I’m pleased to present the sixth 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 45 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
experienced, highly skilled and dedicated staff team.
This past year we reached a significant milestone - the first All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference
The conference was held in June 2023 and was 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 202324 year.
John Mulholland, Empowering Communities Board Member
Quick Glance
NUMBERS & STATISTICS
With new members HAIL, Oaklee and Triangle joining this year, our membership grew to twenty four housing providers.
We delivered training to a total of 372 participants across the island of Ireland and earned a 99% satisfaction rate. Forty nine of these participants achieved an OCN NI qualification with us.
Our Tenant Participation Accreditation scheme has gained recognition this year, with a Bronze award going to Woven Housing and several other housing associations starting the process with us due to be awarded in the summer of 2024 The award recognises landlords that demonstrate excellence in tenant participation and provides an in-depth assessment of engagement practices and activities
We continued to consult with housing providers on key pieces of work, including ongoing regular staff support sessions, two tenant participation strategies, two major mystery shopping exercises, and independent reviewing of Stage 2 complaints
And, in the summer of 2023, we were very proud to present the first All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference, more on that event on page 7
24 member organisations 99% training satisfaction rate 372 participants received training 49 gained an OCN qualification
1 TP Accreditation awarded
OurMembers'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 on Participatory Budgeting, Apex’s Tenant Engagement programme, and Circle’s tenant to board process.
The group also shares resources and materials online in an exclusive members only section of our website
HousingRightsPartnership
NEW COURSE
Our training team has been working with Housing Rights to develop a new course aimed at social housing tenants
“Supporting Tenants to Access and Retain Social Accommodation” helps new tenants navigate the world of social housing
The course has been piloted by a couple of learners and will be available soon from Housing Rights
RuralHousingAssociation
HANDS ON CONSULTANCY SUPPORT
We took our consultancy services to the next level this past year in our work with Rural Housing Association. Stepping in to fill a staffing gap, Siobhán ONeill worked alongside Rural Housing Association on their Shared Housing Programme (‘Housing for All’) in Sion Mills.
Siobhán also supported Community Involvement Officer, Charlene Brown to rejuvenate tenant panels across the province to get more tenants involved to improve the services they receive from their landlord
“Siobhan has continued to embed our objectives of fostering strong meaningful relationships with the rural communities we serve and ensuring our tenants' voices are heard at the highest level of our Association,” said Stephen Fisher, Chief Executive of Rural Housing Association
“I have found Supporting Communities to be very easy to work with, approachable, reliable and consistent in their ability to go above and beyond to achieve the best outcomes for our Association and its tenants.”
We are pleased to report that several more organisations have taken the plunge into accreditation and will be awarded this summer. 2023-2024ANNUALREPORT
Awards TENANT PARTICIPATION ACCREDITATION
Woven Housing(formerly Habinteg NI) has become the third 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 of Woven’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 Woven!
Margaret McLaughlin, Senior Officer for Tenant Engagement & Community Services, and Deirdre Nash, Community Involvement Officer from Woven Housing accepting the award
Events
THE FIRST ALL-IRELAND TENANT ENGAGEMENT CONFERENCE
The All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference, held on 13 June in the Carrickdale Hotel, brought together tenant participation experts, social housing providers and involved tenants and community members from all over Ireland and further afield to discuss ways to empower tenants and build stronger communities.
The conference, which was the first of its kind, was a resounding success and In a packed schedule of events, it was the tenants who spoke about their personal experiences that stood out. You can read more about the sessions on our website
In his closing remarks, Colm McDaid, CEO of Supporting Communities, was adamant that we cannot rest on our laurels There is always a ‘next level’ for tenant participation Until we can honestly say that tenants are genuinely empowered to have control over all aspects of their housing and live in empowered communities, our work is not done
He set us all a challenge when he said, “A new level around empowerment and citizenship is happening elsewhere, and I would like to see how we can enable or influence that conversation here through the creation of new TP legislation in the Republic of Ireland and by refreshing and improving existing legislation in Northern Ireland.
I would love to see the island of Ireland become the benchmark for Tenant Engagement across these isles and, indeed, further afield.”
The All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference was a significant milestone for Supporting Communities and the tenant empowerment movement.
Attendees left inspired and motivated to make a difference in their communities with a better understanding of the work needed on the ground and at a governmental level
We all have our work cut out for us as we continue to strive to raise the standard of tenant participation for all
