We want to hear your ideas about how we can use technology and digital solutions to improve our services We’re collecting your digital transformation ideas to help us make improvements to our customer experience. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to...
AWS re:Invent 2021: Helping our customers break out of isolation and connect through AI
Our Chief Executive, Jas Bains, and Director of Research and Innovation, Dr Jamie Smith, recently shared the story of Home Care at Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) re:Invent 2021. They talked about Side-by-Side’s work with Accenture and AWS to help our customers break out...
Four pillars of sustainable behaviour change
Our Research and Innovation Specialist, Philippe Demougin, talks about the four areas that Side-by-Side will address with their work on sustainable living. We’re currently in the midst of COP26 (the 26th Climate Change Conference) where world leaders are debating our...
How can technology help tackle loneliness?
Our Director of Research and Innovation, Dr Jamie Smith, was recently part of a Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCfPP) conversation exploring loneliness and isolation. He talked about Side-by-Side’s work on using technology to help mitigate their impact. Watch for...
A new approach to sustainable living
Our Research and Innovation Specialist, Philippe Demougin, talks about what Side-by-Side are doing to encourage colleagues and customers to make sustainable life choices. With COP26 coming up in Glasgow on 31 October, at Side-by-Side we decided this would be a good...
Unexplored potential
In his latest contribution to Welsh Housing Quarterly (WHQ) magazine our Director of Research and Innovation, Jamie Smith talks about the unexplored potential of changing behaviour in communities to help reduce carbon consumption. The massive technical and economic...
Get involved with the circular economy
Our Side-by-Side Innovation team are proud to be supporting the latest pop-up event being held by Benthyg Cymru and Repair Cafe Wales on 11 September. Offer your skills by volunteering on the day. Those who can repair electrical items and bikes, and those with...
Community Calling campaign makes a big difference to Stephen’s life
Stephen has found it difficult living alone during lockdown, especially not being able to contact his friends or use the internet. He didn’t have a smartphone as he couldn’t afford the costs. So when his neighbourhood coach Fatoma told him about the Community Calling...
Spin out to help out
Our Director of Research and Innovation, Jamie Smith has contributed to the latest issue of Welsh Housing Quarterly (WHQ). He talks about our how Side-by-Side Innovation started out, and the three main challenges it will initially be tackling. In an earlier article...
Smartphone campaign helps reconnect customer with loved ones
So far we have distributed 12 smartphones as part of the Community Calling campaign which supports individuals without access to the internet both during Covid-19 and beyond. Cassius is our first customer to benefit from the campaign. He has struggled without having...
Side-by-Side Innovation has launched!
Three, two, one and lift off! We’re proud to announce that Side-by-Side Innovation has launched. Side-by-Side are a small, dedicated team that work at arms’ length to our core business, but completely in the interests of our customers and communities. Over the...
What does good old age look like? Help us find out!
Are you aged 25–40? We want to hear from you! We’re looking for individuals to help us in our Reimagining Old Age research by taking part in a one hour workshop. What will I have to do? The workshop will be online via Teams so you’ll need internet...
Real-world innovation
Read our Director of Research and Innovation, Jamie Smith’s latest contribution to Welsh Housing Quarterly (WHQ) which explores the potential for technology to change lives. The role of technology in people’s lives has long been a concern in social housing....
Free period products for our Cardiff customers
We’ve teamed up with period product brand TOTM to trial providing free pads, tampons and liners to our customers in Cardiff who need them. Please note, this trial is currently only available to Hafod customers. If you need urgent access to products, please ask your...
Community Calling campaign: How we’re tackling digital exclusion and loneliness
We’re proud to be working with environmental charity Hubbub and O2 on a new initiative to provide devices and connectivity in Cardiff. As part of the Community Calling campaign, we will be distributing 500 smartphones and tablets to individuals without digital access....
Supporting the call to strengthen intergenerational solidarity
We see at first hand the difference that intergenerational activities have across our services. Many of our care homes have forged links with local schools in their area and have regular visits from pupils (pre-Covid) or, more recently, receive arts and crafts and...
Help us understand more about affordability of period products
When our customers contact our customer services team, we ask them if they’d like to take part in our question of the month. In December our question of the month was: have you or someone in your home ever struggled to afford period products? Out of the 147...
True innovation: the one thing we haven’t tried yet?
Our Director of Research and Innovation, Jamie Smith, is part of Community Housing Cymru’s Innovation Working Group that will be identifying the challenges facing people and communities in Wales, and looking at the ideas the housing sector has to tackle those...
Innovation: It’s just doing new stuff… right?
Jamie Smith, our Director of Research and Innovation has contributed to January’s edition of WHQ magazine. Read his take on embedding innovation to the way we work and how we are innovating social isolation and loneliness. In doing various roles involving...
Omar joins Tai Pawb’s Board of Trustees
Omar is extremely passionate about Tai Pawb’s vision and explains in his own words what this opportunity means to him.
Omar innovates in social housing
Our Research and Innovation Lead, Omar Idris recently spoke to This is Housing about his transition of working for Gilette to innovating the social housing sector. Here’s what he had to say: For eight years, I worked within the fast-moving consumer goods sector...
Jamie Smith joins CHC’s Housing Futures steering group
We’re really pleased to announce Jamie Smith, our Director of Research and Innovation, has been appointed to sit on Community Housing Cymru’s (CHC) Housing Futures steering group. The group consists of 15 people representing housing associations across Wales with...