Ambition for Ageing is a cross sector partnership of influential organisations, led by Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO), with the aim of developing creative approaches to reducing social isolation for older people in Greater Manchester. The programme is part of the Big Lottery’s national Ageing Better programme. GMCVO wishes to contract with a partnership of organisations who will develop a range of social eating projects in Greater Manchester. The partnership should comprise of organisations with existing reach and relationships with older people at risk of isolation who would benefit from a social eating project.

The partnership would develop projects with an intention to ensure sustainability and use the learning developed during delivery to produce a guide to developing social eating projects in Greater Manchester. The guide will highlight:

— Barriers to social eating,

— characteristics of successful projects,

— necessary preconditions for success.

Partnerships should have expertise in project development, communications and evaluation amongst their membership.

The work must be delivered in at least 4 of the 8 Local Authority districts which are covered by Ambition for Ageing — Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside and Wigan (not Trafford or Stockport). Development work can be targeted at a neighbourhood level rather than being required to cover full districts. We will favour partnerships proposing activity in the broadest range of locations.