Empowering Communities Annual Report 2022-2023

2023 | SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

I’m pleased to present the fifth annual report for our social enterprise, Empowering Communities.

Empowering Communities is the trading subsidiary of Supporting Communities, an independent charitable organisation that has worked for more than 40 years to equip tenants and communities in Northern Ireland with the means to have a voice in their housing and other local services.

Established in 2017, Empowering Communities works with housing providers, large and small, who want to enhance their tenant engagement and implement effective tenant participation practices.

During the past few years, Empowering Communities has made significant strides towards establishing itself as the ‘go-to’ tenant participation expert for housing associations across Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.

We have a proven track record of effective tenant/community

engagement, delivered by an

experienced, highly skilled and dedicated staff team.

This year we have begun work on a significant milestone for us; the first All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference.

The conference will be held in June 2023 and will be the first of its kind on this island, establishing us as leaders in this space and changing the conversation around tenant empowerment.

Our theme continues to be #NextLevelTP as we help housing providers embrace the idea of continuous improvement in tenant participation.

I hope you enjoy this brief report highlighting our accomplishments for the 2022-2023 year as we prepare to take our own work to the next level at the upcoming conference,

Paul Armstrong, Chair,

Empowering Communities Board

2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT

quick glance

NUMBERS & STATISTICS With the addition of the Woodvale & Shankill Community Housing Association, our membership grew this year to twentyone housing providers.

We delivered training to a total of 352 participants across the island of Ireland and earned a 99% satisfaction rate.

Thirty-two of these participants achieved an OCN NI qualification with us.

We continued to build on last year’s successful rollout of the Tenant Participation Accreditation scheme, awarding Ark Housing with recognition at the bronze level. The award recognises landlords that demonstrate excellence in tenant participation and provides an indepth assessment of engagement practices and activities.

We continued to consult with housing providers on key pieces of work, including ongoing regular staff support sessions, three tenant participation strategies, one major mystery shopping exercise, and several independent reviews of Stage 2 complaints.

This year we also began work on our first All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference, which will be held in June 2023.

21

member organisations

99%

training satisfaction rate

352

participants received training

32

gained an OCN qualification

1

TP Accreditation awarded

“ The staff at Empowering Communities are always contactable and eager to provide assistance. Fantastic communication, customer service, and industry knowledge.”

- feedback from member

2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT

our members' network

TPPN

The Tenant Participation Practitioners' Network provides an opportunity for staff involved in tenant engagement work to come together to share good practice.

The group meets quarterly, and the membership’s needs drive their agenda.

This year, the network has had presentations from the Housing Regulation Branch, and The Housing Agency Ireland. Members have shared their methods for engaging tenants, and we

“TPPN meetings provide a support network of like-minded people and a sounding board to run things past.”

- member feedback

have provided training on setting up residents groups, and reporting to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

The group also shares resources and materials online in an exclusive members only section of our tpsupport.org website.

#nextleveltp

CONFERENCE PLANNING A significant piece of work for us this year was planning for the first All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference to be held in June 2023.

Our staff team has been working hard to pull together a terrific lineup of speakers and to promote the conference to our key audiences.

This event will be the first of its kind and will bring together housing providers, policy makers and active tenants from all over Ireland to discuss ways we can take tenant participation to the next level.

Empowering Communities is leading the way in this important discussion about what is next for tenant engagement and how we can work together to ensure it is a core part of any housing provision.

2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Ark Housing

TP ACCREDITATION Ark has become the second housing association in Northern Ireland to achieve the Tenant Participation Standards Accreditation from Supporting Communities.

The TP Standards are ten criteria for tenant involvement that an organisation must meet to become accredited.

Accreditation is awarded at three levels based on the Scottish model and adapted for Northern Ireland by Supporting Communities.

We led a robust assessment ofArk’s tenant participation work to date,

highlighting good practice and making suggestions for improvement in areas.

An independent panel then individually rated the standards against a set of competencies before collectively discussing their findings and awarding an overall rating of Bronze Level 2. Well done to everyone at Ark Housing!

Fermanagh Trust Training

NEW PARTNERSHIPS This year, we formed a new partnership with the Fermanagh Trust, an independent communitybased foundation which supports local communities and groups across County Fermanagh and its hinterlands.

We provided them with OCNaccredited training in Community Capacity Building (Levels 1&2) as part of their Investing in Community Leadership Programme.

Twenty-six learners from groups all over Fermanagh gained a qualification.

OCN Level 2 graduates from the Investing in Community Leadership Programme with course tutor Karla Turner from Supporting Communities.

2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT

THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS FOR YOUR SUPPORT Alpha Housing (NI) Ltd Apex Housing Association Arbour Housing Association Ark Housing Association Choice Housing Circle VHA Clanmil Housing Association Cluid Housing Connswater Homes Craigowen Housing Association Extern Homes Fold Ireland Housing Association Ireland

Grove Community Housing Association Habinteg Housing Association NB Housing Newington Housing Association Radius Housing Association Rural Housing Association St Matthews Housing Association Tuath Housing Association Woodvale & Shankill Community Housing Association

TPPN members meeting online in January 2023

Contact Siobhán ONeill Tenant Participation and Community Engagement Officer siobhan@supportingcommunities.org 078 4084 9463

@SiobhnONeill1

www.tpsupport.org