Launch of UK’s most comprehensive resident voice initiative across social housing
The UK social housing sector is set to receive its most comprehensive and independent survey of resident perceptions and sentiment, thanks to a nationwide engagement campaign initiated by technology organisation MRI Software.
Launching in the spring of 2021, the Resident Voice Index™ will run year-round, capturing and measuring working data about the lives of social housing residents, collecting data surrounding their feelings about their housing and their communities.
MRI will gather self-reported user data through a series of opt-in surveys and polls, designed through prior engagement with resident groups. Residents who wish to participate will share their views anonymously, with data aggregated to uncover trends and key issues faced across the industry.
With the recent publication of the Charter for Social Housing Residents White Paper by MHCLG, the timely launch of this initiative provides the sector with invaluable and aligned insights.
MRI will be collaborating with housing associations, local authorities, media partners and regulatory bodies to inform and shape the Resident Voice Index™. This includes Housing Quality Network (HQN), which is lending its expertise to help shape the research and share the findings.
Commenting on the initiative, Jon Land, Head of Networks and Events at HQN, said:
“HQN is delighted to be supporting MRI on the Resident Voice Index™, an important and potentially game-changing project to capture what social housing residents think about their homes, communities, their landlords and the services they receive. As the White Paper seeks to change the dynamic of the landlord-resident relationship, this will become an essential barometer to check progress and establish whether warm words are being turned into positive actions that have a genuine impact on people’s lives.
“HQN will be helping MRI to bring together residents, landlords and other housing sector bodies in the coming months to ensure the Resident Voice Index™ delivers results that ultimately benefit everyone.”
Regular results will be published with a series of indices, and rich data-led insight that will investigate the underlying social, emotional and economic factors that impact a resident’s experience of social housing and their housing provider. In time, this will create the most definitive, relevant and real-time snapshot of UK social housing residents.
Addressing the campaign, Dermot Briody, Executive Managing Director of Europe at MRI Software, said:
“We fundamentally believe in the power of technology to improve the lives and experiences of social housing tenants, and the launch of our Resident Voice Index™ is a perfect demonstration. Not only will we be capturing the mood of residents across the UK, but we can develop a deeper understanding of the factors and trends behind the results – and they in-turn can be used to elevate service provision.
“As an independent provider, we feel our platforms offer an ideal space for residents to express their views safely and freely. We are confident that their insights, qualified against the wealth of data captured in our own solutions, will create authoritative outputs.”
In the interest of enhancing their own service delivery provisions, MRI will be using this initiative as an opportunity to capture feedback on their resident-facing service platforms. As this project comes to life and moves towards a first set of results in the spring, MRI is continuing to engage with pioneering providers who want to be at the forefront of this exciting project – and invites those interested to get in touch.
For further details contact: info.residentvoice@mrisoftware.com
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