Involvement Week 2024 Round Up and Key Takeaways
Tuesday 29th of October 2024
Involvement Week 2024 brought together tenants, Councils and Housing Associations, to spotlight and celebrate tenant involvement across the country. Over five dynamic days, participants shared insights and success stories that highlighted the essential role of tenant voices in shaping services and policies. Here’s a recap of the week’s key themes and highlights.
Day 1: Service Influencers Day
The first session featured St Leger Homes, which presented its Tenant Voice Strategy, outlining the need for clear roles within the Tenant Scrutiny Panel and the One Voice Forum. By providing targeted training through Tpas, they have successfully navigated cross-membership challenges and fostered greater input in policy-making, particularly from underrepresented groups. Their flexible "Get Involved" group encourages broader participation through hybrid meetings, clubs, and incentives like High Street vouchers for engaged tenants.
Beyond Housing Beyond Housing shared their unique approach to customer engagement, using their innovative engagement framework. This has moved them beyond traditional panels and uses a personalized engagement approach, based on tenant demographics and interests, that ensures every customer has a voice. We also heard about their newly launched Customer Forum which ensures direct dialogue between tenants and executives and the Board.
Greatwell Homes introduced their co-creation approach, which brings tenants and staff together to collaboratively develop solutions. Their current work includes service charge reviews and a repairs co-creation project, where they map customer journeys and collect feedback to ensure services meet tenant needs. Despite challenges, such as the time-intensive nature of co-creation, the approach has already shown great potential.
Day 2: Community Do-ers Day
The session featured presentations and discussions from Richmond Council, Hull City Council, and Greatwell Homes, focusing on grassroots initiatives and involvement at community level.
Richmond Council’s Community Ambassador Project
We heard how Richmond Council has brought together different housing associations in the area to empower residents to have a direct voice in local housing issues and decision making. They shared how by emphasising co-production and transparency, the initiative has addressed housing disrepair, improved local services and built strong community bonds. Richmond Council also outlined their plans to increase the number of community ambassadors and broaden the scope of engagement to ensure no one is left behind.
Hull’s Local Area and Block Champions
Hull City Council spotlighted the impressive contributions of 21 local area champions and 124 block champions who, among other things, collected over 12 tons of rubbish last year. Their engagement with tenants, which includes daily feedback and monthly calls, has helped improve local communities and services. Hull is investing in initiatives like women's groups and community outreach to maintain strong tenant relations.
Community Outreach and Inclusion Initiatives
Greatwell Homes discussed their inclusion and diversity efforts. Their outreach programs, designed to create safe, judgment-free spaces, focus on uniting diverse groups and providing support for families with children who have special needs. This project, spanning 10 weeks, included virtual reality therapy, sports, and life skills activities, all aimed at fostering family connections and well-being.
This session clearly highlighted the shared commitment to community led engagement that builds community capital and fosters equal partnerships between housing providers and local residents. By working together, everyone can play a part in shaping stronger, more vibrant communities.
Day 3: Scrutiny Day
What a fantastic day we had in Loughborough with over 150 attendees. Thanks to all our keynotes speakers, sponsors, organisers and attendees. We will see you next year.
Please take a look at the video as a reflection of the day.
Day 4: Decision Makers Day
On Day 4, We heard from Aspire Customer Board Member, who shared insights from her own journey. She emphasised the importance of constructive challenge, transparency, and the need for diverse perspectives in governance. There was also a general discussion on Tenant Involvement in the world of Governance. The key take aways from this were
• Value: Tenant Board Members are making a positive impact in the world of Governance and many examples were shared highlighting their immense value and the value of the tenant perspectives in decision-making.
• Training and Support: The need for more comprehensive training and all-round support for board members was highlighted, and this is something that Tpas are currently developing
• Challenges and Opportunities: Discussions explored the challenges of balancing personal commitments with board responsibilities, emphasising the need for strategic recruitment to attract diverse tenants.
This lively session demonstrated a collective commitment to amplifying tenant voices within the world of Governance to deliver better decision making, strategies and services.
Day 5: Measuring Engagement/Impactathon Day
The final day focused on the importance of measuring engagement. Caritas Charles, Tpas’s Insight and Policy Manager, discussed the new grading system for consumer standards, emphasising the need to learn from regulatory judgments rather than just focussing on grading.
L&Q then shared insights into their 2020 transformation, focusing on their Partnership of Equals Report and their approach measuring the impact of resident involvement. Highlights included:
• Annual Impact Report: This report assesses the quality of resident involvement and its influence on long-term goals, focussing on the positive impact engagement has on both staff and residents.
• Partnership Dynamics: The discussion stressed the importance of equal partnerships between residents and organisations, and the importance of using data from various sources to inform their strategies and engage residents in meaningful opportunities.
• Volunteer Management: L and Q shared their thoughts that involvement should be looked at through a volunteering lens and framework, drawing on good practice from the voluntary sector to shape their engagement.
The week then concluded with a wider celebration of the impactful engagement initiatives taking place across the country, with participants sharing their experiences and the positive changes in their communities.
Conclusion
Involvement Week 2024 showcased a collective dedication to empowering tenants, enhancing community resilience, and fostering meaningful partnerships. As we move forward, these insights and strategies will continue to shape a more inclusive and responsive housing sector, ensuring that tenant voices are heard and valued in every way.