The Housing and Communities Research Group at the University of Birmingham was commissioned by The Northern Ireland Housing Executive to undertake a study of Tenant involvement in Governance: models and practices. The aim of the project was to explore the relevance of international models and practices of tenant involvement in governance to evolving governance of social housing in Northern Ireland.
Project outline
In the first part of the project we identified the current context for housing governance in Northern Ireland (NI) in a State of the Art Review, drawing on an analysis of key policy documents and scoping interviews with stakeholders in Northern Ireland. We also undertook three case studies of current practice in Northern Ireland to enable us to identify gaps that international models might address.
In the second part of the project we identified a typology of models used to facilitate tenant involvement in housing governance in Great Britain (GB) and Europe. This involved a literature review and expert input.
We used the typology to identify five case study models that could potentially be adapted to fill gaps in NI. In collaboration with four experts we then drew up model descriptions of four models (from Austria, England, the Netherlands and Wales), based on analysis of how the models work in practice and the appropriateness of different models to the housing sector in NI.
In the final part of the project we consulted with NI stakeholders including tenants and residents through a series of three consultation events to be held in October 2016. This included a special workshop convened after an NIHE Intelligence Exchange event at Belfast Castle and two regional workshops in Ballymena and Craigavon facilitated with Supporting Communities NI.
All participants in the study gave informed consent and had the right to withdraw at any stage. Individual tenant and resident participants were anonymous. Organisations taking part in the study were asked for permission to include material they have supplied in project reports, webpage and learning events. The study will be completed in January 2017 and we will share the results with all study participants via this webpage.
Final Report
International Interest
The report has attracted considerable international interest since publication including
An interview posted by the international Housing Futures blog
A Presentation to the Flanders HuurdersplatformTenant Involvement Confernce in October 2017
And a presentation to the European Federation for Living at their confernce in Ghent in November 2017
Outputs
Research Reports
Case Studies
Three case studies have been undertaken of current practice in Northern Ireland
Four International Models of Tenant Involvement in Governance
Four model descriptions have been co-produced with country experts to promote discussion at workshops with tenants of the Housing Executive and housing associations, and other key stakeholders in Northern Ireland.
'International Models of Resident Involvement in Governance - Model Descriptions (PDF)
Workshop events
Three workshops have been organised to enable tenants of the Housing Executive and housing associations and other key stakeholders in Northern Ireland to discuss the relevance of recent research on models of tenant involvement in governance.
The aim is to identify and check international models that may be relevant to adapt and adopt in Northern Ireland. Speakers from Austria, England, the Netherlands and Wales will present the models at the workshops.
Workshop reports
Read what happened at the three workshops attended by over 120 people in October 2016.
Funders
Northern Ireland Housing Executive