PlaceCal helps people in Greater Manchester become more socially connected with one another through attending free local events.

PlaceCal is both a software tool and a partnership of community organisations, charities, social housing providers, government services, health providers, and citizens. We’re working together to create really great neighbourhood information sources that enable community wellness and active citizenship.

People can discover small local groups that organise regular free events for their community. These events are often difficult to find without people being told out about them or having digital skills. They might be coffee mornings, sewing groups, computer classes or gardening groups. They’re highly valuable for people, but are often run by organisations with little to no budget or staff time to devote to promotion beyond posting them online.

When people can’t find events near them, they may become lonely and isolated. This often results in mental and physical deterioration which only comes to attention when they eventually interact with healthcare services. PlaceCal ultimately works to prevent these outcomes by improving the physical and mental health of people in the community, as well as their overall wellbeing.

It works over clearly defined areas called “neighbourhoods”, such as Hulme.

Our holistic social and technical toolkit is designed to improve the quality, quantity and accessibility of community information within an area. This approach helps us to create smarter, more resilient, and better connected neighbourhoods – all with the resources already available.

These neighbourhoods work better for everyone, but especially people who are currently digitally excluded.

Our tools can be used by everyone from older people to social prescribers such as doctors and library assistants. It’s not a top-down approach, as the platform is maintained and kept up-to-date by local experts. These are the people in your community who know the area inside out.