By Natalie Tate, Project Lead for Talking about Homes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
How we talk about homes matters. It shapes public understanding of the importance of decent and affordable homes, which in turn influences policymakers to deliver better housing. That’s the driving force behind Talking about Homes, a project that’s changing the narrative around housing in the UK.
Co-funded by the Nationwide Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Foundation since 2020, Talking about Homes is helping communicators tell better stories about why homes matter and to build support for solutions.
Grounded in research
At the core of the Talking about Homes project is research, undertaken at the start of the project by FrameWorks. This research explored how people in the UK think about and understand housing, and how our mindsets can be shifted by using effective framing strategies.
Since then, we’ve worked in partnership with FrameWorks to help organisations across the sector apply the framing in their communications, campaigns, reports and conversations.
Now, a mid-point evaluation by our learning partner, DHA Communications offers insights and reflections on the project in 2023-24. So, what does it say?
Read the full evaluation Read the summary More about the projectWhat we’ve achieved so far
Leading Talking about Homes has shown me just how powerful better storytelling can be in driving real change. This project has been a collective effort, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come in reshaping the housing conversation.
The appetite from the sector has made it clear there is a collective drive to improve the way we all talk about homes. At the end of the evaluation:
- Almost 5,000 people had accessed the toolkit framing guidance
- Over 1,300 people attended core webinars
- Whilst charities made up the majority of engagement, local authorities, housing associations and parliamentarians also engaged with the project
- Across Shelter and Crisis who have significant reach, over 100 staff have engaged with the project.
What people are saying
The evaluation included interviews with project participants from across the sector. This told us that framing is making a difference to how they tell their stories:
“…it’s given us the confidence to know that what we’re doing is useful…Because we’ve actually got an evidence base to know why we shouldn’t be talking about things the way we have been.”
“I think the [network] and the [framing] toolkit and the kind of common combination of things available to the sector mean that [the sector is] probably more aligned than…it’s ever been.”
In a new video reflecting on the power of the project, Rachel Williamson, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs from the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “Personally, [the framing guidance] has been really useful for me and the team, in writing submissions to government and talking to parliamentarians about the need for investment in more social homes.”
Emma Heath, Head of Brand, Planning, Insight & Evaluation from Shelter, said: “By incorporating the framings in our campaigns, particularly around social housing and Local Housing Allowance, we’ve been able to engage more people, both supporters and the public, and we’ve started a positive conversation about social housing.”
Framing in action
Our framing recommendations are already shaping high-profile campaigns and communications. Some standout examples from 2023-24, include:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s ‘Bringing Private Homes into Social Ownership Can Rewire the Housing System’
- Chartered Institute of Housing’s ‘10 Point Plan for More and Better Homes’ and ‘Homes at the Heart Strategy’
- National Housing Federation’s ‘Why We Need a Long Term Plan for Housing’;
- Crisis’s ‘Home is the Foundation’ report and ‘Make History’ campaign
- Shelter’s election manifesto, ‘The Way Home’
- The Homes for All campaign narrative
Whilst politicians weren’t directly supported by the project team, and we can’t say for sure that they followed the framing guidance, it’s been encouraging to see the framing principles reflected in speeches and statements. Prominent figures who have used good framing in their speeches about housing include Sir Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner MP and Marvin Rees, plus Andy Burnham, who said: “Our national mission should be to give all people a good, secure home.”
What’s next
Changing the narrative is a consistent and persistent mission. People need to hear well-framed messages again and again, and from a range of voices for mindsets to shift. So how can we do that? Between now and 2027, the project will:
- Continue to mobilise the frames with voices calling for more decent and affordable homes, so that good framing becomes more widespread
- Strengthen the framing skills of existing organisations with wide reach, so that there is consistency in their framing
- Tailor framing support to specific areas within the housing discourse, like supported housing and community engagement. By flexing the framing, we can meet the emerging communications challenges faced by the sector
- Help communicators apply framing to key political moments – including the upcoming Senedd elections, so that framing is heard by the public at pivotal moments when housing policy is high on the agenda in Wales.
Ultimately, Talking about Homes aims to shift how the public thinks and talks about homes and housing. Encouragingly, the evaluation identified a strong consensus from the sector: if we want policy and practical changes, we need to change the mindsets held by policymakers, politicians and the public. This has been a motivation for many organisations to engage with Talking about Homes, as they recognise framing as a vital tool for addressing this.
With this momentum behind it, Talking about Homes is continuing to equip the sector with the skills it needs to drive lasting change, so we can all tell better stories.