- SPONSORSHIP-NIFHA Annual Conference 2026
2026-11-19 - 2026-11-20
9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Venue: Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle
Venue Phone: +44 (0)28 4372 1066
Venue Website: https://marineandlawn.com/slievedonard/
Address:Downs Road, Newcastle, Newry and Mourne District, BT33 0AH, United Kingdom
Description:
NIFHA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2026 will attract Housing Association Chief Executives, Board Members and Directors and Senior Managers from across housing association management teams.
An event not to be missed by anyone involved in governing, leading and managing across the social and affordable housing.
Sponsorships available
| NOTE: sponsorship costs below are pre 15% discount (for NIFHA Associates) |
| GOLD SPONSOR | SILVER SPONSOR | BRONZE SPONSOR | LUNCH or DINNER SPONSOR | ENTS SPONSOR | CONF DRINKS RECEPTION | EXHIBITOR |
| £4,400 | £2,750 | £2,090 | £1,650 | £1,650 | £880 | £1,150 |
Price includes access to all sessions across 2-day event, plus conference banquet, x2 delegate places, exhibitor stand in busy networking exhibitor/refreshments zone
* once booking is confirmed, invoice will be issued
NOTE: SPONSORS NEED TO BOOK ACCOMMODATION IF REQUIRED (cost of accommodation is not included in sponsorship price).
Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle
Room rate: £180/room.
Booking via: Lauran Kinghan
email: lkinghan@slievedonard.co.uk
Tel: 028 4372 1010
EVENT SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
DINNER SPONSOR
Conference Programme
DAY 1: THUR 19TH NOV 2026 |
|
| TIME | SESSION TITLE / SPEAKER |
| 9:30 AM | Welcome |
| 9:35 AM | Conference Opening Address |
| 9:40 AM | BUILDING THRIVING & COHESIVE COMMUNITIES- WHERE ARE WE ONE YEAR ON?
Colum Boyle, Former Permanent Secretary, Dept for Communities |
| View from the outside- where can real change happen? Where NI is now (1 year later) in terms of integrating communities, tackling homelessness, developing sustainable communities | |
| 10:10 AM | TACKLING THE NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL HOUSING
Nic Bliss, Campaign Director, Stop Social Housing Stigma Sharon Cosgrove, CEO, Oaklee Housing |
| Social housing stigma is unfortunately all too often a conscious or unconscious bias that society displays. It can cause heart to and undermining of social housing residents, and sadly can “limit” their achievements, not because of their lack of ambition or ability, but because of the perceptions of others of their ambitions / abilities… Nic will talk about this problem and ways to go about tackling it. | |
| Delivering good quality mixed tenure developments creates better and more sustainable communities, better social cohesion and better outcomes for people, especially those from low-income backgrounds. Sharon will talk about the experiences of Oaklee Housing in their journey of delivering great places to live for their tenants and developing positive stories for social housing in Ireland. | |
| 10:55 AM | Break |
| 11:40 AM | LESSONS FROM UK CITIES REGENERATION |
| A look at what we can learn from the mistakes and the achievements of a major UK city having gone through transformation…
Speaker tbc |
|
| 12:15 PM | HOW A SOCIAL HOUSING COMMUNITY HELP ME BECOME WHAT I AM..
Averil Power, Chief Executive, Cluid Housing |
| A life-story from growing up in a council estate, being an adoptee, being an advocate for females in politics, being someone prepared to lead from the front … to becoming CEO of one of the largest approved housing bodies in Ireland. | |
| 1:00 PM | Lunch |
| BREAKOUTS | |
| 1:55 PM | HIGH IMPACT EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP …
Tom Doran, Chair, Ark Housing Speaker2 tbc |
| Moving Beyond- Up, Up and Away: why leadership and development is a lifetime agenda, early career to mid and advanced career, and into retirement | |
| From local roots to leading on the national and international stage: story of one local entrepreneur- from start-up to growth: the challenges of leadership, the different kinds of leadership, do’s and don’ts when developing organisations | |
| 1:55 PM | BUILDING COHESIVE COMMUNITIES- GOOD PRACTICE & OUTPUTS THROUGH THE COMMON GROUND PROJECT
Community Organisers from the PEACEPLUS funded Common Ground Project (Apex Housing, Choice Housing, Clanmil Housing, Radius Housing, Rural Housing, Woven Housing & Irish Council for Social Housing) |
| Panel debate on the challenges faced by the Common Ground project to “find common ground” within, between and across different communities in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland | |
| 1:55 PM | THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS IN AN UNSETTLED SOCIETY
Conleth Burns, Associate Director and Ireland Lead, More in Common Speaker2 tbc |
| The power of “A Bigger Us’: the challenges and gains of working towards counter polarization and ‘us versus them’ divisions. Defining, informing and catalyzing impact across the ecosystem we live in. | |
| The do’s & don’ts when handling crisis communications: how social landlords should respond when things go wrong , how communications can dampen or enflame societal unrest, how should landlords connect with their tenants and local communities … | |
| 2:40 PM | BREAKOUTS CHANGE |
| 2:50 PM | DEVELOPING BOARDS THAT ARE FIT FOR THE FUTURE
Valerie McConville, Chief Executive, CO3 Speaker2 tbc |
| As the expectations of housing association boards evolve, so do the skills, behaviours, and perspectives needed for effective governance. This session explores how HA Boards can remain equipped to provide strong strategic leadership, looking at the benefits and risks of bringing in skills from outside the sector, how to involve meaningful tenant representation, and whether boards risk becoming inward‑looking without a broad range of perspectives. | |
| 2:50 PM | BUILDING COHESIVE COMMUNITIES- GOOD PRACTICE & OUTPUTS THROUGH THE COMMON GROUND PROJECT
Community Organisers from the PEACEPLUS funded Common Ground Project (Apex Housing, Choice Housing, Clanmil Housing, Radius Housing, Rural Housing, Woven Housing & Irish Council for Social Housing) |
| Panel debate on the challenges faced by the Common Ground project to “find common ground” within, between and across different communities in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of Ireland | |
| 2:50 PM | WHY INVOLVING TENANTS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES & IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS IS A WIN FOR EVERYONE
Tenants from Newington Housing & Woven Housing; Jonathon Blakely, Community Development Manager, Choice Housing |
| Housing association tenants speak about how connecting with nature, connecting with each other and connecting with their landlords brings so many benefits to their lives and communities. Jonathon Blakely speaks on the process and rewards for Choice Housing Tenant Participation Platinum Award | |
| 3:35 PM | Break |
| 4:30 PM | DELIVERING NI’S HOUSING SUPPLY STRATEGY THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
Minister Gordon Lyons, Minister of Dept for Communities |
| 5:15 PM | closing comments |
| 5:25 PM | End of Day1 |
| 7:25 PM | CONFERENCE DRINKS RECEPTION |
| 8:20 PM | CONFERENCE DINNER / ENTS /NETWORKING |
DAY 2: FRI 20th NOV 2026 |
|
| TIME | SESSION TITLE / TOPIC |
| 10:15 AM | Welcome |
| 10:20 AM | SPONSORS TALK FACTS – WHAT MAKES THE HOUSING ASSOCIATION SECTOR ATTRACTIVE FOR ITS COMMERCIAL PARTNERS
Representatives from TCW, Danske Bank & AICO |
| Providing the only version of truth which matters when data integrity is required | |
| Where are the big ticket issues for investors? Why they do and why they don’t approve lending for housing projects | |
| Are Boards keeping on top of the risks to tenants?- Case examples of where good systems prevented / could have prevented problems (damp & mould, minimising litigation, benefits to tenants of doing things right…) | |
| 11:25 AM | POWER, PARTNERSHIP AND PLACE: RETHINKING THE ROLE OF HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Guy Stenson, Chief Executive, Gloucester City Homes |
| The challenge for leaders and boards in creating genuinely customer-led organisations; how we think about power and influence, how we balance accountability with sharing power, and what it really means to work differently with the people and communities we serve. An analysis of the reflections, experiences and questions that are increasingly important for our sector.) | |
| 12:00 PM | BREAK & NETWORKING |
| 12:40 PM | NIFHA 50 YEARS ON |
| Reeling in the Years: As NIFHA enters its 50th anniversary in 2027, this session will provide an interactive look-back at the key people, places and stories of the past 5 decades, with input from some of the main players across the years. | |
| 1:20 PM | Closing Comments |
| 1:30 PM | Conference End / Lunch |
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NIFHA CORPORATE PARTNERS
