We are pleased to announce that we are starting an exciting project to design a ‘toolkit’ to help social housing providers in Australia improve estates and schemes where there are special challenges.

The focus will be on placemaking and community building rather than physical regeneration.

The project has been commissioned by the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) of New South Wales and is funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). It will build on ties HQN has developed with the social housing sector in Australia over the past few years.

Survey

We’re currently running a survey covering the basics of the place, residents and involvement, estate management, placemaking and metrics. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. There are quite a few questions but we hope that will allow you to include as much detail as possible. Please take the survey here.

The aim is to come up with a practical guide for social housing organisations to use to develop good practice in estate management, including after stock transfer, placemaking and resident engagement. This will include:

  • Researching international best practice (Australia, UK and wider)
  • Case studies
  • Identifying ‘what works’ for successful placemaking
  • Identifying metrics and measures.

The project will run over the next six months, with the intention of getting a first draft of the toolkit out in summer 2024.

This is a great opportunity for Housing Management Network members to get involved by identifying good practice, sharing and learning. We will share all our findings, including the first and final drafts.

You can take part by:

  • Completing our survey. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and will help us get to grips with the key issues and metrics
  • Joining a steering group of Housing Management Network members
  • Telling us about positive practice and case studies of working with disadvantaged communities – what works and what does not
  • Telling us about any research you know of
  • Telling us what would help you
  • Contributing to the development of the toolkit
  • Piloting the toolkit.

We are researching all types of estates and schemes and are especially interested in scattered or rural stock. Former stock transfer homes, tenant management organisations and PFI schemes are also of interest. We would also like to hear about your experiences of multi-agency working and community building.

To register your interest and to find out more, get in touch by emailing Lily Shaw [email protected]

Our first best practice group in 2024 (17 January) will be on this topic, so sign up now.