Collaborate: Tenant Influence in Boards and Governance

Tpas is launching the third instalment of our popular Collaborate series.

Once again we’re bringing organisations together to ensure landlords are taking the right approach in putting the voice of tenants at the heart of social housing’s biggest challenges!

Putting tenants at the heart of decision-making

We know that when tenants influence how landlords operate, we see a greater focus on core purpose and a more authentic approach to delivering frontline services.

However, with housing providers facing challenges on multiple fronts – from reputation to finance to regulation – Tpas understands it can be a challenge to get the assurance you need that the voice of tenants is at the heart of your strategic decision-making.

Collaborate: Tenant Influence in boards and governance responds to this challenge and will help you answer these key questions:

How do board members and portfolio holders seek assurance that they are enabling tenant voices to influence services and decisions made?   
How are board members and portfolio holders reducing the risk of non-compliance across consumer standards?  
Are tenants respected throughout everything your organisation does and how do you demonstrate you are a trustworthy landlord?

Our Collaborate programme will help Board members and portfolio holders to become more curious, ask the right questions on tenant influence and give you the ability to challenge performance in this area effectively.

How does Collaborate work?

As housing’s leading experts in tenant engagement, our programme will provide unrivalled levels of analysis and information on best practice in ensuring tenants’ voices are heard. The course will offer high challenge and support in unpicking complex issues, time for reflection and an opportunity for board members and portfolio holders from different organisations to come together to create solutions.

Through a series of in-person workshops, held in London or Milton Keynes, you will work through issues you and your organisation are facing in ensuring tenant influence in governance.  Each organisation that joins will have up to four places at each workshop, creating sufficient space for colleagues to participate at a detailed level, or for a variety of colleagues to attend different sessions.  

This programme is ideal for:

Board Members
Portfolio Holders
Directors of Compliance and Customer Experience
Members of your team leading in Governance and Involvement

Delivered collaboratively and collegiately through an action learning approach, workshop content will include:  

The context and background to tenants’ influence from an assurance and compliance perspective. 
A focus on tenant influence across repairs services in direct response to the recommendations from the Better Social Housing Review (BSHR), using data and insight to drive up quality. 
An exploration of what a ‘trustworthy’ organisation looks and feels like 
Building better relationships and resilience, mitigating issues in the public realm.

The project will conclude with a final report showcasing findings from the project

What are the benefits?

Benefits to individuals:

Understand accountability and responsibility in the context of tenant influence and ensure compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements. 
Hear from Tpas and other thought-leaders on proven techniques with materials and action plans to implement. 
Come together and work together, be part of a collaborative peer-led group focused on the creation of solutions in a safe environment to tenant influence challenges. 
Receive clear direction for ensuring successful assurance that you are noticing tenant voices and enabling influence at every level to improve governance. 
Develop a broader network of support with likeminded colleagues and future practice, supporting the sector to innovate.

Benefits to landlords:

Understanding the context and background of the Regulator of Social Housing expectations for effective tenant influence. 
Directly responding to the recommendations in the Better Social Housing Review (BSHR), to refocus on core purpose and become proactive rather than reactive, reinvigorate focus on social purpose and improving quality by redefining excellence in repairs services. 
Achieving a clearer view of what a tenant-first culture should be and ensuring tenants are front and centre. 
Increased ability and capacity to seek the evidence for assurance to reduce risks and to demonstrate the tenant voice is influencing decision-making. 
Create a sense of urgency within your organisation to deliver results.

The details

This programme will start on 28th November 2023 and conclude in June 2024.

The programme will include leading facilitators such as; 

Jenny Osbourne MBE, Chief Executive, Tpas
Kwajo Tweneboa, Social Housing campaigner
Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement, Regulator of Social Housing
Sharron Webster, Partner, Trowers and Hamlins
Angela Lockwood, Chief Executive, North Star Housing Group
Emma O'Shea, Chief Operating and Technology Officer
Alison Inman, Board member, Tpas (invited)
Emma Flynn, Tenant Engagement Consultant Ltd.
Anna O’Halloran, O’Halloran Consultancy Ltd.
Yvonne Davies, Consultant
Creative Bridge
Benjamin Taylor, Chief Executive, Red Quadrant; Chief Executive, Public Service Transformation Academy
Cormac Russell, Managing Director, Nurture Development
Stephen Carver, Senior Lecturer in Project and Programme Management, Action, Execution and Implementation, Cranfield Businesss School, MBA business lecturer
Andy Fry, Chief Executive, Centre for Public Scrutiny
Dave Richmond, Chief Executive, St. Leger Homes
Dave Wilkinson, Chair, St. Leger Homes
Bronwen Rapley, Chief Executive, Onward Homes
Mathew Baxter, Chief Executive, Echelon Group
Jane Nelson, Strategy Director at Cardo Group and LCB Group; Director at Alcinoe Ltd
Masaud Subedar, Board Member EMH, Director Community Services, Tun Tum Housing
John Denny
The Housing Ombudsman (invited)

Cost for the entire programme per organisation is £8499 plus VAT (for Tpas members) and £9499 plus VAT (for non-members) and includes up to four colleagues places at each workshop and inclusion in the end of research report.

Why choose Tpas?

We’re Tpas, England’s leading tenant engagement experts.
We are a destination organisation for Regulators across the social housing sector.
We regularly organise or join roundtable discussions, facilitate sessions and provide direct feedback and thought-leadership to the Regulator of Social Housing, the Building Safety regulator and The Housing Ombudsman. 
Alongside that Tpas is a partner of choice with organisations such as HACT, CIH, NHF, Placeshapers and LGA valuing our counsel to help ensure that through collaborative behaviours, meaningful tenant engagement is developed for the benefit of the majority rather than the few. 
We’re a not-for-profit organisation and have been representing our members across England since 1988. 
We promote, support and champion tenant involvement and empowerment in social housing across England. 
Delivering governance specific training and facilitation to staff and tenants across the country.

For more information, contact Julie Butterworth, Head of Consultancy: julie.butterworth@tpas.org.uk