Dan Ellwood

Navigating AI – A Leader’s Guide to Innovation and Governance 

Navigating AI – A Leader’s Guide to Innovation and Governance 

NHC members came together for an online event designed specifically for senior leaders across the social housing sector. Navigating AI: A Leader’s Guide to Innovation and Governance explored the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, with a focus on the strategic, ethical, and practical implications for housing organisations. 

Chaired by Leann Hearne, NHC Board Member, the session brought together insights from: 

  • Ian Cresswell, Director of Technology, Magenta Living 
  • Guy Marshall, Director, Fuza Ltd 
  • Jo Sedley Burke, Associate, Campbell Tickell 

Key Themes and Insights 

AI is reshaping business models. Speakers highlighted that major global organisations are already being transformed by AI, with companies such as Oracle and Salesforce making substantial organisational changes in response. The message for the housing sector was clear: AI is not an add-on, but a strategic shift that will influence every part of service delivery. 

Choosing the right technology partners. As outcomes increasingly become the service, selecting the right AI vendor is critical. Attendees were urged to understand vendor roadmaps, ensure alignment with organisational goals, and be absolutely clear about the implications of what they are signing up to. 

Ethics, data quality, and customer trust. Ethical considerations—particularly around data, connected devices, and resident privacy—were central to the discussion. While AI can improve data integrity and break down organisational silos, transparency with customers is essential. Used well, AI can rebalance power toward residents, enabling new forms of co‑design and co‑creation. 

Human oversight remains vital. All speakers reinforced that AI must support, not replace, professional judgement. Poor quality data will inevitably lead to poor decisions, and robust oversight is essential to mitigate risk. 

Magenta Living: Practical AI in Action 

Ian Cresswell shared how AI underpins Magenta Living’s wider transformation programme, spanning: 

  • Traditional AI 
  • Generative AI (including tools like Copilot) 
  • Agentic AI, enabling staff to build tailored agents to automate tasks and solve operational problems 

Benefits already emerging include more personalised customer services, investigation of IoT sensors, and rapid sentiment analysis of consultations—allowing the organisation to understand customer views within hours rather than weeks. 

Magenta is working with the Wirral AI Academy and is recruiting an AI Business Partner to help teams design and deploy agents. A monthly steering group oversees agentic AI governance and approves use cases where required. The overarching message: use existing governance frameworks—don’t reinvent the wheel. 

A powerful example showcased how AI is transforming work for colleagues. This video highlighted Donna, an allocations and lettings officer with dyslexia and neurodiversity, who shared how AI tools—particularly Copilot—have boosted her confidence and enabled her to focus on her strengths. 

Notably, Magenta’s growing community of “AI Masters” are not technical specialists, demonstrating the accessibility of these tools. 

Additional Resources 

  • housingai.org (HAILIE – Housing AI Leadership and Implementation Exchange) a free resource aimed at supporting individuals to develop their AI knowledge, chaired by speaker Guy Marshall 

We’ll be featuring AI in several of our upcoming events, with more information to follow. In the meantime, if there’s a particular area of AI you’d like to see us focus on, please let kate.maughan@northern-consortium.org.uk know.