Beyond Data: Designing Services That Work

In this episode of Making Housing Better, host Lee Reevell, Co-Founder of Healthy Homes Hub, speaks with Professor Richard Harding, at the Hartree Centre and Visiting Professor at UCLan. Richard has spent over two decades at the forefront of digital innovation, spanning AI, quantum computing, and health and housing. 

In this, part one of two, they explore: 

• Why housing must be seen alongside health and care, not in isolation. 

• The challenge of “data swamps” and why strategy must focus on insights, not stockpiling information. 

• Lessons from early assistive technology projects and the importance of redesigning services, not just plugging in new devices. 

• How housing’s voice can be amplified in national programmes dominated by health, and why collaboration across sectors is vital. 

• Analogies from Royal Mail’s rapid shift from letters to parcels, showing what true digital transformation can look like. 

Read Richard’s blog Data is Not the Answer on GOV.UK. 
Explore frameworks on social determinants of health and digital social care. 

Practical steps for housing providers 

• Invest in service redesign before procuring new technologies — ensure they fit your strategy and culture. 

• Push for shared data infrastructure with health and social care to avoid blind spots and inefficiencies. 

• Amplify housing’s voice in regional and national innovation programmes by sharing lived realities and challenges. 

• Seek cross-sector partnerships, including with universities and tech organisations, to bring in fresh skills and perspectives.