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Introducing Retrofit Essentials

Introduction

Retrofit Essentials is an eight-week programme designed to provide social housing professionals with the essential knowledge needed to bid for the next wave of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

Contents

    Retrofit Essentials for SHDF is an eight-week, CPD-accredited learning programme designed to provide social housing professionals with the essential knowledge needed to create a retrofit strategy and programme to successfully bid for future waves of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

    Each week you will take part in an extended 90-minute webinar comprising an expert masterclass and a chance to ask questions, join discussions, interact with fellow participants in breakout sessions, and test your learning. 

    At the end of each module, you will receive a certificate of attendance, and after all eight you will receive your CPD certificate for successfully completing Retrofit Essentials for SHDF.

    From advice on building a business case and understanding PAS2035 through to resident engagement, at the end of the eight weeks you will be equipped with the essential building blocks to deliver a social housing retrofit project.  

    Our February-April 2023 programme of Retrofit Essentials is currently running. Register your interest below for future courses and keep an eye out on our LinkedIn and newsletter for the latest programme updates.

    Programmes will be running in 2023 on the following dates from 11.30-13.00:

    Registrants will be expected to attend every module.  If you're unable to meet this commitment, or have any other queries about the programme, please contact info@socialhousingretrofit.org.uk.  Based on individual circumstances, attendees will have the opportunity to retake missed modules in future rotations of the programme in order to receive full CPD accreditation.


    Retrofit Essentials for SHDF modules


    Week 1: Building a Business Case and Gaining Leadership Buy-in

    Presenter: Richard Miller, Miller-Klein Associates

    A successful retrofit project needs support from many people.  You need a clear business case that covers what outcome you are targeting, what the benefits will be, why it is important to stakeholders and how you plan to deliver the project.  This session will help you to develop a business case to gain buy-in from all stakeholder groups, particularly your leadership team. 


    Week 2: Understanding PAS2035

    Presenter: Lisa Pasquale, RetrofitWorks

    This session introduces the new British Standard PAS2035 (2019) and how it applies to social housing projects.  It explains why the standard is needed and what the key principles are that underpin it such as whole house and fabric first retrofit - phrases you will hear frequently.  Finally, it outlines the PAS2035 retrofit process in six simple steps, from establishing intended outcomes to monitoring and evaluation. 


    Week 3: Data Governance, Collection and Analysis

    Presenters: Andrew Tod and Emma Woods, Turner & Townsend

    One of the first steps to developing a decarbonisation project is to understand the performance of your stock.  This session will outline the approach needed to maximise stock assessment and will cover what is needed for this process; understanding and analysing stock data; and how to use data to identify effective decarbonisation solutions. 


    Week 4: Retrofit Interventions - Recognising and Managing Risks

    Presenter: Russell Smith, RetrofitWorks

    This session looks at the most significant technical risks associated with retrofit and explains how they can be recognised and managed effectively.  These include managing moisture risks to aovid damp and mould issues; summer overheating; thermal bridging; and eliminating the performance gap. 


    Week 5: Retrofit Procurement - Options for Landlords and Best Practice

    Presenter: David Kemp, Turner & Townsend

    This session introduces the different procurement approaches available to landlords for the delivery of SHDF and other retrofit projects and will highlight 'best practice' suggestions learned from previous retrofit project procurement exercises. 


    Week 6: Effective Resident Engagement

    Presenter: Andrew Piper, Turner & Townsend

    Effective resident engagement can be the key to successful decarbonisation retrofit.  This session is essential for social landlords looking to develop engagement strategies for complex projects. The tenant rejection rate of retrofit can be surprisingly high.  This session will outline what objections or concerns tenants may have and how to anticipate and address them. 


    Week 7: Monitoring and Evaluation

    Presenter: Lisa Pasquale, RetrofitWorks

    This session supports the development of a robust monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation strategy.  Understanding how a finished project performs against its design increases the chances of successful decarbonisation.  This module will identify what needs to be monitored and measured; and taking learning forward to future decarbonisation projects. 


    Week 8: Contractor Engagement

    Presenter: Julian Boss, Turner & Townsend

    Early contract engagment is critical to the sucessful delivery of a retrofit project, as is having processes in place to assess competency/capability: one way is in understanding how selecting TrustMark-accredited partners is vital.  This session will also cover resident engagement from an operational aspect, to include considering resident communication/interaction; Covid working and respecting and demonstrating requirements for vulnerable persons; equality, diversity, and inclusion; and adding social value. 


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