Researching health and social care devolution: Learning for Greater Manchester. Interim findings - Winter 2016

Since October 2015, researchers at the University of Manchester have been examining Health and Social Care Devolution in Greater Manchester. We are working closely with the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP) – the 37 NHS organisations and councils overseeing devolution and taking charge of the £6bn health and social care budget in Greater Manchester (GM). Our research seeks to understand the devolution process and its development, to describe and analyse changing governance, accountability and organisational forms, and to map and measure changes to services. This brief report sets out our findings from the first year of research. It draws on our analysis of relevant policy documents, observation of meetings (140 hours) and interviews with 20 senior staff members. The research is supported by the Health Foundation and the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) Greater Manchester.