Empowering Communities Annual Report 2021

APRIL 2021 | SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT

a year's overview

FOREWARD This 2020-21 annual report for

Not only did we continue to

subsidiary, Empowering

also provided much-needed

Supporting Communities' trading Communities, looks back at a year of great change for everyone.

In March 2020, when the country

went into lockdown, and our staff moved to homeworking, no one imagined that we would all still be in the same position twelve months later.

During the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic, our

members quite rightly focussed

their efforts on looking after their tenants and adapting their

services to fit within government safety guidelines. Empowering

Communities was no different;

we quickly changed our ways of working and moved everything online.

There is no doubt it has been a challenging year. Still, it also

support our members, but we digital assistance to other

organisations beyond the social housing sector.

We want to thank our members for their continued support over the last 12 months.

Next year will present new challenges and opportunities for communities as they adjust to the ‘new normal’. We look forward to supporting our members to ensure that communities are at the heart of the post-pandemic recovery.

We also look forward to expanding our reach across the island of Ireland with new partnerships and we are exploring opportunities that exist in the private sector to build on our aim to develop empowered, resilient communities.

provided us with the opportunity to meet our members' most

immediate needs for support and connection with their

colleagues, all struggling with the same issues.

Paul Armstrong, Chair,

Empowering Communities Board

2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT

quick glance

NUMBERS & STATISTICS

member organisations

Despite the uncertainty of this past year, we are pleased to report that we have retained our previous membership and added a new member, our first from the Republic of Ireland.

training satisfaction rate

Our training sessions moved online and continue to be seen as an excellent service by our members. We delivered 46 online courses to 146 people; 30 tenants, 109 staff, and 7 board members.

We provided independent support for tenants involved in a successful housing stock transfer deal.

We helped tenants get online in order to continue engaging with their housing providers.

We also made the most of online life by holding a series of "Next Level TP" webinars that attracted 124 participants from all over the UK and Ireland and launched a new website for our members at tpsupport.org.

17

99%

200

tenant engagements in facilitating a stock transfer

5

webinar events held with 124 attendees

1

new member's website

We know one size doesn't fit all.

We work with housing providers and tenants to develop and implement bespoke methods that will deliver effective, meaningful engagement.

2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT

our member's 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 needs of the membership drive their agenda.

The group' s membership has grown this year, and online meetings have allowed for increased attendance.

"The TPPN forum is a fantastic opportunity to discuss what’s working and what’s not working and to pick up ideas and adapt them to your own work."

We introduced new online networking and resourcesharing opportunities for member staff to help one another.

New resources include a Facebook group and a members-only resource and discussion section on our new website at tpsupport.org.

#nextleveltp

BLOG SERIES Our blog series continued on the theme of taking tenant participation in Northern Ireland to the ' next level' .

We featured articles from both our in-house experts and noted guest bloggers such as Leslie Baird, Tracey Wilson, Marcus Sprott, and tenant representatives Jack Close and Billy McKee.

We are grateful to everyone who shared their thoughts, experiences and words of wisdom with us as we advanced the cause of tenant participation.

Read all of this year' s #NextLevelTP blogs on our new website.

2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT

pushing boundaries

TENANTS ON BOARDS Empowering Communities continues to push the boundaries of tenant participation in NI. This year we piloted a new course for tenants interested in becoming board members of their housing association.

"You cannot have the strongest, most complete picture without tenants at the table."

- Bernadette Hewitt, Chair of GHA

We announced the new course in a special webinar event featuring Bernadette Hewitt, a successful tenant board member for many years at Glasgow Housing Association, and Maureen Dowden, an expert in corporate governance and community empowerment and engagement.

working with others

NEW PARTNERSHIPS We expanded our reach to a range of nonmember organisations for training in topics such as Good Relations, Measuring Impact, and Digital Skills.

We provided 23 training courses to 160 people from the following groups: Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council Northern Area Community Network Centre for Independent Living NI Rural Women’ s Network Mid & East Antrim Borough Council Outdoor Recreation NI

2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT

raising the standard

TP ACCREDITATION

TP Standards Accreditation from Supporting Communities

THE PROCESS There are five stages to the TP Accreditation

process including self-

assessment, independent assessment and focus

Is your housing association meeting best practice standards in tenant involvement?

How effective is your organisation in involving tenants?

Has your service improved as a result of putting tenants at the ‘heart’ of your business?

group input.

All landlord

accreditations are validated by an

independent panel of trained assessors.

Accreditations are

awarded as bronze, silver This year we rolled out an important new service to housing providers in Northern Ireland:Tenant Participation Accreditation at the Gold, Sliver, and Bronze levels.

organisation' s TP standards was developed by our colleagues in TPAS Scotland and has been adapted to reflect Northern Ireland' s regulatory requirements.

The TP Standards recognise landlords that demonstrate excellence in tenant participation and provide an in-depth assessment of engagement practices and activities. Most importantly, organisations can then use the accreditation' s recommendations as a tool for continuous improvement.

As the Independent Tenant Organisation for NI, we use accreditation to help landlords raise the bar for tenant participation and exceed the minimum standards as set out in the Tenant Participation Strategy for Northern Ireland.

The framework that we use to assess an

It will also act as a benchmark against other landlords in NI, RoI and across the UK. Read more about the TP Standards.

or gold - each at a

higher and lower level and successful

organisations are

accredited for three years.

TP Accreditation drives businesses forward and shapes services to meet the needs of tenants and customers.

2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT

empowering

OUR MEMBERSHIP NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: CIRCLE VOLUNTARY HOUSING ASSOCIATION Empowering Communities was delighted to welcome its first member from the Republic of Ireland this year, Circle Voluntary Housing Association.

Circle' s tenants, staff, and board members attended our bespoke tenant participation training, some of whom then formed a focus group that will now work to embed the foundations for Circle' s tenant participation journey, including writing its first communication and engagement strategy.

Over the coming months, we will work with the new Tenant Advisory Group to implement the organisation' s action plan, promoting and encouraging meaningful tenant engagement.

“It’s important to have an understanding of our communities.

Supporting Communities gave us confidence that they knew what our situation was and how to help us."

- Liz Clarke, Circle VHA

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR MEMBERS Alpha Housing (NI) Ltd Apex Housing Association Ark Housing Association Choice Housing Circle VHA Clanmil Housing Association Connswater Homes Craigowen Housing Association Extern Homes

Grove Housing Association Habinteg Housing Association NB Housing Newington Housing Association Radius Housing Association Rural Housing Association South Ulster Housing Association St Matthews Housing Association

Contact Siobhán ONeill Tenant Participation and Community Engagement Officer siobhan@supportingcommunities.org 028 2564 5676

@SiobhnONeill1

www.tpsupport.org