Stockport update with Place Collective UK
Check out this prose-meets-property guest post on Stockport from Place Collective’s Andrew Catcheside. Great to see so many FoGM alumni leading the changes here!
Communities in Transition
Intercity Exchange: Stratford innovation
This is a guest post from PRD, the consultancy that kick-started our Intercity Exchange series in 2024. They’ve done groundbreaking work in Stratford, shared here by Director Barney Cringle and Senior Associate Director Amanda Robinson – a Future of London alumna and former Head of Projects. We had a fantastic field trip in May 2025 …
Future of GM first inter-city visit is a win!
Future of Greater Manchester’s first intercity exchange hosted 37 people – and a dog! – from London Legacy Development Corporation, with insightful hosts, interesting places, intrepid guests and insane mid-April weather. See below for info on LLDC itself, and get in touch if you’d like to take part in a visit there in autumn. We …
Redefining Community in Manchester
The best way to get your head around a place is to experience it – with that in mind, a key part of Greater Manchester Leaders Plus is field trips (we’ve always been fans). We focus on emerging places, innovative ideas and effective cross-sector partnerships, and trips are set up by the team and by …
Connecting with Central Manchester
Early in every Leaders Plus course, candidates tour an area in flux, experiencing places with fresh eyes – or ears, noses, pens and lenses – and reporting back. ‘Connecting with Place’ is about expansive thinking and started as a drawing project with artist, teacher and writer Ilga Leimanis before expanding to include photography, interviews and …
Next stop: Stockport
Want to see recovery in action? Check out Stockport. On a recent visit, we saw loads of support initiatives from repurposed retail to new public space to a pioneering town centre Mayoral Development Corp. The council is working on perception, but there’s real change behind it.
The Manchester Grand Tour
How much of central Manchester do you attempt with just over two hours and a very knowledgeable group? All of it, of course! We didn’t get everywhere but certainly gave it a shot with this fascinating GM Leaders Plus field trip.
In praise of the humble field trip
We are drowning in debate over how we should meet for work, if and when people come in at all. Field trips are a great way to surface, and to share learning and power between stakeholders.