Platform Housing Group chief to judge top housing awards
Photo caption: Platform Housing Group’s Chief Information Officer Jon Cocker will judge The Housing Digital Innovation Awards later this year
The Chief Information Officer at a Midlands-based social landlord will be judging at the first ever Housing Digital Innovation Awards.
Jon Cocker from Platform Housing Group will be part of the judging panel to champion the breadth of innovation taking place within the social housing sector.
Jon, a member of the Group’s Executive team, has nearly 20 years of technology experience ranging from business telecoms, contact centre operations and local government; he also holds an MBA.
Due to take place in person on 10 February 2022 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, The Housing Digital Innovation Awards will celebrate the bright ideas changing the social housing sector for the better.
The Awards’ 20 categories serve to highlight those innovations that have made a tangible difference to both housing providers and customers.
Liam Turner, Editor of Housing Digital, said: “There are plenty of awards out there that rightly celebrate the successes enjoyed within the social housing sector. However, innovation, whether technological or otherwise, is an area that can sometimes get overlooked. These awards will shine a light on every area of innovation taking place within the social housing sector right now, whether that’s from within housing associations themselves of from those organisations closely aligned with the sector, such as contractors and fire safety specialists.”
Jon Cocker, Chief Information Officer, at Platform Housing Group said: “I am delighted to have been invited to judge these prestigious awards. Social housing is changing rapidly and innovation is at the forefront of these changes; therefore, recognising and rewarding such initiatives is key to its future development.”
The Housing Digital Innovation Award categories are:
- Most Innovative Retrofit or Refurbishment Scheme;
- Most Innovative Regeneration Scheme;
- Most Innovative Supported/Sheltered Housing Scheme;
- Most Innovative Approach to Resident Involvement;
- Most Innovative Procurement;
- Best Repairs and Maintenance Innovation;
- Best Finance Innovation;
- Best Asset Management Innovation;
- Best Fire Safety Innovation;
- Best Sustainability Innovation;
- Best Customer Service/Experience Innovation;
- Best Offsite/Modular Innovation;
- Best Support/Care Innovation;
- Best Digital Inclusion Scheme;
- Best Digital Transformation;
- Best Technology Partner;
- Most Innovative Contractor;
- Most Innovative Supplier;
- Most Innovative Consultancy
- Best IT Team;
- Best Online Service;
- Most Innovative Housing Provider.
Entries will close on 29 October, with the shortlist set to be announced on 29 November.
Platform Housing Group – which owns 46,000 homes in total – completed 1448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19). The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built.
Platform Housing Group’s operating area is from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South.
