1. Anita Blessing Gerard van Bortel Alix Goldstein
International approaches to inclusive leadership and diverse workforce development in social housing (NL, UK)

2. Multiple Dimensions of Diversity
A focus on cultural diversity
Smart, sustainable, and competitive urban transformation is a balancing act that must not undermine adequate housing, care for vulnerable groups, community participation and overall social cohesion. Key to successful transformation is enabling all types of urban citizens to access related economic opportunities and pathways to administrative power . This proposal forges links between education, economy, citizenship and urban space by exploring how gender and ethnic diversity in built-environment leadership contributes to smart urban transformation  

3. . Context for the research 3 facets of change
Welfare state reform in Europe:
“The classical welfare state is slowly but surely evolving into a ‘participatory society’,”– one, that is, where citizens will be expected to take care of themselves, or create civil-society solutions for problems such as retiree welfare”. King Willem- Alexander of the Netherlands, Financial Times
Recent welfare state restructuring that promotes a ‘participation society,’ asking individuals and local communities to take responsibility for their own social and financial futures, have rendered this societal dividend ever more salient (insert reference to HRH, King Willem Alexander’s state address, 2013).
Universal (Sweden Denmark Holland)
Entitlement based on citizenship
Selective
Entitlement based on need
Esping Anderson, 1999

4. Liberal (Selective) Welfare States:
High individual responsibility for welfare but also emphasis on equal access to opportunities in education and employment
Social democratic (universal) welfare states: the same for everyone. Barriers to assisting specific groups if outcomes are not the same + legal impediments registering ethnicity
The housing association sector has always prided itself on its inclusivity and focus on meeting the needs of diverse communities.

5. (2) Competing urban development paradigms
Globalisation and Neoliberalism: the Competitive City
Cities must be smart, creative, and have high quality business and leisure environments if they are to compete effectively on a world stage. (Richard Florida, 2002)
Localism and the rejection of neoliberalism: Grounded City
The foundational economy—which meets the everyday needs of citizens for housing, utilities, food and mobility—is a stabilizer. The goal is to improve foundational provision, rather than develop cities to compete for resources (Engelen, Froud, SJohal, Salento, and Williams; 2017)
“It is vital that London’s leaders look like London”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, 2018
Smart, sustainable, and competitive urban transformation
Ewald Engelen, Julie Froud, Sukhdev Johal, Angelo Salento, Karel Williams; The grounded city: from competitivity to the foundational economy, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Volume 10, Issue 3, 14 October 2017, Pages 407–423, 

6. A business case (3) Sense of Urgency
Sense of urgency amongst companies over the need to embrace cultural diversity within their staff.
E.g. AFW: this began as a moral initiative and turned into…
A business case

7. The Theory Institutional diversity
the organizational and systemic practices that embed diversity into the workplace- yields a dividend for the firms that embrace it.
Gender, ethnic and other types of diversity enhance a team’s collective accuracy, objectivity, analytical power and problem solving skills, thereby boosting innovation and market growth (Hong and Page, 2004)
Apple Inc’s “diverse teams make innovation possible”
(2018)
Corporate governance literature shows that diversity yields a considerable ‘dividend’ for firms, so we consider the Diver-City dividend.  The most innovative company must also be the most diverse,” says Apple Inc.14 “We take a holistic view of diversity that looks beyond usual measurements. A view that includes the varied perspectives of our employees as well as app developers, suppliers, and anyone who aspires to a future in tech. Because we know new ideas come from diverse ways of seeing things.”15

8. We explore the Diver-City dividend within the specific context of social housing
Social housing associations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Birmingham and London
Keys actors in urban transformation + generators of skilled local jobs.
Use established partnerships across Dutch and English academia and industry to open a positive and respectful space for knowledge exchange on: (1) why diverse leadership matters (2) what it can bring to sustainable urban development, and (3) how it can be achieved.
We want to focus on Dutch social housing associations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam , keys actors in urban transformation and generators of skilled local jobs. Despite strong enthusiasm for embracing diversity on their boards and within their managerial and executive staff, women remain underrepresented. Local ethnic minorities, which comprise 60% of tenants; are dramatically underrepresented. Across the channel in Birmingham and London, a similar diversity deficit persists in social housing leadership, yet a recent flowering of initiatives to effect change present valuable learning opportunities.

9. What the research could include
Interviews with practitioners in all four cities (including leaders and those with non-Western backgrounds)
Recruiting practices
Giving attention to education / labour-market pipelines, mentoring, and traineeships
Outputs would include awareness and conversation
Examples of international practices (mentorships, programs in schools to raise of awareness of industry careers, new practices for shortlisting employees)
Mentorship or internship for a person from a non western background interested in the industry

11. Funding Opportunities
Small funding:
Dutch National Research Agenda - Matchmaking events
Philanthropic Progammes (e.g. Robert Bosch Stichting)
But:
Interreg North Western Europe call
Specific Objective 1: To enhance innovation performance of enterprises throughout NWE regions (Innovation) 
Partnerships must involve a mix of innovation stakeholders (e.g. enterprises, researchers, education institutions, training organisations, policy-makers, and private investors

12. Partners TU Delft, Department of Management in the Built Environment
ECHO?
Housing and Communities Research Group?
Rochdale?
Accord?
L and Q?
ECHO - Expertise center Diversity policy. They advise higher education institutions, organizations and companies about their diversity policies.