The organisation said that viewpoints and success stories from different parts of the country maximised the impact of the amazing work of tenants, residents, professionals and governing bodies and that it has been overwhelmed by the feedback.

Delegates called it “a breath of fresh air”. Whether it was the emotional, community based Keynote session, telling of Northern Ireland Interagency Partnerships, from the “inspiring” Supporting Communities or Jane Ballantyne’s active exploration of solutions to engage rural tenants or National Good Practice Awards winners ng homes’ Margaret Layden and Irene Madden from Moray Housing Partnership stripping back their experiences of including a wider community, delegates were treated to knowledge, ideas, contacts and skills.

The event was planned with previous delegates to make it relevant and reflect a broad range of perspectives and introduce as many new ideas and new people as possible. From Orkney, Aberdeen, Dumfries & Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Northern Ireland, and everywhere in between, TPAS Scotland welcomed its most diverse range of delegates to Dundee’s Apex Hotel.

From the kick off, speakers and delegates generated an informal atmosphere allowing everyone to engage, network, question and share. There were practical workshops on getting the most from newsletters facilitated by Peter Mohan from the Wheatley Group, insights into the effectiveness of EESSH, advice on updating tenant participation strategies, examples of making performance data relevant and Perth and Kinross Council’s experience of participatory budgeting.

From delegates boosting their Zen through Love Yoga Y with Natalie Moore-Young, to engaging sessions from the Scottish Government and the Scottish Housing Regulator and a TPAS Gold Accreditation award for East Lothian Housing Association, collected by Karen Barry, to inspire the Conference delivered a unique opportunity that delegates could use when they get home.

The event has sparked huge interest in a study visit to Northern Ireland and this is now in the planning stages for February/March 2017.