Hare-brained schemes and crackpot ideas – Why they are worth considering

Speaker: Ashley Horsey, Chief Executive of Commonweal

The 11 December will be an exciting day as we launch the Jane Slowey Memorial Bursary, sponsored by the charity Commonweal Housing, in honour of their late trustee and University of Birmingham Alumna. The Chief Executive of Commonweal, Ashley Horsey will be spending the day with us, and presenting our second HCRG seminar for 2018/19. Ashley has 30 years’ experience in social housing, much of it spent tackling homelessness in the housing association sector. Commonweal Housing is an independent charity working in partnership with front line experts and organisations to investigate, pilot and champion housing- based solutions to social injustice.

Ashley’s seminar on “Hare-brained schemes and crackpot ideas – Why they are worth considering.” will explore the development and testing of new ideas to address different forms of social injustice faced by the individuals and groups they work with, including case studies from the wide range of social policy areas the charity has been involved with over the last 12 years from women in the criminal justice system; care leavers; homelessness and rough sleeping; women exiting prostitution and those fleeing domestic violence; and the issues of limited affordable housing for those on low or insecure incomes. The discussion will also focus on how Commonweal encourage replication of models that work as well as how to share the learning from those new ideas and pilots that don’t necessarily go to plan.

Contact for bookings: Helen Harris – h.m.a.harris@bham.ac.uk