Why ITA selection days are the future
Thursday 16th of November 2017
Our Consultancy and Events Coordinator, Leanne Farrell blogs about her adventures in taking part in a resident selection day at Serpentine Court in Milton Keynes.
There’s no greater feeling than sitting on the train home to Manchester trying not to burst into celebration and attempting to contain the cheesiest of grins behind a mobile phone and a coffee cup. Did I win the lottery? No, but close.
On Saturday 11 November, Emma-Jane Flynn, Tpas Consultancy Manager, Kevin Farrell – trusty Tpas Associate (and possible distant relation) and I were invited to attend the YourMK Resident Selection Day for the future ITA of Serpentine Court.
The purpose of the day was for residents of Serpentine Court to meet the potential ITA organisations to find out more about them, to meet the advisor teams and ultimately ‘vote’ for their preferred Independent Resident Advisor.
For me, this was a wonderfully refreshing model for involving residents in the decision making process. Not only did the event allow residents to make a decision for themselves but also gave each of the competing organisations the opportunity to meet the local people, gain valuable insight into their lives and find out what the regeneration proposals mean to them as residents.
Armed with our new ‘The Good ITA Guide’, case studies from other Tpas ITA Regeneration projects and donning our Team Tpas purple polo shirts it was time to put ourselves in the shop window.
We met lots of residents from Serpentine Court, from all walks of life. We got to understand their feelings towards the proposed regeneration, their likes and dislikes about the area and the community, what a good Advisor is and most importantly showcase to them the Team Tpas approach in full swing.
Behind the scenes a great deal of work went into the preparation for the day to ensure we stood out but in reality we only needed what we already had - our experience, our knowledge, our principles and our humanity – wearing smiles on our faces and our hearts on our sleeves. An approach that clearly worked - Tpas won the majority of the resident votes on the day!
We are delighted to have been selected as Independent Resident Advisor for Serpentine Court and are humbled that the community trusts our skills and expertise to appoint us to the role.
Events like this allow Team Tpas to show what we really are all about – creating the conversations that matter.
I am very much looking forward to the future of this ITA regeneration project and to be working with everyone at YourMK and Serpentine Court and in true Tpas fashion, bringing the end goal of real and long-lasting change to the community.
Watch this space!
Download the Tpas Good ITA Guide