Working Together
While "chipping in" is great for quick feedback, Collaboration and Co-creation are about deeper involvement. This is where we work side-by-side with you to design services from the ground up, ensuring that the finished product truly meets your needs
Collaborate: Working Together
Collaboration means we bring a problem to you and ask: "How should we fix this together?"
- What it looks like: Setting up a "Scrutiny Panel" to review repair performance or a "Focus Group" to help rewrite a Tenant Handbook. This approach means we share the responsibility with you for developing the solution.
Co-create: Designing from Scratch
Co-creation is the gold standard of engagement. It means tenants are involved from the very first spark of an idea.
- What it looks like: Tenants helping to design the new tenant engagement and influencing strategy or helping to design the layout and rules for a new community garden. This approach means you have equal authority to suggest, reject and build ideas alongside staff
The Benefits of a Co-designed Future
- Meaningful Influence: You aren't just commenting on a finished plan; you are holding the pen. This ensures the service works for your specific lifestyle and needs.
- Skill Development: Collaborating on budgets, policies, or design projects provides valuable experience in leadership, negotiation, and strategic thinking.
- Empowerment: It builds a sense of ownership. When you help create a service or a space, you have a direct stake in its success.
- Improved Trust: Working transparently alongside you breaks down "us and them" barriers and builds a culture of mutual respect.
- Service Innovation: Tenants often bring fresh, practical perspectives that staff—who are "too close" to the process—might miss.
The following table shows the different opportunities we will make available to enable collaboration and co-creation to take place
|
Engagement Activity |
What it is used for |
How often / availability |
Your Voice (You said) |
Our Response (feedback loop) |
|
Tenant Scrutiny |
In-depth scrutiny of performance and service quality by a group of tenants |
Face to face channel
Time commitment: approximately 2 hours once a month |
Opportunity to formally scrutinise MDC’s services and performance and provide evidenced based recommendations to
|
Direct formal response by the Housing Executive Group to the recommendations put forward by the tenants scrutiny group
Response to recommendations shared via all “Making you aware” channels (you said, we did) |
|
Service specific focus groups |
Deep dive sessions on a particular service |
Digital or face to face channel
Time commitment: approximately 2 hours x 3 as part of any scheduled service review / response to feedback |
Opportunity to make recommendations for service design and policy amendments |
Response to collective voices of action taken via all “Making you aware” channels (you said we did) |
|
Policy Review Group |
Review of new and revised policies ensuring policies are “tenant proofed” |
Digital channel
Time commitment: approximately 2 hours per policy review (no more than 4 reviews per year) |
Opportunity to provide recommendations on clarity, fairness and tenant impact, |
Direct formal response to any recommendations put forward by the Policy review Group
Response to recommendations shared via all “Making you aware” channels (you said, we did) |
|
Co-design and partnership working group |
Tenants and staff work as equals to develop new services and strategies |
Face to face channel – as and when required
Time commitment: Approximately |
Opportunities to co-author (work in partnership) service delivery models and strategies |
Response to collective voices of action taken via all “Making you aware” channels (we said, we did) |