NSC Oration: Active Lives for All: How Greater Manchester Moving is uniting local government, health systems, sport, leisure, transport and voluntary sector to address inactivity and inequalities, improved health outcomes and creating an inclusive sport system

Wednesday, June 25, 2025
3:45 PM - 4:20 PM
Goldfields Theatre

Details

GM Moving in Action is the city-region’s strategy to support active lives for all- delivering the national Uniting the Movement strategy with the contribution of people, communities, and cross-sector partners. This whole-system way of working aligns and connects local government, transport, health and care, sport, education, leisure, voluntary, faith and social enterprise organisations and many more, to tackle inactivity and inequalities and improve outcomes at neighbourhood, district, and regional levels. Hayley Lever will explain why Greater Manchester decided it needed a new approach, what they are doing and how, and what they have learnt so far.


Speaker

Agenda Item Image
Hayley Lever
CEO
Greater Manchester Moving

NSC Oration

Biography

For 30 years, Hayley has played a leadership role in physical activity, sport, policy, and community development, currently as CEO of GM Moving. She is a committed community volunteer and charity trustee where she lives in the Peak District and supports several advisory boards and communities of practice and learning. Hayley has always believed in the power of an active life for health, happiness, friendship, and community. She is a passionate advocate of this agenda in her culture change, system change, behaviour change work in Greater Manchester and beyond. She supports, works with, and learns from colleagues across England, and through the Global Community of Practice on whole systems approaches to inactivity and inequalities, which she founded in 2023. Hayley’s role involves leading for change and shifting culture and systems across the whole devolved and integrated system in Greater Manchester, including health, local government, charity, private and social enterprise sectors. She has developed her understanding of working in complex systems from a community perspective and a strategic one. She is convinced that a whole system approach to supporting active lives is the only way we will succeed in designing moving back into everyday life and addressing health inequalities. Hayley is known for leading with humility and curiosity and for her open approach to learning and connecting others, through her writing, podcasts, hosting and facilitating of spaces for people to connect and build relationships, so that they can do great work together. She recognises that working in complexity is challenging, and practices what she preaches as she disconnects, unwinds, and make sense of the work, whilst walking, swimming, running in the Peak District, UK, where she lives. She believes that we do our best work when we are physically and mentally well and supports her teams and colleagues to put that first.
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