A Social Value Toolkit for Social Housing

How does the project address the Liveness Charter aims?

Co-production

A participatory methodology was at the heart of this dissertation, while the principles of co-creation proved essential in deformalising the design process and game development of Social Value Champions. This methodology was essential in ensuring that the voices of everyone involved from SYHA were carried through from inception right through to the end. 

Designing with SYHA and not simply for them allowed the research to directly address their organisational needs and help deliver truly meaningful and long-lasting impact. Workshops with SYHA included staff members from across the organisation, who helped produce a board game that was authentically their own. Throughout the game, knowledge is co-created through the discussions and debates stimulated during gameplay and the drawing of scenario cards. This core element of gameplay acknowledges and celebrates the fact that everyone has the agency and tacit knowledge to re-imagine the environments in which they live.

Equitable

As part of the toolkit, a design guide was also developed to empower other housing associations, communities, and institutions to democratise knowledge production by making their own games. Packaging complex information in a game format, increases the accessibility of that knowledge while empowering institutions to stimulate conversations that address their local needs and help deliver the changes our communities urgently need.

Experimental

The last thing I expected to do was make a board game for my dissertation. This was made possible through the willingness and ambitiousness of SYHA and the tutors at the University of Sheffield to experiment and challenge conventional ways of researching and practicing Architecture. The approach of looking at problems tangentially and trusting the design process was a fundamental part and key driver of the board game's design process. 

Meaningful

Through the board game, knowledge production through the roleplaying of different social value champions is designed to engender social change. Despite the board game serving as a proof of concept, it's reach has the potential to be incredibly transformative for the built environment, all through a lens of social, environmental, and economic responsibility.