Bespoke Resident Engagement in Retrofit
Introduction
We know that communities are diverse. This diversity is created through the unique climate, geography, housing types, civic amenities, and importantly, the people who call it home. Each community has unique requirements to be considered when developing a resident engagement plan for retrofit.
Contents
Welcome to the toolkit: Bespoke Resident Engagement in Retrofit
Different demographics and those with additional needs should be thought about, to ensure that a plan for domestic retrofit works is inclusive of and accessible to all. Without this inclusivity, the project is less likely to get backing from residents, leading to lower access and success rates.
Accessible and suitable resident engagement is ensuring that the proactive efforts made by asset or tenancy managers to involve residents in community life can be reached, used, or understood by everyone, especially those who need it and including those with disabilities or specific medical needs.
Developing and delivering a successful retrofit project therefore requires a strong, detailed and bespoke resident engagement plan. This toolkit explains the importance of inclusive, accessible resident engagement and will help you to develop a bespoke strategy that follows best practice to deliver inclusive retrofit outcomes to a high standard.
This toolkit has been developed for retrofit projects because they require a different approach to resident engagement. This toolkit can also help support any future applications for retrofit grant funding.
Who should use the toolkit?
The toolkit has been designed to help Social Housing Providers, Local Authority (LA) officers and other stakeholders involved in Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund with the delivery of retrofit project(s). Those responsible for developing and delivering the project’s resident engagement plan will get the most value from the toolkit. This toolkit will support you to create a bespoke engagement plan that ensures inclusivity for all residents. This will include content on how to reach all of your residents and what considerations should be made in different scenarios.
When should you use the toolkit?
Use this toolkit whilst developing the initial ideas for the retrofit project, and in securing support and funding. It should be used from the initial outline application stage, during project delivery and after the retrofit is completed. It is essential for contractors to understand the importance of resident engagement within their role. For this reason, a resident engagement plan should be included within any contract specification and be regularly updated and refined as the latest information becomes available. This toolkit is viable for both long term and short term ‘one off’ retrofit projects.
Download the PDF below to access this Quick Guide.