Competition is a fundamental part of a capitalist economy. Several independent private companies offer products to consumers. Their objective is to make money from selling these products or services. The other side of competition is that consumers choose what they want from a wide range of options. Price is a key determinant, and prices arise…
We need a National Social Housing Database, combining Open Data with Technology Standards. Sector wide, and government-led, this would be the cheapest and fastest way to drive improvement in social housing, transforming the customer experience while reducing costs. This is not just a technology solution. It is a multi-level good governance opportunity. Regulator-set data standards…
It is commonplace to say our staff are our greatest asset. Or to use the cliche – residents at the heart of everything we do. And while I don´t decry either sentiment, our greatest asset is the most neglected – the houses we own. Our assets (another word for homes, but one that frames them…
Competition is a defining component of a capitalist economy. It has positive effects – encouraging companies to design new products, reduce prices and improve services. Unfortunately, it is also very wasteful – the wheel is reinvented several times before the optimum design is adopted. The Housing Association sector is considered to be outside or at…
“Legacy organisations grew all their people, processes and technology before the rise of the modern internet.” Professor Mark Thompson, “Digital Strategy and Leadership with Professor Mark Thompson“, YouTube At one point I was an early adopter. The first time I used a computer to produce publishable text, signaling the beginning of the end for hot…
It is self evident that any organisation that provides services must work out what their customers want. Over the years I have spoken to thousands of tenants, held large meetings, visited residents at home, read their letters of complaint, organised improvement plans and even changed the direction of the organisations I worked for. More than…
If you own your own home you will probably manage it yourself. You make sure your home is repaired when it needs it, you pay the mortgage, the insurance and any standing charges. You do the gardening from time and time, and stay cordial, if not friendly, with your neighbours. If you are a flat…
Yes, he has: Unlike previous Spotlight reports, which have concentrated on … service provision, this report focuses on an underlying reason that services end up failing. The correlation between poor knowledge and information management and delay, poor communication, financial uncertainty and poor complaints handling, and the human consequences of that, are evident… Successful knowledge and…
Back in 2017 The Homes and Communities Agency (now the Regulator for Social Housing)(RSH) wrote an important Innovation Plan. This plan considers how the sector might innovate and use the huge potential of technology, and mentions disruptive business models like “Uber and Airbnb” (paragraph 2) show the potential of technology to completely transform established industries….
Housing Associations spend about £23.7bn pa on building and maintaining homes, with something like £12bn being spent on overheads, systems and services. Naturally, many suppliers want to sell to housing associations. But they encounter obstacles that confuse or frustrate them. This short article explains how to avoid common pitfalls. Housing Associations have to buy products…