"Play a leading and influential role nationally within the rural housing sector"
English Rural continues to maintain its influential position within the social housing and rural sectors. Our longstanding commitment to understanding and advocating for affordable rural housing issues has allowed us to develop a respected brand and voice.
This year, we achieved notable success through our leadership role in commissioning and promoting innovative rural homelessness research. Building on this momentum, we have facilitated the Rural Homelessness Counts Coalition, a direct outcome of the research.
Our proactive Communications Strategy has established English Rural as a trusted and informed voice at the centre of national debate and policy discussions on rural housing.
Recognising our scale, we have adopted a convener role, leveraging our relationships, insights and networks to bring together like-minded partners. This collaborative approach allows us to amplify our impact and drive positive change in the rural housing sector.
Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in our advocacy work, recognising its importance in creating an environment that supports our strategic ambitions. Our target is to maintain our advocacy spend at over 3% of our total expenditure, reflecting our commitment to this vital aspect of our work.
As we move forward, we remain committed to using our influence to champion the needs of rural communities and residents. By continuing to lead conversations, conduct research, and forge partnerships, we aim to shape policies and practices that will benefit our residents and rural communities across England.
Our role as a trusted voice for affordable rural housing goes beyond advocacy - we're catalysts for change, bringing together partners and policymakers to create lasting solutions for rural communities.
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Conducted award-winning, innovative research on rural homelessness, garnering national recognition
Nurtured and supported the Rural Homelessness Counts Coalition
Maintained our position as an expert and influential voice at local and national level
Celebrated illustrator and author, Matthew Rice, at the launch of the Affordable Rural Housing Design Guide.
>> By leveraging networks and relationships around aligned objectives, English Rural can play a powerful role as a convener in the sector>> While our role as an initiator, enabler, and deliverer is crucial in promoting the value of affordable rural homes, we must be mindful of the risk of over-relying on our modestly sized organisation
