The Housing and Communities Research Group held it's first ideas and networking lunch on June 9th, following on from eight successful network seminars over the past two years. The event drew over 50 participants with some travelling from as far as Amsterdam, Belfast and Somerset to attend. Participants heard from 7 pleanary speakers who had been involved in a variety of collaborations with the Housing and Communities Research Group over recent years. 

After lunch three workshops developed ideas for future collaborations including new offers of placements for undergraduates and for dissertations, ideas for collective work on the housing agenda in the Midlands and possibilities for a club for small scale research and knowledge transfer in the region. A strategic report of the event will outline how actions identified in the three workshops can be taken forward in our new work programme focused on much needed social, affordable and community-led housing options in the post-election period. 

Commenting on the day Professor David Mullins said :

'We were delighted with the commitment to wider and deeper collaborative working evident at this uplifting event. It is important to us to develop our work in the context of strong value based partnerships with the housing sector and this event proved to us that this is a viable strategy'