Catherine May reports on the latest developments at Tyfu Tai Cymru
At the end of 2022, Tyfu Tai Cymru (TTC) will enter an exciting new phase as our current funding stream ends. As a project we’ve witnessed the huge efforts to improve the housing sector in Wales. The last five years will be memorable not just for the public health crisis that faced us all but for the way in which many working in housing rose to meet that challenge and continue to do so as communities face the cost-of-living crisis in Winter 2022.
Tyfu Tai Cymru has shone a light on the issues that really matter to communities but are sometimes overlooked by policy makers in the housing sector, producing research into subjects as diverse as
- Perceptions of social housing
- Partnership principles between health, housing and social care
- Rightsizing
- Community solutions to empty homes
- Decarbonising the private rented sector.
We have worked collaboratively with many people across the housing sector, taking part in many discussions about what needs to be done to keep people and communities flourishing and healthy at home. We are extremely proud of everything the project has achieved, including our success in persuading Government to adopt recommendations to provide better support to people living in the private rented sector experiencing mental health problems and building a solid evidence base across many topics. We know that our reports are influential for people within and beyond the housing sector because of the clear and independent analysis throughout.
From the inception in 2018 Tyfu Tai Cymru focused on exploring topics which really matter to people across Wales and using our networks to build influence and ensure the voices of people with experience is at the centre of our work. We’ve been advised throughout by a stellar group of advisors from housing, health and academia who helped us build a reputation for producing research with clear recommendations for local and national governments.
In 2022, we published the final edition of our unique study into the experience of housing professionals working in local authorities throughout the pandemic. Our findings are that staff are proud of their achievements, in particular the monumental effort in getting people experiencing homelessness into safe shelter. However, staff are concerned that the lessons of the pandemic are not continued and that the ongoing pressures may lead to higher levels of burnout among frontline housing professionals.
As part of our Oak Foundation funding, we commissioned an external evaluation which found TTC had been an effective project which met all its objectives with the majority of respondents suggesting our research had provided useful insights and influenced their work.
Some of the standout quotes highlighted that TTC was
‘Able to connect the dots so you can see a much bigger picture. It’s a pretty unique project really.’
‘Tyfu Tai Cymru finds the story behind the statistics.’
‘I have utilised the research in order to create strategies and business cases for the workload of my team.’
We are proud that TTC has been able to fill evidence gaps whilst providing space for the voice of frontline workers, tenants, and housing professionals to be heard. We have been able to deliver research that directly influenced debate about Welsh government policy, bringing in change through the provision of robust evidence.
CIH Cymru will continue to spearhead the work of TTC. Watch this space for more opportunities to partner in producing policy research produced in Wales for Wales.
Catherine May is Tyfu Tai Cymru manager