Purpose

Conditional on Unlimited Potential receiving National Lottery funding:

Unlimited Potential’s model for social and economic innovation has three phases.

Phase 1, “Rethinking”, included three steps –
1. Reframe: to change thinking (funded by the Integrated Care Board)
2. Local people: generate and prioritise ideas (funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority: £25,000.00 from Public Service Reform and £25,000.00 from Safer and Stronger Communities (£20,000.00 from the Violence Reduction unit and £5,000.00 from Gender-Based Violence)
3. Local people: mobilise around the agenda

During Phase 1, the Positive Masculinities project engaged over 5,500 men and boys in Greater Manchester and has:
- reframed the problem to change the thinking and narrative
- generated and prioritised ideas (the four key lenses) with men and boys
- started to inspire and mobilise men and boys around the agenda

Further funding is now needed to support the delivery of phase 2, “Innovating”, which includes three steps:
1. Produce the solution together with professionals
2. Develop and test the concept together
3. Make the case together to system leaders

Unlimited Potential will do this through three complementary and parallel routes:
- campaigning – making the case for positive masculinities and influencing thinking, planning and action
- developing partnerships with both communities and agencies – so that they become agents and advocates for positive masculinities
- using media and marketing – spreading effective, positive and hopeful messages that resonate with men and boys

Unlimited Potential has applied for up to £500,000.00 of National Lottery Community Funding to support Phase 2 of the project. This funding has not yet been confirmed, and the GMCA grant funding proposed in this Decision Notice forms part of the match funding required to support that application.

The long-term outcomes that Unlimited Potential expect to see are:

- significant reduction in violence by men against others
- significant reduction in violence by men against themselves
- greater equality between men and women
- improved health, well-being and longevity of men

While their primary focus is on reducing gender-based violence, from their work to date, they believe that the Positive Masculinities project will also see positive changes in both:

fields that see a disproportionate impact by men and boys:
- gender-based violence
- alcohol and substance misuse
- violent crime
- imprisonment

and fields that see a disproportionate impact on men and boys:
- educational achievements
- placement in children’s homes
- mental illness
- alcohol dependency
- substance misuse
- adults ‘going missing’
- rough sleeping
- drug-related deaths
- suicide
- life expectancy

Decision

The Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities approves grant funding to support the delivery of Phase 2 of Unlimited Potential’s Positive Masculinities project, subject to Unlimited Potential being awarded £500,000.00 of National Lottery Community Funding, which is yet to be confirmed. GMCA's funding is conditional on Unlimited Potential receiving the national lottery funding.

Unlimited Potential recognises that efforts to change male behaviours are largely based on men and boys being seen solely as the problem. Its Positive Masculinities project aims to shift attitudes and behaviours by drawing on the positive aspects of masculinity so that men and boys are a key part of the solution to reducing gender-based violence.

The funding required to support the delivery of the second phase of the project is £150,000.00, made up as follows:

• £25,000.00 per year for 3 years – Public Service Reform, Multiple Disadvantage (Cost Code 2540)
• £12,500.00 per year for 3 years – Safer and Stronger Communities Team, Violence Reduction Unit (Cost Code 3025)
• £12,500.00 per year for 3 years – Safer and Stronger Communities Team, Gender-Based Violence (Cost Code 3044)

= £150,000.00 over 3 years