One North West is the regional network for the black and minority ethnic voluntary and community sector in the north west of England.
 Historically, black and minority ethnic communities have been regarded as beneficiaries of regeneration initiatives rather than equal contributors to regional development. This has for the most part been due to the lack of a developed and coherent voluntary and community sector infrastructure in which active engagement can be supported and encouraged. Despite government policy commitment and the determination of the sector, the black and minority ethnic community is still under represented and poorly resourced. (BME Voluntary and Community Organisations: a Code of Good Practice).
As one of nine regional infrastructure organisations located within the English regions, One North West was established to help address these difficulties by providing an accountable and accessible network through which dialogue, influence and activity can be generated.
One North West is kindly supported by a Regional Infrastructure Programme Grant from the Cabinet Office, Office of the Third Sectori. One North West is working for the benefit of the black and minority ethnic voluntary and community sector across the five sub-regions of Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside.

Vision
Strong and vibrant BME communities, fully engaged in the decisions which affect their growth and development.

Key Values
One North West is guided by the values that promote equality of opportunity, participation, co-operation, democratic involvement, social justice and learning.
Aims

• To unlock further funds for the sector at regional level
• To increase the effectiveness of the BME sector through capacity buildingi
• To develop effective links and communication mechanisms within the sector and externally
• To promote the active participation of the sector in the development of policy at regional level

Information Dissemination
Providing up to date information on local and regional developments through newsletters, information packs, website features, presentations and awareness raising events.

Capacity Building
Developing the skills and abilities of the BME Voluntary and Community Sector to meet the needs of the communities they serve through the provision of information and the facilitation of advice and training.

Research and Policy
Collecting and providing evidence on the needs, role and developments within the BME sector in order to influence policy, planning and service delivery.

Networking and Partnerships
Strategic engagement with statutory policy makers and delivery agents to ensure full participation of the BME sector and a fair distribution of resources.

Regional Participation
One North West works hard to influence strategy development and implementation of action plans at a regional level. We achieve this through development of a close partnership working relationship with key regional policy makers; these include Government Office for the North West, North West Regional Assembly and the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

One North West Advisory Board
The One North West Advisory Board provides specialist advice to the Project Director on BME voluntary and community sector infrastructure needs and supports the Project Director in the development of project strategies, policies and work plans. Members were recruited through an open selection process and appointed on the basis of their professional skills and capabilities.
 

There are ten members:

Tony Durrant
Chair (One North West)

Waqar Abbasi 
Help the Aged (Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, Stockport and Trafford)

Alicia Henry 
Support4Progress (Greater Manchester)

Majid Hussain
Remploy (National, Greater Manchester)

Tracey Hylton
BEM Network (Merseyside)
TK Al-Jorani
Cheshire Halton and Warrington Race Equality Council (Cheshire, Halton and  Warrington)
Mohammad Naeem
Rochdale Centre for Diversity (Greater Manchester, Chair North West Network)
Kirit Patel
Oxfam (North of England)
Emile Pinel 
North West Network (Regional)
Humza Umair
Confederation of Indian Organisations (Greater Manchester, Regional)

One North West website