1. Brief description of the project Private Rented Sector Model – The project aimed to explore a partnership between Applied Social Science lead lecturer, Marylynn Fyvie-Gauld and BHTs’ Hastings Housing Access Project to support people into the private rented accommodation market.

   1. Project Progress Our preliminary research highlighted an interesting area of focus in the form of Mythbusting. Following work in this direction it became clear that we needed to change the focus of the research in order to produce any meaningful data. The project has since adapted and has now become an exploration of the ways in which meaningful data can be drawn from the community on a topic. Myth busting and beyond We had identified that there were many myths perpetuating around both tenants, prospective tenants, landlords and prospective landlords illustrated by language such as ‘benefit tenants’ ‘benefit scroungers’ ‘rogue landlords’ and ‘unscrupulous landlords’. As a standalone topic of interest we were interested in looking at ways of identifying, challenging and demystifying these myths. This had the intention of examining if the myths resulted in less access to private rented accommodation for people in Hastings. Many hours of work went into the planning. Unfortunately, we received a very poor response and took the difficult decision not to go ahead with the event and to focus our attention elsewhere. This was viewed within the context that our work was taking place within a fast moving environment where the private rented sector had moved up in its political profile. Since this setback we have taken many different approaches to looking at the private rented sector in Hastings. We have embarked on a smorgasbord of research, trialling tasters of different research methods to gather information. • Vox Pop • Service user interviews • Landlord interviews • Mystery shopping of letting agents • Letting agents survey • Letting agents interviews • Literature search • Community Fellow ethnography • Monitoring of advertised prs costs • Analysis of HHAP clients data Volunteers have been involved in interviews, surveys, indirectly through anonymous case-studies, and providing supporting for the Vox Pop events. Our Community Fellow has produced an ethnographic account and been responsible for designing a system to capture information about prs rent levels. We have had a student on placement throughout, who has carried out research on shared housing and provided feedback along the way of every stage. The project overall has allowed us as a community organisation to step away from the day-to-day operational practice of running a service to look at the barriers facing our service users from different perspectives. A major benefit of working in partnership with UoB has been by providing a platform on which to access landlords and letting agents, through the agency of UoB as honest broker which has opened up doors to us which were previously closed. In terms of lifeline of this work, we will continue to gather further data to put towards our final report. As we moved away from the Mythbusting event which would have been to deadline, and focused on gathering data in other ways our deadline has slipped and some of the work is still ongoing. As such we will not be ready with the final report until July. This does not represent any problems to us as an organisation and will not require additional funding.

2. Partnership working

· Which partners and stakeholders were involved? BHT, Hastings Housing Access Project, Hastings Borough Council, University of Brighton, private landlords and private letting agents, service users and members of the Hastings public. · How did the partnership work? Although myself and Vanessa are UoB alumni, our roles didn’t allow for time for looking at problems academically. Partnership has allowed us to draw on the expertise and knowledge of Marylynn, who has been instrumental in providing guidance and support on conducting research, understanding social policy and identifying the roles played by ideology and hegemony in housing. In terms of practicality, our partnership has worked effectively through open communication and regular exchanging of ideas through regular meetings and e-mail exchanges. · What knowledge was exchanged and developed? Throughout the process knowledge has been exchanged which has established a baseline picture of the problems facing the Hastings community who are on a low income and who need to access the private rented sector. From this we have been able to establish that this is an important area of interest and research for Hastings. We have established that the difficulties faced by our service users have wider resonance amongst the Hastings community. We have established that whilst the ‘Housing Crisis’ is now a recognised national problem, the Hastings community faces particular problems. We have had the opportunity to carry out the groundwork to identify where the focus for further research should be. · What did On Our Doorsteps contribute? What other support would have been useful? Ceri’s ongoing support has been valued, particularly in discussions about changing from our original direction. · What 3 words would you use to sum up your experience with this seed funded project? Inspiring, collective, ambitious.

1. Outputs

We will produce a conference paper, and a report for the Hastings community and key stakeholders. The report will be presented at a CUPP forum which stakeholders will be invited to attend and sent out widely. During this event we aim to get stakeholders signed up to a Hastings Private Rented Sector forum which will be a permanent legacy of the project, and which will act to keep the prs on the agenda in Hastings. Our report will contain our output from surveys, questionnaires, interviews, Vox pop, ethnography and client data

1. Outcomes

We are seeking additional funding in order to carry out a larger piece of research to ascertain if the picture in Hastings is replicated in other seaside towns along the South East coast. The CUPP forum, scheduled for December 2015, will include potential funders interested in the findings from this research who may be interested in funding a larger project. We will also seek the expertise of the University’s Research Office in writing the funding bid.

1. University

We have established an excellent placement resource for the level five students on Applied Social Science and already have two students interested in taking this up in the next academic year.

1.1. Staff

· training of tutors · staff promotion · networking within university · interdisciplinary connections and connections across the administrative divide

1.2. Teaching

I have presented a seminar to Applied Social Science Year 1students. The findings from this research will be used to create a level six module on Housing to be delivered in the academic year 2016/15 Students will be invited to be part of the larger research project

1.3. Research Multiple research methodologies have been trialled which have provided a strong insight into how information can be gathered from a community base. As there is no ready to go list of people to make enquiry with, this has been very important and provides a basis from which further research can be developed.

1.4. Student Learning

· student opportunities and experience in community practice · student involvement in research · student dissertations · enrolment on new modules/courses We have had one student on placement with us who has developed a strong interest in the project and in the wider sphere of housing generally which has opened up an interest in her dissertation topic and in working in the housing field.

1.5. Dissemination

· conferences · papers · books · email influence · invitations to disseminate (eg as keynotes speakers)

We will produce a report which will be provided to stakeholders and the Hastings public. The report will provide the basis for generating interest for articles with local newspapers.

1. Community

1.1. Staff

· experience teaching on university modules · continuing professional development · skills development support · increased job satisfaction · increased staff/volunteer competence, credibility, employability & promotion

1.2. Service users

· benefits to local economy and quality of life for individuals · improved access to services · developed understanding of user need Our hope is to generate a legacy through establishing a PRS Forum which will benefit not only HHAP’s service users but anyone in the Hastings community who needs to access PRS on a low income.

2.3. Organisation

· savings to service providers · organisational change · increased funding · increased ability to articulate and promote work Initially the benefits to our wider organisation were not immediately apparent. As the project has progressed, the benefits of reviewing our service from a non-operational perspective have become apparent. Our service has embedded learning from this partnership so that research now forms the backbone of our practice. HHAP have increased in our knowledge and skills in discussing the issues faced by our service users, and by extension, anyone in the Hastings community attempting to access PRS on a low income. We also benefited from the initial application process as neither of us had previous experience in applying for funding which has strengthened our skills for future funding applications.

1. Joint

· Joint funding submissions · Influencing local and national practices, strategies and policies · Development of new services · Ongoing relationships with project partners Community of practice development We are aiming to influence local policy and strategy through publication of our report. Key to measuring success will be establishing a cross-section PRS Forum, bringing together stakeholders from local government, advice and support agencies, Hastings community and private individuals and organisations (landlords and letting agents) and funders.

What impact do you think the project had on: · the community organisation/s and stakeholders; and on · the university

What difference did the project make to community and university?

Formed the basis for a Level 6 module, provided volunteering placement for several students and started the basis of a longer term relationship.

What does success look like?

Success will be seen in establishing that access to the private rented sector for people on low incomes in Hastings is an important issue for key stakeholders through facilitating a vibrant and active PRS Forum and the continuation of our preliminary research, into a large scale research project. Wide dissemination of information via the forum in the first instance followed by 2 articles and 2 conferences.

1. Longer term knowledge exchange work

Please describe what your partnership plans to do next. · How will the project and/or relationships develop at the end of this seed funding? · How will the role of volunteers be developed to support future work? The partnership intends to carry on with the current exchange work and develop this into a large scale research project. HHAP will continue to work in partnership through our position as experts in accessing the PRS and providing access to information and sources of research participants via our service users. We will be having a student on placement at the start of the next academic year who will be carrying out a research which will provide a History of Housing in Hastings which will further feed into the knowledge base. There will be continued input for HHAP into teaching on the applied social science degree, particularly when the new housing module comes on-stream 7. Statement of Income and Expenditure

We have allocated funds to cover the costs of launching the forum.

1. Quantitative evaluation

Please give an estimation of:

· The number of people involved in the partnership – 7 people directly

· The number of people involved in events/workshops you have run – over 200

· The numbers of people who have benefitted from the activities you have undertaken – the students (26), the people involved in the project (7), those who have been interviewed and be able to tell their stories. An approximation of 50 people.

· The numbers of hours the partners have worked on the project and please indicate by how much this number was more or less than you initially planned for.

The partners have exceeded the hours worked on the project. We are able to do this by demonstrating that our work with this project work both informs and improves our core work.