WAKE UP TO VALUES HOUSING SECTOR PILOT

DECEMBER 2014 – MARCH 2015,

AT CIRCLE HOUSING ASSOCIATION, CORSICA STREET, LONDON

Participating Housing Associations

Cestria, Curo Group, Gentoo Group, SHAL Housing, Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing Trust.

Guests Present at Session 4

Clifton Robinson – Chief Executive, Housing Diversity Network

Henry Gregg - Assistant Director Communications and Campaigns, National Housing Federation

Fiona Bebbington – Head of Business Excellence, Circle Housing, Roddens

Summary of the Pilot

This pilot was facilitated principally by Juliet Hancock. Premises were kindly given by Circle Housing.

The pilot considered the challenges and aims within the Housing Sector and how to address these from a values perspective. Five core personal, organisational and cross sector values were selected by the participating Housing Associations to address this. The top five cross sector values chosen by participating Housing Association members were:

  1. Contribution to Society
  2. Trust
  3. Community Involvement
  4. Empowerment
  5. Making a Difference

The pilot consisted of 4 sessions:

Sessions 1 and 2 considered:

  • what are values and why they are important to organisations, the Housing Sector and society
  • the aims of project, participants’ objectives and reasons for taking part
  • the Housing Sector challenges
  • sharedcross Housing Sector values
  • completion of the forms relating to the Third Party Impact Assessment being carried out by Leicester University to evaluate the project
  • how to turn values into daily behaviours and actions with particular reference to the values of Contribution to Society and Empowerment

Between sessions 2 and 3, participants considered and took their chosen actions to support the values of Contribution to Society and Empowerment and submitted details of these actions weekly to the project team.

Session 3 considered:

  • a review of the actions taken in relation to Contribution to Society and Empowerment and the learning from that

•behaviour statements and actions to demonstrate values-driven behaviour for the chosen values Community Involvement, Trust and Making a Difference

Between sessions 3 and 4, participants considered and took their chosen actions to support the values of Community Involvement, Trust and Making a Differenceand submitted details of these actions weekly to the project team.

Session 4 covered:

•a review of the actions taken in relation to Community Involvement, Trust and Making a Difference and the learning from that

•a review of the learning from the pilot and a discussion of how to keep values at the heart of everything we do – personal, organisation, community, sector and beyond

•discussion of the potential impact of the project on the sector, how to influence this and how to communicate the outcomes

•discussion of the 3 month follow up in Sunderlandand the 6 month one in Bath

•completion of the forms relating to the Third Party Impact Assessment being carried out by Leicester University to evaluate the project

•awarding certificates to participants for completing the Wake Up to Values pilot

Recordings of the sessions were made throughout together with 1:1 interviews. Extracts from these will be used to create a short Housing Sector video.

Outcomes

Participants showed great enthusiasm for the pilot. They also valued the opportunity to network and discuss with those from other Housing Associations. Some of the personal learning taken from the pilot by participants included the following:

  • values have more impact on what one does than is often realised
  • people can hold different values. Understanding that helps better understanding of others
  • working in line with our values makes us feel good
  • being aware of our values enables choice and prioritisation
  • awareness of our values helps us realise why sometimes we are uncomfortable doing things
  • making time for reflection on our values and actions forcesus to stop and think about their impact and the rationale for the action
  • if you know what you are good at and you link this to a value, you can make a greater contribution

Some of the questions participants raised were:

•where do we go from here and how do we sustain momentum?

•who else may be interested?

•how does this link to other work in the sector?

•how can we use this to give the sector a louder voice and build on our shared strengths and values?

•how to make an impact on society as a whole?

•what actions will each of us individually take in our organisations, across the sector and elsewhere?

Participants generally agreed to continue to work with values in their organisations and to begin a meaningful conversation about values across the sector. The 3 and 6 month follow ups will give an opportunity to consider progress with this and address some of the other questions above.

Following their attendance at session 4 of the pilot, Clifton Robinson and Henry Gregg have agreed to give their support to raising awareness of the project and its benefits within the Housing Sector. Clifton has already mentioned the pilot in his March e-briefing to members and is considering how to communicate the pilot to the whole membership, including Regional Practitioners, and how they might be engaged in a values conversation/campaign at the regular regional meetings and other forums.

As Henry Gregg observed, the Housing Sector has been unsuccessful in promoting itself as having great values and making an important contribution to society. Going forward, it can raise that profile and be seen as a leader in values.

Next Steps

Participants and the project team will meet on 6 and 7 July in Sunderland for a review of progress and to discuss ongoing and future action. This 3 month review will be followed by a 6 month review in Bath.

The possibility of NHF external affairs contacts in NE England joining the group for part of the time during the 3 month review is being considered. If any members of Housing Associations would wish to do likewise, please contact Juliet Hancock () as soon as possible so the agenda for the review can be planned accordingly.

Based on the success of this pilot, the UK Values Alliance has applied to do a values workshop at the NHF Conference in September 2015.