The Big Housing Conversation

Be part of the Big Housing Conversation

New ways of working have had to be developed in order to continue to deliver our range of services effectively, efficiently and safely. Housing Association leadership and management have had to transform processes and systems within weeks to ensure that vital services continued to be delivered, particularly on the front-line to social tenants across these islands.

This event will have a practical and critical look back at the shared experiences of housing associations from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, it will assess what aspects of the changes introduced during lock-down should we keep, how, what and where have our services improved and how can we plan for the next black swan?

For the first time ever, the Four Federations (NIFHA, SFHA, Nat Fed and CHCYMRU are holding a collaborative virtual event, the Big Housing Conversation, where just under 1,000 members from across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales are invited to discuss, to learn, to harness our influence, to share and reflect on the key issues that tested our sectors and to also be proud of what we have achieved. Through these conversations, we want to harness the power of our four federations to give us courage, so that we are ready for the next challenge.

CONFERENCE CHAIR: Martin Hilditch, Editor, Inside Housing

• 1.00pm          OPENING PANEL DISCUSSION (CEOs of the 4 Feds)
  • • • Ben Collins, NIFHA
      • Kate Henderson, National Housing Federation
      • Stuart Ropke, Community Housing Cymru
      • Sally Thomas, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
• 1.45pm            BREAK
• 2.00pm           SUB-PLENARIES
  • • • Digital Engagement & Innovation empowering organisations

what new ways were found to keep connected to tenants

Chair: Sally Thomas, CEO, SFHA

Speakers: Gary Dickson, Digital Lead, SFHA; Emma Palmer, CEO, Eastlight Community Homes

• • • • Changing Times, Changing Places

the impact of covid19 on tenants and how HAs have supported tenants

Chair: Sandra Skeete, CEO, Octavia Housing

Speakers: Andrew Van Horn, CEO, HACT; Michael McLaughlin, Social Insight Lead, SFHA; Rob Wray, Chief Innovation Officer, HACT

• • • • Good governance and risk- lessons from lockdown

what has challenged boards? what new processes for effective, speedy and accountable decision making will we keep?

Chair: Ben Collins, CEO, NIFHA

Speakers: Diana Fitzsimons, Chair, Radius Housing; Linda Nash, Chair, Livewest Housing Group

• • • • Leadership in a crisis

different perspectives on the changing roles of leaders in a new world post-covid

Chair: Colette McKune, CEO, Forvica

Speakers: Paul Matthews, CEO, Monmouthshire County Council; Ceri Victory-Rowe, Consultant, Campbell Tickell

• 2.45pm            BREAK
• 3.00pm            SUB-PLENARIES (repeated)

Chairs of 2nd sub-plenary sessions:

• • • • Digital Engagement & Innovation empowering organisations

Anita Khan, Exec Director Customer Services, Settle Group

• • • • Changing Times, Changing Places

Kate Henderson, CEO, National Housing Federation

• • • • Good governance and risk- lessons from lockdown

Steve Douglas, CEO, St Mungo’s

• • • • Leadership in a crisis

Stuart Ropke, CEO, Community Housing Cymru

• 3.45pm            BREAK
• 4.00pm            PANEL DISCUSSION

New Horizons, preparing to thrive in a post-covid world

Chair: Martin Hilditch, Editor, Inside Housing

Speakers: Torsten Bell, CEO, Resolution Foundation; Angela Lockwood, CEO, North Star Housing Group; Paula Kennedy, CEO, Melin Homes; Gina Amoh, CEO, Inquilad HA

• 4.45pm            CLOSING REMARKS

Closing comments by the CEOs of the 4 Housing Federations

By registering for this event you are agreeing to your data being shared by NIFHA, the National Housing Federation, Community Housing Cymru and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. This data will be used purely for the purposes of pre/post event email communications and for access to the online event platform and will not be used for marketing purposes going forward. We use our legitimate business interests to collect, process and share this data with the entities listed above. You can find more information in NIFHA’s privacy statement.