The journey to the new model

You wanted to hear from more diverse voices:
There is a need to bring in new perspectives particularly from a range of ages and experiences

• We have increased our outreach work and attendance at local and community events to meet residents (e.g., drop-ins)
• We have offered and promoted more flexible opportunities to give feedback with short time commitments.
• We recently opened applications to all residents for the Sustainability Advisory Group.

You wanted us to bring in and retain more involved residents:
Any involved residents must be supported in their role through training and onboarding

• We are developing a welcome and support package for residents who are new to involvement and engagement.
• We are offering new benefits to all our involved residents such as access to training, digital support, revised policies and guidelines around expenses and reward & recognition.
• We will deliver more drop-in sessions as an opportunity for resident peer support and socialising with other resident volunteers. For example, our team held a drop in Willesden in February 2024.

You want current involved residents to still be able to participate:
We must retain the skills, knowledge and experience of residents who have been involved for a long time.

• We will still welcome the participation of our current involved residents. This has always been part of our proposals.
• We will also work with involved residents to shape engagement plans for example in repairs, compliance with regulation and planned investment.
• We have held follow up meetings with key involvement groups and supporting staff to gather further feedback and shape the new model.

You said the initial consultation period was rushed:
There wasn’t enough time during the initial consultation period to discuss the proposals. Some of the messaging wasn’t clear enough.

• We accept that the initial consultation period was too short and agreed with residents to extend by an additional 6 months to April 2024.
• We have focussed on clarifying the proposed changes and have listened to residents’ concerns through follow up meetings.

You don’t want the current groups to be shut down:
Some of our involved residents opposed the proposals to close their respective groups because of the important work carried out by these groups.

• We recognise the strength of feeling with our involved residents around this.
• We want to make sure that the important work and commitment of the current groups not only continues but is further amplified through a wider variety of involvement opportunities and delivers good outcomes for residents.

You don’t know if your feedback is being heard or acted upon at the right levels:
Residents want to know their time is valued and their feedback is being listened to.

• We are developing clearer connection to our governance structure (the board), by reviewing our groups at our ‘Oversight’ tier of the model.
• We will schedule meetings to happen ahead of key governance meetings and develop simple templates for reporting.
• We will use our bulletin as well as the website and Connections magazine to feedback on key decisions and outcomes.

You said that focussed discussions can bring value and impact:
Focused project work recently completed has brought about positive change, such as the damp and mould awareness raising project

• We will continue to develop opportunities for residents to give feedback and help improve specific areas of our service.
• We will support the Resident Voices Group to scrutinise and examine performance data and gather local feedback to commission more focussed resident-led scrutiny projects alongside other work proposed by Notting Hill Genesis staff.

You said local engagement must be stronger and more connected to our scrutiny work:
For example, local forums and residents’ associations are good ways to connect local voices to wider, strategic projects and priorities.

• We have established a dedicated engagement team responsible for engaging with local communities through bespoke engagement plans, working alongside internal teams and key stakeholders, with a particular focus on engaging with diverse residents and connecting feedback to inform scrutiny projects.
• We will support residents to get involved in a number of ways working alongside their local housing teams to scrutinise services from residents’ associations and groups, local forums, inspections, walkabouts, housing surgeries. These all will feed into the resident experience insight for our resident scrutiny group work.