establishing a consistent approach to publication. This will address the current lack of an organisational approach and will also seek to bring cohesion to the open data landscape across Greater Manchester. Whilst several partners across the GM ecosystem have their own open data policies, these have been developed separately. As such, the approach to open data is not unified across the region. Similarly, whilst a few partners employ a form of open data portal, a significant portion do not, meaning that the quality and quantity of information and data made available to the public varies significantly. As a combined authority, GMCA is in a position to not only tackle the problem of our own open data approach, but also to work with our local authority partners to improve regional transparency. We will also be able to take learning from other countries, making progress in this area to support our approach.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

Having a functional and fit-for-purpose open data policy will ensure consistent publication standards and provide a foundation upon which to establish a future GM-wide open data portal. In turn, this will enable more effective use and reuse of available datasets, which will support the ambitions of the Greater Manchester Strategy to create a thriving, inclusive, and transparent city region where every resident can live a good life. Indeed, one of the defining principles of the Greater Manchester Strategy is to be ‘data enabled and evidence driven’, recognising that this will enable the best-informed decisions about the things we directly deliver, or support or influence the delivery of, for our people, places and businesses.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• GMCA Information and Data Governance Shared Service
• GMCA Research Team

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

The first commitments within the GMCA’s inaugural action plan are being delivered from one department within the CA, with the support of another. Both teams work closely together, and a project team has been formed to deliver the commitments. The project team is initially formed of a Project Manager, Partnership Lead and Senior Principal Researcher. The project sits within a wider programme of change for the GMCA, which has governance provided by the Programme Manager and reports into the internal Information and Data Governance Board.

The Greater Manchester Information Board, which includes civil society representation, has agreed to act as the multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple... for this work. The Board both leads and drives work to ‘create a better information ecosystem that realises the full potential of information; manages, shares, and uses information responsibly; helps to tackle our most serious challenges; and supports GM’s wider ambitions’, making it an ideal forum to drive the action plan.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

A combination of offline and online spaces has been used to inform the co-creation of this action plan. Feedback has been drawn from a series of online surveys (with follow-up sectoral focus groups), in-person workshops and focus groups in addition to an online poll facilitated by an external provider.

We also have an established Microsoft Teams channel that enables the multi-stakeholder forum to communicate and provides a vehicle for us to keep them updated. 

Both online and in-person workshops have been held to support the identification of delivery priorities for the GM Information Strategy. Trust and transparency were consistently raised as needing priority intervention.

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

To ensure diversity of representation, we have focused engagement through existing stakeholders, providing coverage and inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More across the Greater Manchester geographical footprint. Links with the VCFSE sector have been utilised throughout the engagement period, although building further on this to maintain a diversity of input will be a key consideration going forward

When hosting in-person workshops, which enabled members of the public to contribute to the prioritisation of the GM Information Strategy, provision was made to support people by paying for their travel to and from the venue.

Who participated in these spaces?

Local businesses, VCFSE/community organisations, academia, public sector representation from Local Authorities, NHS, Greater Manchester Police, and members of the public.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

6

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?

12

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

An initial in-person engagement event is planned following submission of the action plan to ensure key organisations involved in both providing and using data are updated on next steps and given the opportunity to engage with the delivery of the action plan. It is envisaged that this sector-wide working group will continue to convene (either in-person or virtually) throughout the lifecycle of the action plan.

The multi-stakeholder forum convenes every two months as the GM Information Board. When needed, we will engage with the Board in this meeting to gain insight into the work and ensure collaboration. 

As mentioned above, a Teams channel is available to the multi-stakeholder forum to engage with each other and with the project team. We will use this channel to keep the forum updated on activity. 

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have been identified as the Independent Monitoring Body. 

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Rob Wilson, Professor of Digital Social Innovation, [email protected]

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

As stated above, an initial in-person engagement event is planned following submission of the action plan to engage stakeholders in the delivery of the action plan. This group will continue to meet throughout the lifecycle of the action plan, and progress will be reported back via the Greater Manchester Information Board.

The Monitoring Body will meet with the GMCA Project Team on a bi-monthly basis to oversee and monitor delivery of the commitments in the action plan. A set agenda will be curated, and the project team will be expected to both report on and provide evidence of activities that have taken place in the project.

The Monitoring Body will be invited to engage with the multi-stakeholder forum to ensure that the forum is representing civil society and is being provided with the opportunities to shape the work. 

Updates will be provided via the GMCA OGP webpage and via the GM Information Strategy newsletter, which is published on a quarterly basis.

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

Progress will be monitored via the Greater Manchester Information Board. This is held bi-monthly and is attended by all key implementing agencies across the GM footprint. The monitoring body will be invited to attend this forum. Following co-creation activities,there will be the possibility to gain feedback from attendees that will allow the Monitoring Body to assess the effectiveness of the approach and inform recommendations in the final report. 

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

GMCA’s website includes a page dedicated to the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More and will display all key updates alongside opportunities to engage with the delivery of the action plan. This also includes key information around open data and the benefits to be realised in terms of public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... More.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

Additional Links

GMCA GMIS Priority Setting Report

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...:

• Co-creating an open data policy framework and centralising open data portals in Greater Manchester. (GBGMC0001)