Conceptual framework for the sustainable benefit evaluation of UK social housing projects

Recent decades have seen an expansion in the role and size of the UK social housing sector. This sector is challenged to use its new housing development, regeneration and improvement programmes to deliver social benefit within an environment affected by government policies on funding and in the organisational context of particular geographical and commercial pressures. Such challenges draw focus to the under- researched field of asset management. Traditionally, this field has been dominated by the: financial measures of success rather than the wider benefits to the community. However, this study proposes a new approach that is grounded in, the theory of sustainability, within which investments are appraised not only on their financial merits but also on their interplay with the human environment within which they are located through the assessment of social and local economic benefits. Initially implementing a qualitative methodology, the research explores the existing attempts to integrate the appraisal of sustainable benefits within the decision making process. The results suggest that, to date, no apparent tool exists to facilitate this process. A further quantitative survey of UK social housing professionals was undertaken to confirm the initial observations. The results show that, despite the fact that social housing practitioners understand the importance of considering sustainability, they are not yet in a position routinely to appraise the benefits associated with potential schemes, confirming the need for the development of a sustainable benefit evaluation framework. Adopting a case study approach, this study identifies the essential features of sustainability which will ensure that such undertakings generate community benefits. These features are subsequently used to develop and validate a framework for sustainable benefit evaluation within the social housing sector, linking financial appraisal with the evaluation of sustainability. This framework provides a decision aid or tool for practitioners to employ during the early stages of appraising potential social housing investment schemes.