MRI Social Housing and HQN: Supporting the Resident Voice Index

This year, The Housing Quality Network (HQN) and MRI Software are joining forces to instigate wider sector collaboration across all things technology and innovation. Through this enhanced relationship, we will work closely to ensure that the adoption and dissemination of technology solutions across the sector best supports housing associations and local authorities, and that the needs of residents remain at the heart of everything we do.

We spoke with Jon Land, Head of Business Development, Networks and Events at HQN to lay out what is to be expected from this exciting relationship this year.

“We’re very excited to be working with MRI’s social housing team who already have a huge footprint in the sector, working with a lot of organisations. From HQN’s point of view, we have traditionally focused our activities on the core housing elements; traditional aspects of housing like asset management, finance and rent.

“The digital approach is increasingly front and centre of everyone’s thinking and is becoming important to our members. We’ve made a conscious decision to embrace that and work more closely not only with MRI, but with the wider technology sector and those companies that are working with housing organisations. As such, our enhanced working relationship with MRI Software is an important one.

“This February, HQN have launched the Innovation and Technology Network, which MRI will be an integral part of. Together we want to find solutions for organisations and help them essentially provide better services to their residents.”

Working with MRI, HQN are looking “to provide a safe space for collaboration and help both worlds come together.” Over the next year both HQN and MRI Software will support one another to deliver a range of activities, including virtual events and research initiatives, as well as instigating wider conversations within the social housing sector.

Introducing the Resident Voice Index

MRI recently launched the Resident Voice Index, an independent platform that will enable social housing residents to freely share their thoughts about the services they receive from their landlords and what their homes and communities mean to them. We are pleased that HQN are welcoming this initiative and will be instrumental in driving this message and further conversations across its member-base.

At MRI, we are in a position to utilise our data and present findings back to the sector in a meaningful way, delivering insights for improving services for residents in line with the legislative changes expected to be laid out in the wake of the Charter for Social Housing Residents.

We are excited to engage HQN’s members in this journey. For Jon’s part, “At HQN we’re aware of MRI’s plan to engage residents and work with housing providers. The Resident Voice Index initiative has the potential to be huge for the housing sector to tap into the thoughts and feelings of residents on a regular basis.  Not just dipping in with a few hundred here and there; it has the potential to reach tens of thousands of social housing residents.”

Using data to improve residents’ lives

Harnessing the available data in the social housing sector will undoubtedly improve the lives of residents. For Jon, “This is quite an interesting one, because data as of itself needs to be properly interpreted and analysed and put to a useful purpose. It’s great to have all this data; housing organisations know they’ve got piles and piles of data but find it virtually impossible to do anything with it until somebody comes along and actually puts it together in a meaningful way.

“What we do know is that when you capture that data and work with it, the insights it can provide are genuinely transformative and MRI are again leading the way on this.

“I think we all in the sector face a lot of challenges; the day-to-day is difficult. I think that we have to welcome the white paper and The Charter for Social Housing Residents as a good thing. It’s my belief that the sector is in quite a good position in terms of our engagement with both the government through the Ministry of Housing and through the regulator – and both are currently in listening mode. The Resident Voice Index could be massive in the way that the sector moves forwards in terms of capturing that data.”

By conducting a large-scale consultation of residents, “there’s a proper opportunity for genuine change and HQN are very excited to be part of that; in order to understand what residents are really feeling about living in social housing, where they are in their own lives and where they want to be in the future.

“We’re doing our best and I think we’ve actually responded quite well organisation-wise to the challenge in terms of staying in touch with residents. But the longer it goes on, the harder it is. That’s where collecting and harnessing data comes in.

“MRI Software is working in some very, very sensitive areas that housing associations and housing organisations are involved with. This is really drilling into quite significant social issues – and being able to extract data from that to demonstrate the extent of certain issues is hugely powerful. For example, in using software with modules that enable case management that help housing officers prevent domestic abuse.”

Why should we be hopeful?

Jon continues, “I think we have to be hopeful. We should all have a social purpose and a mission and that’s genuinely why the majority of people working in housing do it – because they want to do something good for society and they want to do something good for their residents.”

In the coming weeks, we will be working with HQN to initiate focus groups on the Resident Voice Index with representatives within the social housing sector. While HQN will be inviting their vast networks to join these sessions, we would like to expand this opportunity to other leaders within the sector to have a role in shaping this initiative. For Jon, “This is an opportunity to get on board through HQN and MRI at a very early stage to be a part of that conversation in terms of how we take it forward. It’s going to be a rolling process as well; there is engagement potential over a number of years here.

“The Resident Voice Index project being undertaken by MRI Software is an incredible opportunity to get involved in a project that has major potential to make a significant change in terms of getting the resident voice front and centre – not only to ourselves, but to the government, to the regulator, and everyone that really matters. I would strongly urge everyone to get involved with it.”

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