The Housing Forum Futures Network

The Housing Forum has a thriving Futures Network, with a yearly cohort of professionals selected from across our members, who are at an early and promising stage of their development.

Meet the 25/26 cohort

The Housing Forum Futures Network is a development programme for high-potential housing sector professionals.

The Housing Forum Futures Network was set up for cohorts of prospective future leaders from member organisations, who are at a promising stage of their development.

Delegates of the Futures Network benefit from personal learning and development, mentoring, conducting research about pressing sector issues, and public speaking at Housing Forum and other industry events.

“Being part of the Housing Forum Futures Network has been a really worthwhile experience. Through the Cohort and my mentor, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the diverse roles within the housing sector, gaining insights from experts and peers that have broadened my understanding and perspective.

The network has also been a fantastic platform for building meaningful relationships, allowing me to connect with like-minded professionals and make friends along the way. This combination of learning and teamwork has made my involvement both professionally and personally rewarding”

Rob Worster, John Rowan & Partners, and Futures Network 2023-24 cohort participant

The aims of The Futures Network

The aim of The Futures Network is to actively support the growth of skills in partnership and collaborative working that both individuals and the housing industry need, to widen diversity and to build new and lasting networks.

Through involvement in the Futures Network, individuals will participate in networking and membership activities, taking responsibility for research and investigations to support The Housing Forum workstreams and deliver outputs to reflect this.

The Futures Network will help widening diversity in the housing sector and will help sustain the future of The Housing Forum as ambassadors as progress in their careers.

Mentorship

Each participant will be assigned a mentor when joining the Futures Network. Mentors are leaders in their field and will be from a different type of organisation to those they are mentoring – for instance an architect may be mentored by someone from a housing association. Mentors will provide guidance and advice based on their experience.

Research projects

The Futures Network will work together to research a topic of importance to the housing sector, such as skills shortages, decarbonisation and sustainability, and understanding the route to new home delivery through the full supply chain. This will involve contributing to research and data collection and preparing and publishing an outcome from the work.

Read on to discover outputs by the Futures Network, including:

Breaking Barriers report
Breaking Barriers podcast series
Skills Shortage report
Build Your Future in Housing campaign
Route Map to New Home Delivery

Breaking barriers: Collaborative solutions to housing delivery

The Housing Forum Futures Network is proud to launch its latest report ‘Breaking Barriers: Collaborative Solutions to Housing Delivery’. Drawing on insights from sector-wide surveys, in-depth interviews, and round table discussions, the report sheds light on the persistent challenges slowing the delivery of new homes at scale, and offers cross-sector, collaborative solutions to overcoming these barriers.

A five-part podcast series has also been recorded to complement the report, bringing the voices behind the findings to life and exploring the solutions in more depth. Together, the report and podcast offer a clear, actionable solutions grounded in real-world experience and cross-sector collaboration.

Download the report

Episode 1: How can the affordable housing sector overcome the barrier of adopting MMC?

In the light of the Government’s targets of building 1.5 million homes, how can the affordable housing sector overcome the barrier of adopting MMC and utilising its clear potential? Nigel Ostime (Hawkins Brown) joins Sarah Wigley to discuss how cross-sector collaboration and improving understanding of the manufacturing process will help the industry ‘cross the chasm’ of adopting MMC.

The Skills Shortage Report

The Housing Forum Futures Network 23/24 cohort surveyed and interviewed Housing Forum members, to identify the current and future challenges around skills shortages, including hiring, training and retention, from across the whole of the housing and construction sector.

While these are unique to different types of organisations involved in UK housing delivery, key, cross-cutting themes include the rising costs for businesses and local authorities to upskill and employ qualified people to deliver safe, high-quality and sustainable new homes and upgrades to existing stock.

Read the skills shortage report

Build Your Future in Housing

The 2023/24 cohort launched a campaign focusing on addressing skills shortages in the housing sector. The purpose of the campaign was to create and share inspiring and useful digital content, including a sizzle video and a podcast series, to get the sector talking, entice school leavers and promote upskilling and reskilling for hard to fill roles.

Watch the podcast series on YouTube

Training opportunities

The Housing Forum will provide training opportunities designed to meet the needs of the participants. The 2024/25 cohort accessed Debra Steven’s ‘Presenting with Impact’ course, a dynamic one-day course designed to equip participants with practical skills to deliver powerful presentations.

Meetings and events

‘’The public speaking opportunities – at last year’s Members Morning, three decarbonisation webinars, The Housing Forum’s Feature session at CIH Housing Brighton, and the National Conference – have been a fantastic outcome from my time in the network.”
Thomas Bugler, Bugler Group Futures Network 2021-22 cohort participant and Futures Network Chair (2023-24)

Participants will have the opportunity to attend The Housing Forum Futures Network meetings, and topical events for personal development. The Housing Forum will create opportunities for Futures Network participants to present during The Housing Forum events. Presentations will focus on sharing findings on research projects developed by Futures Network members.

Stephen Teagle, The Housing Forum Chair, says:

“This Futures Network supports a group of prospective promising future leaders who will be empowered to provide a unique perspective and sustain the future of the work of The Housing Forum, learning from board mentors as they contribute to and promote the benefits of the network during their careers.”

This article featured in Inside Housing captures the views of 3 members of the first cohort on the impact that The Futures Network has had on them: Inside Housing – Comment – The Housing Forum has helped us develop cross-industry skills and insights

The Housing Forum is in a unique position to actively support the growth of the skills the housing industry needs and to widen diversity and build new networks.

2024/25 cohort

Malachi Currie, Airey Miller

Kwame Munyangiri, Arcus Consulting

Sarah Wigley, Baily Garner

Phoebe Evans-Khan, Bugler Group

Bronwen Thomson, Latimer by Clarion Housing Group

Sophie Jacobs, Foot Anstey

Katherine Duddy, HTA Design

Eden Carberry-Hughes, John Rowan & Partners

Alex Light, Levitt Bernstein

Joe Evans, Martin Arnold

Charlie Ash, NHBC

Guin Dimock, Peabody

Alexander Firth, Platform Housing Group

Hollie White, Polypipe

Adrian Jacobs, Soveriegn Network Group

Becca Stenson, Switch2

Lilian Robinson, Trowers & Hamlins

Sigourney Fox, Wates Residential

Claire Burbridge, whg

2023/24 cohort

Dilan AlPasha, Airey Miller

Hayley Grace, Baily Garner

Anna Kadziolka, BPTW

Lorna Pearce, Bugler Group

Farrah Hussain, Countryside Partnerships

Jessamy Warren, Foot Anstey

Loveth Ediare, Guinness

Simon Gabe, HLM Architects

Spencer Wicks, Inner Circle Consulting

Rob Worster MRICS, John Rowan and Partners

Michelle Mansfield, MTVH

Ola Skrobosz, Network Homes

Chantelle John, Network Homes

Amrit Dhariwal, Peabody

Katie McGlone, Polypipe

Danielle Buckley, Wates

2022/23 cohort

Laura Bradshaw, Baily Garner LLP

Sonny Cook MRICS MCIOB, Baily Garner LLP

Leonor Villa Pereira, Bugler Group

Toby Blunsten-Fox, Durkan

Michael Luttners Tickner MSc, FaithornFarrell Timms

Eva Murzyn, HTA Design LLP

Kwame Ohene-Adu, HTA Design LLP

So Sum Lee MRICS, Inner Circle Consulting

Luis Obregon, Inner Circle Consulting

Emily Lister, Insite Energy

Cameron Anterkyi, Network Homes

Emma Bailey, Network Homes

Lyudmila Payne, Platform Housing Group

Katie Williamson, Platform Housing Group

Hayley Hayes, Polypipe

Stuart Wood, Polypipe

Ellie Park, South East Consortium

Nicola Conway, Trowers & Hamlins

Neil Snyman MRICS, Wates Developments

Oliver Parker, whg

2021-22 cohort

Ed Richards, Airey Miller

Will Gregory, Baily Garner LLP

Thomas Bugler, Bugler Group

Eleni Stathi Stahi, HTA Design LLP

Phena Mac Namara, Pollard Thomas Edwards

Kotey Nikoi, Pollard Thomas Edwards

Daniel Love CGMA, Polypipe

Stuart Brown, Trowers & Hamlins

Rory Kemp MRICS, Wates Developments

Camilla Buds Wates Developments

The Housing Forum Futures Network chair role has been introduced to provide further leadership and external relations support to the Futures Network members.

The current Futures Network chair (2023-24) is Danielle Buckley, Regional Social Value Manager, Wates Residential.

For more information about the Futures Network and to enquire about how your organisation may get involved please get in touch with our Membership Manager george.thompson-dunne@housingforum.org.uk