Working groups

Our member-led working groups focus on different aspects of running Partisan. Each meets regularly and has a channel on Slack where updates and discussion take place. Details of working group meetings can be found on our events calendar. All members are welcome to attend any working group meeting, whether or not they can commit to doing so on a regular basis.

The best way to find out about or join a working group is to pop along to a meeting. If you can’t make one, or there isn’t one scheduled, you can join the group’s Slack channel or email info@partisancollective.net for more information.

You can join more than one working group or switch between them at any time, and you don’t need experience to get involved. We’re all about having a go at something new, skill-sharing and learning together. We understand that people are busy, and you’re welcome to commit to as much or as little as suits you.

Everyone’s input is welcome, so if you have accessibility needs please let us know and together we’ll find tasks that will suit you. There are lots of helpful things people can do that aren’t physical and could be done from home.

Our current working groups include:

Accessibility and accountability: It’s really important to us that we make our building and events as accessible as possible, and we currently have a lot of work to do to make that a reality. Accountability looks at what policies we need to have in place to make sure we keep each other safe and happy, and so we know how to deal with conflicts as they arise.

Bar and food: The running, stocking and planning of our bar and future café.

Community outreach: We want to make sure we engage with our local community, other communities in Manchester and the DIY scene beyond. If you love talking to people, have great contacts or want to reach out to relevant groups we’re currently not connecting with, please get involved. Contact us at community@partisancollective.net

Design: The physical design, planning and building of the space. We especially welcome people who have labouring skills at this time — especially design expertise, electrical skills, plastering, tiling and general building skills.

Events: Facilitating the running of events at Partisan. We make decisions about outside bookings and occasionally organise our own in-house events. We also volunteer to help run events on the day. This team is split into sub-groups for live and dance music.

Finance and fundraising: Working in small groups to write funding bids, brainstorm other fundraising ideas and find other fundraising opportunities. This is needed to help Partisan buy equipment and make improvements to the space (especially in terms of accessibility), and to ensure our financial viability. People with grant writing experience or financial know-how or bookkeeping skills would be perfect for this, though no experience is required.

Media and print: The creative and promotional arm of Partisan. We look after the newsletter, social media, general promotion, poster design, flyering, update and develop the website and create merch. We write press releases and engage with the media.

Screenings: A group of film enthusiasts who organise film screenings at Partisan.

Sound: PAs, equipment, soundproofing and sound techs. We would love input from people with soundproofing expertise and sound engineering knowledge.

Don’t forget, you can connect with all our working groups via their Slack channel.