Our recordings cover a variety of topics - ranging from practical housing management sessions and high-level policy discussions to webinars designed to support your professional development. All recordings are free for all CIH members, log in and listen/watch from anywhere.
Building better boards: Putting tenants at the heart of good governance
This virtual event shined a spotlight on the value that tenants can bring to boards. We heard from Jenny Osbourne from TPAS who delivered a presentation on 'How do we put tenants at the heart of good governance?' Richard Blakeway from the Housing Ombudsman Service delivered a presentation on 'Consumer standards and complaint handling – what do you need to know now?'
Jim Ripley, CEO at Phoenix Community Housing and tenant board members Carmen Simpson and Anne McGurk showcased the value and importance of tenant board members at Phoenix.
Handle with care
Taking care of our mental health is so important in these changing times. We looked at the difficulties facing housing professionals working through Covid-19 and how working life looks very different to what it did nine months ago. We were delighted to be joined by our president Aileen Evans, who last February launched the #ShineALight campaign, a new guide developed to help housing organisations raise their game on mental health. Aileen shared this guide with us, as well as sharing her own personal journey around mental health.
Aware Northern Ireland, the depression charity, and the only charity working exclusively for people with depression and bipolar disorder also provided advice on looking after your mental health and wellbeing during Covid-19.
The big conversation 2020
Young and upcoming housing professionals from across the sector joined us at this virtual event to discuss the housing questions that are most important to them.
Presentations were heard and discussion took place on the following:
- Career development, aspirations, and ambitions
- Young housing professionals on the challenges they have faced and how they have overcome these
- New approaches to engaging with our tenants
- How our conscious and unconscious perceptions influence the way we view and act upon events and how to expand our mindset.
The charter for social housing residents
Melanie Rees, head of policy and external affairs and Debbie Larner, head of knowledge and products at CIH provided an update on what we need to know about the charter for social housing residents. The publication of the social housing white paper is a major event for the sector. We reflected on the opportunities and the challenges it brings.
The white paper’s key proposals were explained along with what the sector needs to prepare for and the areas on which we need to influence with the overall aim of delivering better outcomes for tenants and residents.
Older people's housing conference
Part one of a five part virtual conference was delivered in partnership with Erosh and sponsored by Alertacall. We listened to presentations looking at how the Covid-19 pandemic has posed huge challenges to professionals working to provide housing and support to older people and explored the future of sheltered housing and the increasing need for flexible housing and care options for older people.
We were also privileged to hear from Erosh patron Dame Esther Rantzen DBE as she outlined the vital importance of sustaining and growing high quality housing, care and support for older people.
Challenging Your Group Structure
We heard insights on key legal, tax and strategic issues to consider when reviewing your group structure against future objectives, exploring effective development structuring, good governance expectations, and the understanding of models in the sector and their drivers. Our expert panel of speakers also explored the Regulator’s expectations, particularly in light of the implications of the pandemic on the sector and provided an overview of the common hurdles and obstacles and how to prepare for these.
Community solutions to empty homes
There are over 25,000 long-term empty properties in Wales and despite a wide variety of good practice, the tools currently at the disposal of local authorities and partners have had limited success in reducing the overall amount of empty homes. Tyfu Tai Cymru partnered with the Housing Studies course at Cardiff Metropolitan to deliver this fresh look at how community solutions can find innovative answers to longstanding questions.
In Conversation with Nick Atkin
CIH Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Board member, Clive Greenwood was In Conversation with Nick Atkin, CEO of Yorkshire Housing to discuss how Yorkshire Housing are fully embracing being agile and what technology is being used to do this. Nick shared his thoughts and observations on how this benefits the organisation, staff and customers, how they have all been engaged in this movement and the how Yorkshire Housing is overcoming the challenges in moving to this way of working. This interiew is a great opportunity to hear from one of the leading organisations in this area.
PoP! Understanding the Psychology of Poverty
Hannah Absalom shared aspects of her research and invited delegates to feedback opinions and experiences looking at the role of housing and it's social purpose.
Areas covered were:
- A very brief outline of Behavioural Economics and how it resulted in two strands, traditional behavioural insights
and the Psychology of Poverty (PoP). - Why it’s relevant to social housing, especially now
- PoP’s insights into the individual living in poverty
- PoP’s insights into the environment of poverty
- PoP’s insights into the perceptions of poverty
- Consideration of ethics and risks.
Owning your future: Making difficult decisions
Owning Your Future 2020’ is a new series of informal ‘how to’ style sessions designed to provide you with a range of professional development skills, tools, knowledge and advice to turn your career aspirations into reality and set you on the right path to success. The fourth session in this series we looked at making difficult decisions and heard from our speakers on their own personal journeys, lessons that they have learnt and tips for ensuring that you are prepared for whatever lies ahead in your career journey.
Draft Building Safety Bill? The new regulatory framework. What will this mean in practice?
We looked at the key elements of the Draft Building Safety Bill which is due before the CLG select committee in July. Debbie Larner, head of knowledge and products, presented the key elements of the bill and considered what this will mean in practice for landlords and, importantly, what must be done to prepare for the new regime.
Homes at the Heart: doing development differently
Supporting the ‘Homes at the Heart’ campaign, experts in the industry discussed the role of social housing today in this webinar. The topics discussed included the role of social housing in the UK’s recovery from COVID-19, the need for innovation in the sector, the use of modern construction methods and how to enable this. Our speakers drew on examples from the City of Bristol.
Its time to talk Race - if not now, then when?
Black History Month took place throughout October and we are proud to present members with a webinar from leading race speaker Karl George. Karl’s personal story as a black man growing up and living in Birmingham throughout his life is one of real power and significance. Racial injustice has been and continues to be rife within British society.
Here at the CIH, we are determined to do more to tackle this and will do more. We want to celebrate the diversity of talent within the sector and support organisations in creating meaningful opportunities for people from all backgrounds to progress in their careers, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality or any other protected characteristic. We also want to do more to ensure that the people that live in our homes, our tenants, residents and customers also have equal opportunity.
Virtual CIH membership roadshow - October 2020
At this time of immense change, making the most of your CIH membership is invaluable. The housing profession is on the frontline of helping to support residents, colleagues and the wider community through the impact of COVID-19. We heard from special guests Aileen Evans and Catherine Hinton who shared some of their experiences about their careers and how CIH has supported them as housing professionals.
Honest conversations: Promoting equality and ensuring diversity
We heard conversations around what equality and diversity means in a Northern Ireland context. It enabled participants to gain an understanding of how the area of equality and diversity has progressed over the years in Northern Ireland, as well as opening up an honest conversation around what more can be done promote the role of women, ethnic minorities and LGBT+ within our organisations.
We want to give members the confidence to address these issues with colleagues and management within their respective organisations.