Tenant Participation and Engagement in a Digitalising Society: Social Media Use in the Social Housing Sector

This project focuses on tenant participation and engagement in a digitalising society. A practical resource for the social housing sector, our report identifies how digital channels can support: (1) tenant participation and engagement practices as well as strengthen the relationships between tenants and social landlords; and (2) the sector in campaigning and advocating with their tenants and local communities for a more just housing system. A multi-method longitudinal study was designed to examine how social housing organisations use the web and social media for tenant participation and engagement in the social housing sector in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The research design comprises three components: 1) a narrative literature review to identify the international evidence base on the use of social media and new communication channels for tenant participation in the social housing sector; 2) two digital audits of social housing providers' web and social media use; and 3) qualitative interviews and focus groups with 26 representatives from the social housing sector. The datasets were generated in 2015 and 2021 to identify changes in social media use in the sector over time. Although we focused on tenant participation, social media and digital platforms are often used for multiple purposes and to reach and engage with a range of different stakeholder groups and audiences. Our data captured these diverse uses of social media for the marketing, fundraising, and advocacy work of the social housing sector. We therefore report on social media use beyond tenant participation, and consider how the multiple forms of communication overlap and interact in digital spaces. Our data explains how social housing providers get started with social media, and how practitioners negotiate the tensions that social media use creates for their organisations. Digital inequalities around access, affordability and capabilities shape and can constrain the tenant participation and engagement practices in use. Our research found that the COVID-19 pandemic emphasised the value and importance of networked communities. In some circumstances, the pandemic created the necessary conditions for digital tenant engagement and some housing organisations went online with their tenants quickly. For other providers, they did not need to, or were not able to transition participation practices to digital spaces. Our focus group participants acknowledged the critical role in care that social housing organisations need to provide especially in times of crisis. The report concludes with implications for practice and identifies four key areas for future research and next steps for the social housing sector.