LocalMotion Oldham
Embracing a buzzing Oldham and making a real difference, by connecting people and opportunities for lifelong change.
We’re not here just to talk, to share our voice, but to act. Together we are taking positive action, to tackle social and economic injustice, to change the systems around us.
The Oldham Positive Action Network (OPAN) builds on the work of a Poverty Truth Commission that concluded in 2022 and turned into Oldham Poverty Action Network. We changed our name in 2024, partly to reflect the broader scope of Oldham LocalMotion. But mostly, as one of our Lived Experience Advisers put it, “Who wants to join something about poverty”.
OPAN is made up local residents, people working in local community organisations and public sector practitioners. It is the main way we deliver the work in Oldham. Local Motion provides resourcing, learning, strategic oversight and peer support.
We have ambitions to make OPAN a broader “movement” (whatever we mean by one) to gather and build the power of people with a connection to Oldham.
To explore and experiment with collaborative approaches to achieving long-term systemic change that tackles the root causes of social, environmental, and economic injustices in a way that best meets local priorities.
Our overall approach is one of experimentation. To seek out new practice to systems change work, to translate this into Oldham’s local context, to test, to learn and to share this learning. Ultimately to improve “the way we do things around here”.
We start by bringing people together around our broad themes. At the moment we are focused on poverty, housing, routes to employment and enterprise.
This starts with a discovery phase, lots of conversations, to understand the issues, share experiences. Then depending on the energy, where we can act, we may stop there, or move into a test and learn phase. These may be small/short, then end, or evolve into larger and more long-term interventions. Below are some of the streams we are working on at the moment.
Within OPAN we have a group of Lived Experience Advisers who are passionate about using their experiences and skills to enable positive change in Oldham’s communities and in seeing systems & services transformed. Most of our activities include and are co-designed with our LEA’s. We offer coaching, support and renumeration to people contributing their time, sharing their experiences.
As a result of a broader discovery phase focusing on housing issues, we have taken forward three test and learns:
Building on the success of our Lived Experience Adviser’s we wanted to do something similar aimed at young people, so we have been working with a group, supported by SPARK Oldham. They explore issues facing young people and looking to test solutions to shake-up that system. Their current idea is around “Lifehack’s” developing a bespoke training programme, of young people teaching other young people Life Skills, they’re not being taught. Like cooking, changing a lightbulb, or how to get a job.
We’ve tested a number of approaches to support people into volunteering as a route to employment. Our most successful and has now been extended into a longer-term commitment is with the local Job Centre. We developed an inclusive recruitment process that valued lived experience of long term unemployment. We recruited, trained and support a volunteer coach. They are employed by a local charity, but embedded within the job centre team. Job Coaches can refer people struggling to find work, but who would benefit from volunteering as a way raise their confidence and skills. This role can really get to know people, their interests, match them to volunteering opportunities and walk alongside them on this journey, sometimes literally, helping people walk through the door.
We’ve recognised a need for a coordinated approach to community reporting and research. Whether gathering insights to inform redesigning services like our community conversations, measuring the impact of projects, or gathering stories to celebrate local hero’s, to help change the narrative of Oldham.
We’ve built an equipment library with support from Inclusive Bytes. So anyone can receive training, tech support and book out the right audio and video equipment they need it. We’ve also agreed to invest in training and coaching a group of people interested in volunteering as reporters and researcher, with the longer term goal of turning this into an affordable, charged for service, so we can pay people for their developing expertise.
Real change takes all of us. Whether you’re a resident, community group, funder, or public partner — Oldham Positive Action Network invites you to be part of this shared journey: to listen, co-create, and reimagine what’s possible together.
To contact Oldham Positive Action Network e-mail john.atherton@actiontogether.org.uk
Stories From Oldham
