Is the board scanning the horizon and adapting?
‘The inability to speak with precision and certainty about the future, however, is no excuse for silence.
'In dealing with the future… it is more important to be imaginative and insightful than to be 100% right.
'In almost no major consumer goods category… is there a brand on top today which held that position ten years ago.’
Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, 1970
‘The National Housing Federation (NHF) has warned that the Housing Bill [Housing and Regeneration Act 2008] currently going through Parliament represents the greatest threat ever to the independence of housing associations.’
NHF Housing Bill Bulletin, January 2008
Whether or not you agree with the NHF’s pessimistic view, all housing organisations ought to be thinking about the practical impact of the new regulatory regime with the TSA and the HCA. How will the credit crunch and slow-down in house sales and/or fall in prices affect you? In 2007, one housing association thought it was a good idea to buy the housebuilder Wilson Bowden. Great minds think alike and ultimately Barratt did the deal. It turned out to be at the top of the market with the subsequent losses jeopardising the future of Barratt. A lucky escape for the housing association – would your board have seen this coming?
What are ALMOs planning to do when they complete Decent Homes – are there opportunities arising from the subsidy review? Change of political control at council level has affected the future of ALMOs. How would your organisation fare under a different government?
Have associations and ALMOs started thinking about the impact of local select committee enquiries triggered by petitions mooted by Hazel Blears? In recent years there have been serious proposals to create a full-blown market for housing management and pay all Housing Benefit to tenants so they shopped around. These threats and opportunities faded away but the world moves on. Will the Housing Reform Green Paper reduce security of tenure for people that refuse work? What will your organisation need to do to get your residents back into work or training? Will workless households get evicted? How much will this all cost?
- What are the five biggest risks that could affect your organisation?
- What are the five biggest opportunities for your organisation?
- How are you countering these risks and maximising the opportunities?
- What do you know about your customer base? Is it changing? How will this affect your organisation?
- How will you keep stock up to the Decent Homes standard after 2010? Have you identified resources to maintain and improve all your homes?
- If your association operates across many local authority areas, do you contribute fully in each area? Are you active in Local Strategic Partnerships? Do you contribute to local, regional and sub-regional housing strategies? Do you link up with other housing associations in each area to tackle worklessness? Have you considered transferring stock where you play no role locally?
- How does your ALMO contribute to the Local Strategic Partnership? What is the ALMO doing to boost the council’s Comprehensive Area Assessment rating?
- What do you want your organisation to look like in five years' time? What are the options? Which is best? Are there robust plans in place to deliver the vision?
- Who do you expect to be your leading competitors? How will you stay ahead of them?
- Does the board track legislative and political change? Do you single out the things that matter and respond in time?
