Environmental Scanning
Environmental Scanning – an essential tool for housing associations
Keeping track of what is going on in a rapidly changing world is important if housing associations are going to survive and meet the needs of the people they serve. In recent years there have been fundamental changes in housing markets and in customers’ (and potential customers’) aspirations. In the economy, we have been through a major recession and we have seen the rise of India and China as economic powers. Demographically, we have an ageing population but have also seen changing migration patterns. We are going through a period of political flux which is partly related to the recession and what will be a slow and protracted recovery. In addition to all this there is climate change to be considered along with a whole range of technological issues. Housing associations work in an extremely political environment. They have political partners at the local level and are influenced by sub-regional, regional and national policies. The sector is also highly-regulated.