Launching our Listen Better Mapping Report

After months of conversations, visits, research and analysis, we’re excited to launch Listen Better: Strengthening Care-Experienced Youth Voice Across Greater Manchester – the initial phase of our three-year care-experienced youth voice project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The mapping report explores participation opportunities and structures across Greater Manchester, drawing on evidence from all ten local authorities alongside insights from voluntary and community organisations. It identifies what’s working well, where there are gaps and inconsistencies, and where there are opportunities to strengthen participation so that care-experienced young people’s voices have greater influence on the decisions that affect their lives.

Between February and May 2026, we spoke with practitioners leading participation work across all ten Greater Manchester local authorities, visited voluntary and community organisations, held conversations with care-experienced young people, and gathered survey responses and examples of participation practice from across the region. Bringing these perspectives together has helped us understand not only the strengths of the current system, but also the shared challenges faced by practitioners and young people.

The report highlights that Greater Manchester already has strong foundations for care-experienced youth voice. Across the region, young people are giving their time, lived experience and ideas to improve services, while practitioners are creating opportunities for them to be heard. However at the same time, the mapping shows that more can be done to better connect participation across boroughs, strengthen feedback, widen who is heard and ensure young people’s views consistently influence decision-making.

By identifying examples of effective practice alongside common challenges, we hope the report helps establish a more consistent approach to participation across Greater Manchester, including the use of the Lundy Model as a shared framework for meaningful participation.

This report is only the beginning. Over the next phase of the project, we’ll be sharing the findings with young people and professionals to test and refine them, working with partners across Greater Manchester to agree priorities and ownership, and developing a practical implementation plan that identifies what can be delivered through the Esmée-funded project, what can be achieved through existing partnerships, and where further investment is needed.

“Care-experienced young people are already speaking. The question is whether the system is organised enough, brave enough and respectful enough to really listen and act. Listen Better is our contribution to that challenge. It is not about replacing the brilliant work already happening across Greater Manchester, it is about connecting it, strengthening it and making sure young people can see that their voice has made a difference.” – Jo Campbell, GMYN Head of Business Development

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the mapping, particularly the care-experienced young people and practitioners who generously shared their time, experiences and ideas. We hope Listen Better helps to shape the next chapter of care-experienced participation across Greater Manchester and provides a shared framework for the city region to work towards together.

You can read a summary of the report here.

You can read the full report here.