About

From October 2013 – December 2016 IWM North and Manchester Museum delivered a volunteering, training and placement programme across 10 heritage venues in Greater Manchester. The project can be viewed as an exemplar in partnership working to tackle wellbeing inequalities.

We used our unique galleries, collections and staff expertise as the main sources of training, inspiration and learning”. 

“For at least 75% of participants, it has helped transform their lives or positively change their perception of their own abilities and skills.”

Participant recruitment was aimed at people who were long term unemployed or facing low-level mental wellbeing challenges and/or social isolation.

Key information

• 231 local people recruited over three years
• 75% in receipt of a benefit allowance
• Over 75% report a significant increase in wellbeing after a year
• Almost 60% report long term sustained wellbeing improvement over 2-3 years
• More than 30% of partipants gained employment or other new opportunities for getting into work