Thought leader interview with Lewis Kinch

I’ve worked in resident involvement for seven years, and before  I spent a chunk of time working with disenfranchised young people. When I look back on 15 years of trying to help the unheard be heard, there is one thing I wasn’t short of – willing participants who wanted to share their experiences. These people, who were often marginalised and quietened by the very organisations that exist to support them, are astute to the power structures that shape their lives. They may not be able to aritculate the power dynamics in the academic or business language that is obligatory in the  sector, but they know these dynamics exists – and they know it affects them. And until the housing sector openly accepts and discusses these power dynamics, we can never truly understand the experiences of our residents.

Some people argue that power is a zero-sum game and that you cannot create additional power in a conversation - it must be given from one party to another. If you apply that to our sector, there lies the biggest barrier to true co-creation between housing associations and residents – for residents to gain power (and therefor amplify their voice), the housing association must cede power.

Traditional resident involvement has worked on a foundation of ‘taking.’ We consult the residents, we ‘take’ their feedback, and then we ‘use’ it (within our own interpretations) to improve a service. We can claim we have listened, but the power still sits with the organisation. At Southern Housing, we’ve moved beyond this. Since 2020, with full support of the board and executive, we’ve adopted co-creation in to our ideology for amplifying the resident voice. By embracing difficult decisions about power structures, we are pushing forward with a more democratic approach to ensuring our residents are able to shape they services they receive. So, while we are always happy to talk, we much prefer to listen.