CIH Scotland impact report 2023 24

Discover the incredible work CIH Scotland has taken to shape the housing landscape in Scotland in 2023/24. Our dedication to amplifying the voices of housing professionals across all sectors has resulted in tangible impact and positive change. From advocating for policy reforms to fostering learning and professional development, CIH Scotland is at the forefront of driving progress in the housing sector.

Shaping the Scottish housing policy landscape

We have worked closely with housing professionals across all tenures to amplify the power of their experience and expertise, including:

Supporting the call of Scotland’s local authorities we declared a housing emergency calling on the Scottish Government for a political response and to urgently review the viability of its 110,000 affordable homes programme by 2032
Working with Fife council to deliver our final research report on RRTPs (Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan). This joint programme has included research on information gathering, monitoring frameworks and access to the PRS (Private Rented Sector) market to make it an attractive, viable option for those experiencing homelessness
Chaired and led Scottish Housing Day and its focus on housing as a career of choice, including a keynote event on housing day
Published our report, Policies not Promises setting out how Scotland’s social landlords have responded to the Make a Stand campaign five years on and how we want the Scottish Government to respond.

Getting your voice heard

We have made the case to elected members and decision makers about the case for investing in housing by:

Hosted multiple events, created toolkits, and surveyed our members to build a vision for the policy changes Scotland needs in 2024. This included the priorities members wanted to see in the Housing Bill, which was captured in our publication “What the Sector Wants”
Callum Chomczuk and Ashley Campbell continue to advocate on behalf of our members meeting with cross party MSPs, ministers and officials in multiple forums, including the Housing to 2040 Strategic Board. They have also given repeated, in person, evidence to the Housing, Local Government and Planning Committees to ensure that housing, housing supply, homelessness and housing standards remain at the top of their agenda
We worked with our members to respond to ten policy consultations and published eight reports on housing policy and practice, reflective of our work across all tenures

Helping you to learn from and share best practice

In 2023/24 the team delivered a series of conferences, events and member forums allowing you to network with and learn from each other, including:

The 2024 Scotland’s Housing Festival, exclusive and free to all members, bringing together the best and brightest in the sector to discuss, challenge, share and learn
Launching the Your Career in Housing website that supports social landlord engagement with schools about careers in the sector and makes the case for housing as a career of choice
Delivering multiple face to face training sessions on a range of topics, including high profile topics such as damp and mould. This sat alongside our joint briefing with SFHA (Scottish Federation of Housing Associations) and ALACHO (Association of Local Authority Chief of Housing Officers) on damp and mould advice for governing bodies and committees.

Helping your workforce to become better housing professionals

In Scotland, CIH (Chartered Institute of Housing) Scotland is the home of professional standards. We work to improve housing professionalism across the sector and to make the case for housing education at all levels. We have:

Launched a new Professionalism Commitment for social landlords which encourages housing organisations to publicly demonstrate how they will support ongoing education and continuing professional development (CPD) at all levels in their organisation
We delivered our Professionalism Framework, created by the sector for the sector. This is the gold standard embodying best practice with tools that allow housing professionals to understand their strengths and areas for growth
We continue to develop our industry leading qualifications and training to ensure that we are developing a workforce that is properly skilled and capable of delivering focused, relevant, and impactful work.

Placing member value at the heart of the organisation

We are continually aiming to improve our offer to all members whilst also looking at opportunities to build a professional body which is relevant and useful for members, whatever stage they are at in their careers:

We relaunched and updated our Knowledge Hub where members can gain access to a huge library of information on the latest housing issues, in-depth case studies and other resources
Sharing best practice and knowledge through our series of member webinars and briefings and our 2023 Good Practice Compendium featuring all shortlisted entries from the October 2023 Scotland Housing Awards.

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