The Challenge
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The Tenant Services Authority (TSA), previously known as the Housing Corporation, is the Government agency that funds new affordable housing and regulates over 1,500 housing associations in England. Its National Affordable Housing Program of £3.3bn for 2005/2007 will fund over 67,000 affordable homes – 16,000 of them for key workers. Subject to stringent regulatory processes, the Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR), requires housing associations to provide information such as all vacancies, accommodation and average rents across the country. The TSA, therefore, maintains a census of social housing throughout England.
Information from these surveys is of crucial value to the TSA in regulating a sector that is responsible for some 2 million households. The information gained from the RSR is used to identify regulatory defined risks (such as abnormal vacancy rates, overambitious expansion, unaffordable rents, or failure to consider projected demands). It allows the TSA to obtain necessary information to make investment decisions, and provides additional data for corrective procedures to be identified and implemented.
RM Data Solutions Increases Staff Productivity and Data Accuracy
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Having first won the contract in 1998, RM Data Solutions worked closely with the TSA to transform the previous paper based RSR procedure into an electronic application that was secure, accurate and user friendly. This included extensive validation that helped providers submit accurate information quickly and easily, thus reducing the time they had to spend answering queries on the data after submission.
At the expiration of the initial tender, the TSA issued a second five-year tender in 2003, which was again won by RM Data Solutions. The implementation of RM Data Solutions’ dedicated Help Desk service assisted housing associations with the RSR definitions, cleared up misunderstandings and ensured consistency throughout the process. For many housing association staff, the helpline has become the voice of the TSA and has contributed to the rapid take-up of the electronic RSR process.
Originally, the TSA expected that the process of making electronic returns mandatory for the larger associations would take two or three years, but RM Data Solutions were able to implement the mandatory requirement within a year. The solution has delivered considerable savings in time and money – something that has been welcomed by housing associations of all sizes.
Each annual RSR differs as additional required information is identified. Every year, RM Data Solutions builds a system to reflect the requirements and validations as specified by the TSA. Once letters have been sent by the TSA to each housing association, RM Data Solutions liaises with them to obtain and deliver the required data.
Each year, RM Data Solutions runs workshops and conferences that give housing associations a better understanding of the forthcoming survey and validation processes. This allows RM Data Solutions to achieve the mandatory targets of 100% returns from the top 600 housing associations and minimize the number of unacceptable returns.
The seminars and conferences are also widely popular with housing associations of all sizes as they are able to provide feedback on the previous year’s program and suggest enhancements that would assist them in the completion of the surveys.
Support Provisions
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RM Data Solutions have provided continuing support through the full provision of a helpdesk. The helpdesk provides users with an instant and practical knowledge base, allowing them to quickly gain understanding of the system or resolve any issues.
Its undeniable success is testament to RM Data Solutions’ belief in its ability to empower informed decisions. By providing an accessible knowledge base for users, RM Data Solutions has given RSR the ability to make more targeted decisions and undertake strategic research. This in turn has increased the accuracy and effectiveness of decisions made by the RSR.
The RM Data Solutions helpdesk has been supporting a wide range of customers, from very small organisations to large geographically separated organisations. Its unique ability to give help and advice according to user type has facilitated the delivery of effective and efficient help, decreasing user call times. It also has the added benefit of allowing the helpdesk support person to understand the differing roles of stake holders when providing advice.
Since the partnership began, the TSA and RM Data Solutions have worked together on a number of website initiatives to aid the housing associations. This includes a secure website that allows the associations to directly download the survey form, access a databank of frequently asked questions and participate in Forum discussions with other housing associations. This, coupled with the targeted helpdesk service, has provided a complete and successful support service for RSR.
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