(Press-News.org) Housing associations are being urged to step out of their traditional role to deliver change in deprived areas and help people into work or entrepreneurship.
The call comes in a whitepaper published today by the University of East Anglia (UEA), written in response to how the UK levelling up policy agenda has so far failed to deliver results for constituents in the communities it is designed to help.
It follows a £10.8M Increase Valorisation Sociale (INCREASE VS) project, which showed how housing associations can go beyond their primary role of providing affordable housing to become crucial labour market intermediaries, helping communities and their residents get back into either employment or entrepreneurship, offering social facilities, and micro-enterprise training.
Running from 2018-2023, the initiative involved housing associations across a range of communities in England and France, as they attempted to help residents furthest from the labour market.
The whitepaper is based on results of a study conducted as part of the project by UEA and aims to help other housing association leaders who wish to increase their role.
Zografia Bika, Professor of Entrepreneurship at UEA’s Norwich Business School and lead of the study and whitepaper, said: “The challenges presented by regional inequality in the UK have been thrust into the limelight since the Brexit referendum.
“While many efforts made as part of the government's levelling up proposals have been centrally designed and administered, the INCREASE VS project highlighted the key role housing associations can play in delivering meaningful change that is crafted by locals according to local needs and conditions.
“The success of the housing associations in supporting individuals back into work or self-employment was in a large part because of their respected role in the community and the extensive knowledge and understanding of local circumstances that this afforded them. The results provide clear evidence that housing associations can do more than provide housing.
“These kinds of localised interventions are crucial if the levelling up ambitions of the country are to be realised, but doing so requires that housing associations step out of their traditional role as ‘just’ a respected provider of housing and instead act as the point around which a wide range of services are provided to help residents get back on their feet.”
INCREASE VS helped more than 4,500 people as they either started their own business or returned to work, its success driven largely by the individualised nature of the interventions that were designed to reflect the unique needs of each community.
It prioritised micro-enterprise training and employment support services (MEESS) tailored to each participant, such as guidance in business development, financial management, and administrative processes, and the context of their local environment.
“There is an opportunity for other housing associations and stakeholders in the sector to explore similar collaborative place-based initiatives and enact their change making role,” said co-author Adi Gaskell, who worked on the UEA study and currently advises the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
“By leveraging their collective knowledge and resources, they can develop integrated micro-enterprise and employment support services that empower individuals, enhance social inclusion, and contribute to the overall well-being of communities.”
Prof Bika and Mr Gaskell add that while INCREASE VS highlighted the “tremendous potential” for locally-driven change, applying the approach required to achieve the same results to housing associations elsewhere would not be easy.
“As the social and economic landscapes continue to evolve amidst increasing regional inequalities, housing associations must adapt to new challenges and opportunities,” said Prof Bika. “While there are a number of potential changes they may need to consider, they promise to deliver tangible benefits, including enhanced housing quality, cost efficiency, and resident wellbeing, while also stimulating job creation, addressing labour shortages and attracting residents and investors.”
The whitepaper highlights the importance of social inclusion and empowerment, and the power of collaborative networks and partnerships within the housing sector, for example between housing associations, training providers and other stakeholders, which enables the pooling of resources, knowledge, and expertise.
It recommends embracing sustainability, for example through sustainable construction and use of energy-efficient technology, as well as bringing integrated MEESS in-house, supporting skills-based recruitment and working with community colleges.
Incorporating technology into housing associations' operations and partnering with technology service providers can also foster digital inclusion and sustainability, while ensuring affordable and reliable internet access for residents.
Prof Bika added: “Change is neither easy nor guaranteed to succeed, but the roadmap outlined in this whitepaper gives housing association leaders the direction they need to become true institutional pillars of their local communities, supporting individuals in their pursuit of entrepreneurship or employment over the long term and enabling them to make and sustain meaningful change in their lives, where they live.”
END
Housing associations can be “change makers” for communities, says whitepaper
2024-06-05
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Women’s mental agility is better when they’re on their period
2024-06-05
Participants reacted quicker and made fewer errors during menstruation, despite believing their performance would be worse, according to new research from UCL and the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health (ISEH).
The study, published in Neuropsychologia, is the first to assess sport-related cognition during the menstrual cycle and is part of a larger research project supported by the FIFA Research Scholarship.
The findings act as a proof-of-principle that specific types of cognition fluctuate throughout the ...
AIs are irrational, but not in the same way that humans are
2024-06-05
Large Language Models behind popular generative AI platforms like ChatGPT gave different answers when asked to respond to the same reasoning test and didn’t improve when given additional context, finds a new study from researchers at UCL.
The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, tested the most advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) using cognitive psychology tests to gauge their capacity for reasoning. The results highlight the importance of understanding how these AIs ‘think’ before entrusting them with tasks, particularly those involving decision-making.
In recent years, the LLMs ...
UMass Amherst to join $90M US National Science Foundation large-scale research infrastructure for education
2024-06-04
June 4, 2024
UMass Amherst to Join $90M US National Science Foundation large-scale research infrastructure for education
Platform brings together institutions, digital learning and a world-class team to enable research studies to inform efficacy, improvement and innovation in teaching and learning
AMHERST, Mass. – The Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has joined the newly announced U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) SafeInsights, a five-year, $90 million research and development infrastructure for inclusive education ...
Researchers discover neural circuit involved in compulsive eating even without hunger
2024-06-04
For the first time, researchers have identified a group of neurons deep in the brain that are associated directly with compulsive eating and food craving. The discovery is reported in an article published in Nature Communications by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the United States and the Federal University of the ABC (UFABC) in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo state (Brazil).
The neurons are located in the periaqueductal gray, a region of the midbrain at the top of the brainstem, and are known as vesicular ...
Accelerating the R&D of wearable tech: Combining collaborative robotics, AI
2024-06-04
College Park, Md. — Engineers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have developed a model that combines machine learning and collaborative robotics to overcome challenges in the design of materials used in wearable green tech.
Led by Po-Yen Chen, assistant professor in UMD's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the accelerated method to create aerogel materials used in wearable heating applications – published June 1 in the journal Nature Communications – could automate design processes for new materials.
Similar to water-based ...
Chasing down a cellular ‘short circuit’
2024-06-04
A group of researchers at University of California San Diego has identified the cause of a “short-circuit” in cellular pathways, a discovery that sheds new light on the genesis of a number of human diseases.
The recent study, published in the journal Science Signaling, explores the biochemical mechanism that can interrupt the cellular communication chain — a disruptive interaction that Pradipta Ghosh, M.D., likens to a game-ending “buzzer.” Ghosh, a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine ...
When mothers and children talk about problems, environment matters
2024-06-04
URBANA, Ill. – Talking to their parents about daily stressors can help adolescents deal with their problems. This is particularly important during the transition to middle school, when youth often are faced with new peer and academic challenges. But does it matter where these conversations take place? That’s the topic of a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“We were interested in the environmental settings for mother-youth conversations. Where do they typically happen, and what are the preferred locations? We wanted to get the perspectives of both the youth and their ...
How tumor stiffness alters immune cell behavior to escape destruction
2024-06-04
Immunotherapy is based on harnessing a person’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. However, patients with certain tumors do not respond to these therapies and it remains unclear why.
“The full impact of anti-cancer immunotherapy has not been realized, especially for some solid tumors,” says Kevin Tharp, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Cancer Metabolism and Microenvironment Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys.
Researchers presume that part of the reason why these therapies fail is due to tumor-associated fibrosis, the creation of a thick layer of fibrous collagen (like scar tissue) that acts as a barrier ...
Convergence and collaboration to achieve circularity
2024-06-04
The linear consumption model of raw material extraction, production, use, and disposal dominates the global economy, but it’s led to serious unintended global consequences: from resource use to pollution including negative impacts on environmental and human health that disproportionately affect the Global South.
In contrast, circular economy – a model where products and materials are by design kept in continual use – aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption.
While approaches ...
Wayne State University partners with Great Lakes Water Authority to help train water pipeline managers of the future
2024-06-04
DETROIT — The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) has partnered with Wayne State University to develop its Workforce Development and Pipe Management Program, which will help recruit, teach and graduate the next generation of water pipeline managers. The two-year program will begin July 1, 2024, and will be supported by a contract totaling more than $480,000.
The GLWA says that water utilities are experiencing significant employee recruitment, training and retention challenges. An additional concern is the availability of specialized technical training that addresses recent technological advances in the water sector. In response to these challenges, the Workforce Development and ...