Annual Report 2017 ar_2017_FINAL | Page 10

Working in our communities We have had an exciting year at Accord as our locality model of working and a reinforced emphasis on the customer has shaped our new ‘Better Together’ organisation. Some key highlights include: n Our Customer Offer launched with contributions from across our customer base n Increasing customer satisfaction with homes and services n Continuing our work in communities such as our highly successful Holiday Kitchen and Make, Move and Munch clubs which are directly impacting on child poverty and childhood obesity as well as combating social isolation n Over £100k worth of external grant funding to help community projects such as Old Tree Nursery, the Lunt Community Garden and Skills For Life n Our Click Start project helping to increase digital inclusion and the City Deal Working Together project supporting customers into employment n Engaging with the No Wrong Door network which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and supports people with multiple and complex needs n Offering space in our offices for free to partners such as Mind and Change, Grow, Live so that they can hold service user meetings and interviews in a convenient location n Undertaking and supporting local events such as family cooking clubs, litter picks, the CoCoMad festival in Cotteridge, as well as those with the National Citizen Service such as photography, enterprise, video and sports projects. Into the future? Well, whilst some organisations are paring back on customer and stakeholder engagement in these times of austerity, we truly believe that doing these things is important and our new way of working will see us do much more in our neighbourhoods, overhauling the way we communicate. We will be setting up Customer Locality Panels across our areas of operation and will be out to recruit soon. We will also reinforce our position as a leader in tenant-controlled housing by developing more tenant co-operatives and tenant management organisations. We would love to hear from anyone that wishes to give us views or ideas or get involved with us in any way. 16 Accord Housing Association