Here’s the latest news, and the latest views about community investment across the UK.
Across our networks in May & June
Across all of our networks there has been a big focus on the cost of living crisis. Colleagues have wanted to discuss this and share information about problems their residents are facing, and how they are working within their organisations to meet these challenges....
Northern Ireland Network: Housing Associations aim to Stamp Out Antisocial Behaviour
Press release by NIFHA, 29 May 2022 A campaign to tackle antisocial behaviour and promote good neighbourhood relations has been launched by the NI network of the HACT Centre of Excellence in Community Investment which is made up of a range of housing and community...
New Skills Academy – Tackling the challenge of scalable upskilling as part of a HA community investment programme
PWC recently ran a poll of 4,000 people who cited their lack of relevant skills as their biggest barrier to success and social mobility. Housing Associations have been focused on how to address this need for accessible and engaging upskilling for some time. However, the challenge has been in finding a scalable solution given the resources constraints experienced by most HA community investment teams.
Post-Covid Recovery Funding Available for VCSE Sector
Offering repayable and flexible finance, the Recovery Loan Fund will work under the terms of the British Business Bank Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) – which supports access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fuel poverty: how the housing sector has helped
HACT has distributed almost £1 million worth of fuel vouchers over the past nine months, by working collaboratively with other housing sector partners.
In conversation with David Lammy… how to be an anti-racist organisation?
On Tuesday 25 May 2021 we were joined by David Lammy MP for a webinar to discuss how to be an anti-racist organisation, and what that means for the housing sector.
Operation WiFi: An opportunity for housing associations
#OperationWifi is a campaign to create the largest open and free to use wireless network that enables people in low-income communities to get online, and is fully supported by the Centre for Excellence in Community Investment. When the first national...
Be Kind fund
“The Be Kind fund was created to give all residents somewhere to turn when things got tough.” Claire Higgins, Chief Executive of Cross Keys Homes explains their Be Kind fund.
Updated guidance on impact measures
As of October 2020, we are into Phase 2 of this project. The figures in this second phase are have been expanded and are designed to capture the range of ways that housing associations support their residents. The purpose of these measures is to record...
“We want everyone to have a voice”
Camille Yerles, Customer Involvement Officer at The Barnet Group, shares what they’ve been up to since Black Lives Matter.
Black History Month: What next?
Our recent event with the Racial Equality Group explored how to take discussions around racial equality within the housing sector, and community investment, forward.
A sector together: the social housing sector and Covid-19
An anthology of stories, statistics and viewpoints that capture how social housing organisations responded to the Covid-19 pandemic across the UK.
“How we’re supporting our diverse communities”
In this blog, MTVH’s Director of Community Investment, Jahanara Rajkoomar calls for action across society to address ethnic and racial inequalities.
Bags full of kindness
Connie Jennings, Head of Health and Wellbeing at whg, explains why their organisation are giving out kindness bags this Christmas and beyond.
Across age lines: a call to action
Our local communities need us more than ever. It’s time to bring generations together to take action, writes InCommon in this guest blog.
ESG and community investment webinar
This webinar explores the emerging issues for ESG and its connection with community investment.
The value of community investment for ESG in social housing
With ESG becoming an increasingly important issue within housing associations, the spotlight is falling on the role community investment plays in realising the social element of ESG.
Social Housing Safety Net
This blog, from MTVH, discusses how investing in communities is at the core of their work as a social purpose organisation.
Lessons from History
This blog takes a look at the role that United Communities, a local community-based housing association in Bristol, has played in the history of the city’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community.
The view from: L&Q
In this blog, Megan Cannons, Evaluation and Impact Manager, discusses how L&Q has responded to the Covid-19 crisis.
The view from: North Star
This blog comes from Peter Locke, Head of Communities at North Star, who are based in the North East.
£1 million in support
Between March and June 2020, UK social housing organisations provided almost £1m in financial assistance, provided over 110,000 residents with advice and guidance, and made over 600,000 welfare calls.
The view from: Gateway Housing
In this blog, Shahanara Akhtar, Employment and Training co-ordinator at Gateway Housing Association, discusses the renewed appreciation for their community investment work from residents and colleagues.
Going The Mile
The Mason Mile supports hard to reach communities become more physically active through the delivery of one mile structured and unstructured routes, and has recently partnered with housing associations to do so.
The view from: Govan HA
Our blog series, The View From, explores how housing associations have been responding to the Covid-19 crisis. In this blog, Rory Brown, Community Inclusion Assistant, and Ryan Davidson, Community Inclusion Officer, discuss how Govan HA has responded to the...
The view from: ClwydAlyn
In this blog, Louise Blackwell and Stuart Hughes at ClwydAlyn Resident discuss how the crisis has enhanced their appreciation for the local voluntary sector in North Wales and brought them closer to their residents.
Our funders
The Centre for Excellence in Community Investment is supported by:
HACT
The Centre for Excellence in Community Investment is an initiative from HACT. We partner with organisations across the social housing sector to drive value for residents and communities. We do this through insight-led products and services that encourage innovation and foster collaboration.
If you need help developing a community investment strategy, measuring your social value or demonstrating the business case for community investment, we can help make it happen. Get in touch and let’s start the conversation.
