Housing Festival Information

Housing Festival Changing the narrative on housing We face a national crisis in housing, and we are compelled to act by a burden for those at the sharpest end to drive systemic change to find lasting solutions. We believe that there is a way through this crisis and are hopeful that change can be found in people and organisations working together and standing united. We believe this will come through a courageous and generous value-based leadership approach willing to challenge the status quo. Change will come through creativity and wisdom working together to do things differently. We are a think-and-do tank. Our goal is to find innovative and scalable solutions, implemented, and refined in the real-world. We lead projects, initiate and convene conversations, and facilitate change working with experts collaborating to solve complex and wicked* problems. By bringing different ideas together and creating a shared and practical wisdom we help people move forward in a new way, incubating progress step-by-step. We work with industry experts, local and national government, housing associations, charities, faith-based organisations and the wider public. Our approach is value-led, we work for change, and we celebrate the good when we see it. We’re versatile and we’ll work with anyone to enable a more socially just housing system where everyone can flourish. *The term ’wicked problems’ was coined by Rittel and Webber in 1973 . A ‘wicked’ problem is different to a ‘tame’ one which is “definable, understandable and consensual”. A ‘wicked’ problem is complex because it cannot be fully defined, there is no clear point at which the problem ends, solutions are not ‘true or false’ but ‘good or bad’. ‘Wicked’ problems can be explained in numerous ways, are reliant on numerous factors and each one is essentially unique, therefore requiring a unique solutions are not ‘true or false’ but ‘good or bad’.