We're pleased to share another milestone in the Belonging Begins Here: Connecting Communities project.
The project was co-designed with customers from the outset, with members of the Independent Living Group helping to shape the idea, identify the need for better communication and community connection, and develop the proposal.
Their insight and lived experience were central to the successful grant application, which secured £120,000 to bring the project to life and demonstrates the impact customers can have when they are involved in shaping solutions for their communities.
This project’s aim is to install digital screens in all our Independent Living schemes, to share local events, housing updates and community news in a visual and engaging way. You can read about it here https://www.accentgroup.org/news/big-news-customers-secure-120-000-to-bring-communities-closer-together/
The project team has now completed site surveys across all of our schemes. These surveys have helped us understand the different spaces customers use, how they use them, and where digital noticeboards can have the greatest impact. This customer-led approach will help us maximise engagement and create more connected communities.
The information gathered has enabled us to identify the first 10 pilot sites, where digital noticeboards will be installed later this month, ahead of a wider rollout to other Independent Living schemes shortly.
Chris Lynn, Chair of the Independent Living Group and customer lead for the project, said: "I feel genuinely honoured to be the customer lead on this project. Belonging Begins Here is achieving more than I imagined when pen first hit paper a year ago. It is becoming a blueprint for how resident voice, digital inclusion and community connection can work together."
Completing the surveys has also helped us plan the next phase of the project. In the coming months, we'll begin introducing tablets within our schemes to support customers to become more digitally active and included. The aim is to help customers access services, connect with their communities, and build confidence using digital technology in both their Accent life and personal lives.
Once the screens are installed, customers will be able to:
- Share ideas
- Shape services
- Respond to surveys instantly
- See updates, news and information that matters to them
- Feel heard more frequently and more meaningfully
We're excited to see the first screen installations take place this month and look forward to sharing further updates as the project continues to roll out across our Independent Living schemes.