The research team here at Western Sydney University, Swinburne University of Technology, and the University of Newcastle has started reaching out to housing co-operatives to participate in the time-use surveys.
We have been invited to provide between 9-22 CERCs and 2-4 CMCs to participate in the project. To date, 2 CERCs have agreed to participate.
Here are a few key reasons behind why your participation in this survey is important and will generate significant and useful findings for housing co-operatives and the sector more broadly.
- This is the first national study to capture the input and work of members that goes into creating the benefits that co-operatives offer.
- The time-use surveys are therefore designed to demonstrate the amount and type of work undertaken by members in Australian rental housing co-operatives. This will help the project to show both the implied financial value of the work performed by members and how the work undertaken within co-operatives benefits members and the sector. Such benefits might include higher housing quality and stability, better senses of home and community, personal or collective empowerment, and so on.
- In addition to the time-use surveys, to help identify and explore those benefits and also identify individual, organisational, and sectoral challenges, we will be asking co-operative members about their experiences of living in a co-operative through a voluntary anonymous 30-minute member survey and additional optional anonymous 1-hour in-depth interviews.
Time-use surveys provide the starting point to understanding the value of the work performed by housing co-operative members.
To undertake this, we are asking co-operatives to select a representative to work with the Research Assistant (Dr Bronwyn Bate) on the project. Bronwyn will work with participating co-operatives to ensure that the process of doing the 12-week time-use survey is as easy as possible.
Participating co-operative representatives will be asked to:
- Complete a short (5-10 minute) survey that asks basic questions about the structure of their co-operative and how it operates.
- Provide their co-operative’s 2020-2021 annual audit.
- Meet with Bronwyn for a 1-hour interview to discuss the regular yearly activities performed by your co-operative.
- Undertake a 12-week time-use survey. Each week for 12 weeks, your co-operatives representative will be asked to record the amount of time your co-operative has spent on each of the following seven activities:
1) tenancies
2) property and grounds
3) membership
4) governance
5) finance
6) individual tenant support; and
7) other co-operative activities
If your co-operative has been approached to undertake the 12-week time-use survey or your co-operative is interested in undertaking it, we would very much like to hear from you, so please email Bronwyn Bate on b.bate@westernsydney.edu.au or visit the website for further information.