GM Moving

Helping 2.8 million people get more active in Greater Manchester

GM Moving is a four-year plan to get 75% of the 2.8 million people living in Greater Manchester active by 2025. The initiative is being delivered by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Sport England. We’re working with the stakeholders from GM Moving and Greater Sport to help increase the amount of physical activity carried out by people in the health and care sectors.

Interpret + Define

Regular exercise can help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. However, across Greater Manchester 24.1% of adults are classed as inactive which means doing less than 30 minutes of activity each week. There are also significant inequalities across activity levels. Women, lower income groups, disabled people, BAME populations and older people are less active.

Increasing physical activity not only has health benefits; it can also help to improve mental health, strengthen family relationships and bring the community together. People who work in the health and care sectors are ideally placed to encourage people to be more active. We were asked by GM Moving to help build this movement. To find and tell stories of successful system-led change in Greater Manchester.

Imagine + Create

We set about developing a strategic plan to arm members of the GM Moving team with the tools and skills to gather stories from healthcare professionals. We wanted to focus on the measures HCPs have put in place to increase activity among Greater Manchester patients.

Through collaboration with the team, listening to feedback from research carried out and in workshops, we created a storytelling template that helps someone capture a story from the system in a way that makes it compelling and persuasive, so it can be used to motivate others.

“If physical activity were a drug, we would refer to it as a miracle cure, due to the great many illnesses it can prevent and treat” – UK Chief Medical Officer

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We’ve also created a storytelling workshop format that can be used to train anyone in how to identify and capture a story of increasing physical activity and overcome some of the common barriers they may encounter. The impact of our work is designed to be long-lasting, with a team of people who can capture stories and also support others in doing the same.

Rise + Shine

The first stories are now being captured and will be hosted on GM Moving’s website and shared through their social channels. Contributors have given invaluable insights into different initiatives, such as the Moving Healthcare Professionals Programme (MHPP) and Physical Activity Clinical Champions (PACC) training.

Continuing to tell these stories will help other healthcare professionals develop patient pathways to encourage activity, support the mission to get more people active by 2025 and improve health for all.