November 2022 Training from the Rethinking Homes Network

The Rethinking Homes Network offers training based on cutting-edge research. Below is a list of our training in November 2022. Doing differently starts with thinking differently, so join us on our shared journey of reconnecting housing with its core purpose of providing safe and stable homes for tenants, and providing home-based services attuned to the harms caused by material and psychological hardship caused by housing precarity.

We are working with the TAROE Trust on a #fairaccesstoknowledge partnership. This allows us to offer some training content for free to tenants and grant-funded and voluntary-run housing and community organisations. We ask that housing associations, local authorities and broadly organisations with a decent financial turnover to book paid sessions hosted by HQN. This allows us to work with the TAROE Trust on making our resources accessible to all who want social housing to be better. You will also get a bit more content on the paid for sessions. Get in touch at RT.Homes@trainandconsult.co.uk about commissioning training for your organisation or to register your interest for a fee-charging session that is tagged #fairaccesstoknowledge.

Wednesday 2 November – Find out about citizen science and how it can reimagine your approach to tenant participation

Tenant participation is high on the agenda. But we’ve still not got it right. Whilst we invest time and resources often the approach taken to engaging with tenants is ad hoc lacking in structure and purpose. This means that participation doesn’t deliver what we expect it to – both for tenants and landlords. Citizen science can help.

Citizen science is a process that has been used extensively on large scale science projects. The principles can be applied to the social housing sector, providing:

• Scientific rigour
• Clarity about the purpose
• Interaction with tenants on the design and approach
• Ethical considerations.

Join this workshop to get ahead of changes to tenant participation. The workshop is ideal for practitioners working in resident involvement, policy development and for involved tenants working in scrutiny or board roles.

You can book your place here.Can citizen science reinvigorate tenant participation? – HQN (hqnetwork.co.uk)

Wednesday 9 November – Innovation and the value of thinking differently

Innovation is a hot topic in social housing. Some landlords state that they are innovative, and organisation awards often celebrate innovation in the sector. But what does it mean to be innovative? How can tenants and landlords be innovative? What are the risks and benefits of innovation? The challenges of innovation are rarely discussed, yet this is essential due to innovations’ tendency to produce failure. A less hot topic in social housing is the idea of thinking differently. Many housing providers have adopted working methods that focus on ‘doing’ as a starting point for change. This misses the value of thinking differently as the bedrock of innovation that works for tenants and landlords.
 
The webinar will cover:
– Different meanings of Innovation
– The promises and pitfalls of innovation
– What might innovation look like in social housing?
– An introduction to the thinking differently framework
 
The webinar will particularly benefit tenants involved in landlord services, tenant activists and those who know social housing can be better but are unsure where to start.

This is a #fairaccesstoknowledge session offered in partnership with TAROE Trust. You can book a place by emailing info@taroetrust.org.uk stating the title and date of the session. If you are from a housing association, local authority or a large charity, please message RT.Homes@trainandconsult.co.uk to register your interest in the fee-charging version of this training.

Wednesday 30 November 2022 – Stigma a Wicked Problem?

The stigma associated with social housing is a pervasive problem which is present within our society.  This webinar will take an in-depth look at why and how it occurs, its impact and how to counter it. 

Explanations of stigma tend to focus on the media and on government policies that promote home ownership and shame benefit claimants. But these explanations only go so far. Stigma is far more of a wicked problem rooted in our social norms and values. It shapes our organisational processes. It defines and divides neighbourhoods and communities. At a personal level, stigma distorts our understanding of complex problems and harms the self-esteem and life opportunities of people subjected to it. Stigma is further complicated by well-meaning interventions which unintentionally widen and expand it.

This session will explore stigma as a ‘wicked problem’, summarising how it occurs and why it is so infectious. It will look at how stigma shapes organisational practices and the effects it has on our thinking and actions. This is a #fairaccesstoknowledge session offered in partnership with TAROE Trust. You can book a place by emailing info@taroetrust.org.uk stating the title and date of the session. If you are from a housing association, local authority or large charity, please message RT.Homes@trainandconsult.co.uk to register your interest in the fee-charging version of this training.