The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), winner of the 16th OIDP Award for Best Practice in Citizen Participation, has recently published its Participation Playbook: a visual, accessible, and playful toolkit designed to support local and regional governments, community groups, and residents in embedding participatory democracy into all kinds of decision-making processes.

Tabz O’Brien — Strategic Lead of Live Well, the GMCA-led network that promotes community collaboration and places care at the center of public service delivery — and Katy Rubin — a long-time OIDP collaborator and champion of legislative theatre as a democratic participation tool — spoke with the OIDP to share more about this Playbook and how the OIDP Award they received in 2022 has acted as a true catalyst for expanding participation across the Greater Manchester region.

We invite you to watch this interview to learn more about how GMCA is advancing social inclusion and renewing public participation through play, celebration, and joy as drivers of a more vibrant democracy.