The Games offered an unprecedented opportunity for the long-term development of partnership and interagency working in the North West of England.

Whilst a number of partnerships were already in place, (most notably in Manchester itself due to the dynamic model presented by Manchester Millennium Ltd in rebuilding the city after the 1996 bomb), the Games proved the impetus for improved relationships between agencies and between the City and the Region.

The Greater Manchester Co-ordinating Committee was a key group offering a quality of leadership, which was fundamental to the success of the Games. 

The hosting of the Commonwealth Games established immediately a clear end date in terms of the event and a readily defined timeline to focus partnership working.

This provided a common agenda for the partners to come together to exchange ideas on vision, strategy, resources and action.

Partners recognised that in some critical areas, detailed planning would only happen in the last twelve months before the event.

Shared working practices began to develop as relationships strengthened and the decision-making processes became more dynamic.

An improved sense of mutual understanding lead in many areas to a much stronger sense of respect for partner organisations and working cultures.

Having partners such as Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive with long-term relationships with third parties helped with negotiations.

Sport England’s considerable commitment to the region is evidenced in the legacy of world class sporting facilities now present in the North West of England. A detailed analysis of this contribution can be found under the separate Sport England category.

The organisations identified in this section  worked in close partnership with Manchester City Council and the  Commonwealth Games Opportunities and Legacy Partnership to deliver one of the most ambitious and far reaching Social and Economic regeneration programmes linked to a major event.