An attempt to explain how the logic of GMCA filters down into regional organising.

The big players

These are at the top of the pecking order in terms of budget and funding.

GMCA: GM Combined Authority

Mayor Andy Burnham plus handful of other leaders that he appoints (I think).
Made up of: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan City Councils
Top-level strategy for the whole region. "Combined authorities" are largely part of the Tory devolution program to my knowledge and through devolution they can mess with regional budgets. So to some extent they're in an awkward spot from the get-go of having to bend to whatever the Tories want whilst somehow representing their regions interest. This is the level where they make decisions about developments in the hundreds of millions and billions.
Responsible for: transport, economic development, regeneration and housing, strategic spatial planning, education, skills and training, police and crime, fire and rescue, public health, waste.
You can only interact with them through the myriad panels on various issues and the like — as far as I know there's no direct representation. Also accountable to noone apart from central government as far as I know.
- Each panel has it's own "terms of reference" which is sort of "what we're allowed to talk about".
- There must be hundreds of them and they're a common response to fucking up.
Budget is hard to pin down as I think it's funding comes indirectly and through loans and investment as well, but i think in the hundreds of millions.

Diagram from "they work for you":

The devolved health service. Part of the GMCA but has it's own budget - 6bn.
Claim to be trying to do place-based working that would be more compatible with activist ways of working but it's not really working on the ground.
Split into several "CCGs" or "clinical commissioning groups". The relationships between the bits of these is bewildering. For example in Hulme groups responsible include Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO), Manchester Primary Care Partnership, GM Mental Health, Buzz. Trying to get a straight answer about who does what is nigh on impossible and it feels like this groups are changing on a month to month basis.
Health care regions are nearly the same as the GMCA 10 boroughs... but not quite (this happens a lot). This is who "commissions" your GP surgery, mental health services, stop drinking support, etc etc.