Quality of Life Foundation

“By focusing on community engagement, evidence-based design, long-term stewardship, and rigorous evaluation of health outcomes, we can set the stage for transformative change.” That's our co-founder and director Matthew Morgan writing for Housing Today about our new strategy. In the article, Matthew explains why every new home should enhance the long-term health, wellbeing and quality of life of its residents, and sets out how the how the Quality of Life Foundation believes that can happen. Have a read here: https://lnkd.in/e9mzD_8u #HealthAndWellbeing #QualityOfLife #UKHousing #HousingGrowth #HousingDevelopment #NewHomes #SpatialPlanning #CommunityEngagement

We need your input! To help us understand and demonstrate our impact, we’re asking for a few minutes of your time to fill in a short survey. Your feedback will help us continue delivering the support and resources you need, and show our funders that their investment is making a difference. The survey is quick and anonymous if you prefer, but it’s incredibly valuable to us. Please share how you've engaged with our work and how it’s helped you. Thank you in advance! 🙏 https://lnkd.in/d9UdmTRx #Impact #Community #Feedback #QualityOfLife #Survey

On 26 November, our Senior Engagement Officer Melissa L. will be running a webinar for the Housing Diversity Network all about inclusive engagement. In the session, Melissa will introduce our Quality of Life Framework and Code of Practice principles to help #UKHousing organisations explore opportunities for inclusive engagement and think about what this means for health and wellbeing in homes and neighbourhoods. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and explore tangible examples of inclusive engagement within a social housing context. Sounds good doesn't it? Find out more and register here: https://lnkd.in/ec_YZ6c3 #InclusiveEngagement #SocialHousing #ResidentEngagement #CommunityEngagement #HealthAndWellbeing #QualityOfLife #HousingDiversityNetwork #HDN

Three weeks ago the Quality of Life Foundation team decamped to Manchester and took the Quality of Life Symposium with us. We have a fantastic (if a touch rainy) couple of days in the north west of England and had some brilliant conversations with some smart people. We captured some of those smart people on video as they answered the question: 'What would you like to see happen for us to deliver homes and neighbourhoods that really support health and wellbeing?' Watch our short video to hear how Phil Marsden, Jessica Lewis, Susan Emmett, Josh Fenton, Simeon Shtebunaev and Alexander Bottrill answered that question. Thank you to everyone who made the trip out to see us. We hope you all enjoyed the symposium as much as we did. Thanks also to our event sponsors: Muse, AtkinsRéalis, Stantec and Civic Engineers. Now, where should we take the Symposium next year?? #QualityOfLife #HealthAndWellbeing #HealthyPlaces #UKHousing #HousingGrowth #HousingDevelopment #Placemaking #HealthyPlacemaking

"When we talk about housing targets and real estate development, it’s easy to focus on the buildings. But without the necessary infrastructure, even the best-designed homes will struggle to support a happy and healthy community." It's Paul Morris' turn to share his thoughts on how we go beyond 'housing by numbers' to ensure we deliver homes and neighbourhoods that support health and wellbeing. While other speakers at our symposium spoke about community engagement and the importance of heritage, Paul's focus was on the critical role of green infrastructure - explaining why it must be delivered and how. Read more in Paul's blog here: https://lnkd.in/eqw5-WpJ Paul is a director at Civic Engineers, one of our much-valued core partners. #GreenInfrastructure #HealthyPlaces #HousingTargets #HealthAndWellbeing #QualityOfLife #BuiltEnvironment #CivilEngineering

"If we focus not only on the number of homes but on ensuring those homes are high-quality, affordable, and built in partnership with local communities, we can build neighbourhoods that genuinely support health and wellbeing for generations to come." In the latest blog to come out our recent Quality of Life Symposium, Phil Marsden at Muse shares his thinking. And he makes the point that, while we must go beyond housing by numbers, the numbers *are* really important. Find out why here: https://lnkd.in/e-wvf9NF #QualityOfLife #HealthAndWellbeing #HousingTargets #HousingNumbers #UKHousing #BuiltEnvironment #HealthyPlaces #UKDevelopment #AffordableHousing #CommunityEngagement

"As practitioners, our role is to leave behind tools that foster a sense of place and character. This can manifest in various forms, from stunning public spaces and remarkable architecture to preserving and celebrating our heritage. These elements work together to inject a sense of wonder into everyday life." At our recent Quality of Life Symposium, Katie Wray, director at Deloitte, explained why a sense of wonder is a central pillar in creating places that make people happy and contribute to their wellbeing. Read more in Katie's follow-up blog here: https://lnkd.in/eUD6Xz9M Thank you Katie for your insightful contributions. #HealthAndWellbeing #QualityOfLife #Heritage #SenseOfWonder #BuiltEnvironment #HealthyPlaces #UKHousing #UrbanDesign

"Community participation isn’t just about involvement for involvement’s sake – it directly impacts wellbeing. When people feel they have a voice, whether through volunteering or participating in decision-making, it positively affects their mental and physical health." The first of the blogs to come out of our 2024 Quality of Life Symposium is by Shefali K. Director of Communities at Manchester City Council. Shefali kicked off the discussion at the symposium, ensuring that we focused on the need for true community participation in answering the question 'how do we go beyond housing by numbers and create homes and neighbourhoods that deliver for health and wellbeing?' Read Shefali's wise words here: https://lnkd.in/efpMDgMX With thanks to Muse, AtkinsRéalis, Stantec and Civic Engineers for sponsoring the event. #CommunityParticipation #CommunityEngagement #HousingGrowth #HealthAndWellbeing #QualityOfLife #BuiltEnvironment

Didn't make it to this year's Quality of Life Symposium but want to know what we discussed? You'd better head on over to the blog to take a gander at our short event write up then! https://lnkd.in/eCTH5_ut #QualityOfLife #HealthAndWellbeing #UKHousing #BuiltEnvironment #CommunityEngagement #Collaboration

Well that was fun! Yesterday we took our Quality of Life Symposium to Manchester, where we were joined by some fantastic speakers and guests who all have something in common: the desire to see homes and neighbourhoods deliver for health and wellbeing. But how do we create those homes and neighbourhoods? Some of the thoughts and ideas shared yesterday included: - Thinking about the whole life course, and what it will be like for people to age in a place - Making sure there are opportunities for participation, beyond the length of a development project - Valuing affordable housing for the contributions it makes way beyond providing people with homes - Moving away from targets and measures and thinking more about outcomes - Thinking about who the client really is - and that client is 'the place' - Leaving tools in a place that encourage wonderment and joy - enabling a sense of community ownership and belonging - Remembering the role of infrastructure and high quality public realm A key message that we heard time and again is the importance of collaboration, relationships and partnerships. And that means across sectors and with communities. Thank you to everyone who came along yesterday. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Look out for more thoughts and summaries coming soon. Thanks to our sponsors: Muse, Stantec, AtkinsRéalis and Civic Engineers. #Placemaking #Placeshaping #HealthAndWellbeing #QualityOfLife #UKHousing #BuiltEnvironment