Commu App – Engage Manchester – Tech-Enabled Community Action with Commu App

Challenge: Manchester: How can any technology solve social challenges?

Target Group: General Population

Commu App “Tinder for Good Deeds” is a digital platform designed to connect people within local communities to request and offer help for everyday needs. It aims to strengthen social inclusion by enabling acts of support such as running errands, offering companionship, or sharing practical skills. In the Manchester pilot, Commu was adapted to the local food-bank support network to support marginalised groups by improving access to local food aid services and opportunities for community engagement. The objective was to co-create a tool that directly addressed local needs.

Co-creation activities with the Anti-Poverty Strategy Team of the city of Manchester included workshops, interviews, and feedback sessions with residents, community leaders, and organisations. Approximately 50 people were involved, 30 of whom can be considered representative of the target group. These sessions shaped the app’s features, language options, and accessibility considerations. As a result, the pilot delivered a more inclusive and locally tailored version of the app, which increased awareness of and participation in community life. The next steps involved further developing the platform based on user feedback, creating resources to support future users, and documenting the process to enable replication in other cities.