Moat actively encourages the establishment of resident groups and see this as a key part of Moat's resident involvement strategy.
To continually improve Moat’s accountability to residents, their representative groups need to be independent bodies who can work with Moat to continually improve the service provided to residents.
Moat recognises the role that residents and other groups play in making a difference to their communities and will offer support to groups who do not or cannot be formally ‘recognised’ by Moat, but who play a vital role in the communities in which Moat works.
Moat presently works with resident groups and representative bodies at different levels in the organisation, including:
Local residents’ groups: Moat works with a number of local resident groups to discuss and resolve local issues, related to both Moat's services and the wider community.
Area residents’ groups: Moat supports a number of area residents’ groups. These are made up of local groups and interested individuals; they discuss common themes across the business area.
Strategic residents’ groups: Moat supports a number of these; their present membership comes from the area groups and interested individuals. They help Moat monitor key aspects of housing services and work with us on developing our strategy, policies and procedures.
Why have a residents’ group?
There are many reasons why local residents form groups, including:
- To campaign for local improvements (such as more community facilities and more effective policing)
- To campaign against negative influences in the community (closure of a communal facility or traffic, for example)
- To have a greater voice representing residents
- To encourage a ‘sense of community’ in a local area
- To use local knowledge and skills more effectively.
It is usually a mixture of the above that provides the catalyst for establishing a group. Once the group is formed, many go on to achieve significant change in their local area and for Moat. They can also influence our service delivery both locally and across the organisation.
Moat is very keen to establish good, working, enthusiastic residents' groups. Therefore, training and support will be provided to those involved in residents' groups make sure that we meet our goal.