Kicking off a series of good ideas, we ask: Why not have an annual residents' conference?
Aldwyck Housing Association has been organising residents' conferences for the past 12 years as part of our residents' participation strategy. At first, we organised the event as an evening conference but the leaseholders wanted a separate conference, so it has grown into a two-day event.

The aim of the conference is to bring residents together and to give them a chance to air their views. It also means we can provide and share information with them.

Residents can make suggestions for service improvements – such as having a separate leaseholders' conference – to representatives from our executive team and the board of management.

A range of workshops is on offer during the day, and the residents can choose the style and subjects themselves. This time round, they focused on issues such as the design of housing estates, antisocial behaviour, additional services for older people and rent restructuring.

This year's leaseholders' event was held in March, while the residents' conference was in May. We hold the gatherings at our offices in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, which can accommodate up to 200 people.

At the moment, an average of 150 people take part.

We used to hold the events in other venues, but we had some problems regarding facilities – for instance, one venue turned out to be unsuitable for wheelchairs.

The cost of putting on this year's conference was about £4000. The biggest expense is the transport we provide to enable people to get to and from the events. In the beginning, we used to have just one bus that went round picking people up, but that meant some people were sitting on the bus for hours before the day even started. Now, we have smaller vehicles that take more direct routes, but obviously that pushes up the cost.

Catering is always a problem so we tend to opt for finger food. We also provide a crèche for parents.