We thought we’d give a quick overview of some of the 2021 successes.

Expanding the CHIC Team

We welcomed six new CHIC team members in 2021, all of whom are now settled into their new positions and actively supporting our supply chain partners and members.

Changes to our Board

We said goodbye to Ian Hancock as Vice Chair in September and we also said farewell to founding chair Andy Howarth who had followed his term as chair as a board cooptee.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Andy and Ian for their immense contributions to CHIC’s growth and service development.

A long term CHIC director David Wells (Executive Director of Operations at the Wrekin Housing Group) has been appointed as the new Vice Chair and Natalie Baxter (Head of Property Compliance at Community Housing) has been appointed as a director.

CHIC’s Board is made up primarily of members and we are delighted to welcome Natalie as a member director, bringing building safety knowledge and expertise to the Board.

New Services

With new terminology developing in the housing sector, we wanted our services to describe the full breadth of what CHIC can now offer as well as appealing to other sectors including health care, blue light organisations and charities. Our Decarbonisation & Renewables, Technology Solutions and Facilities Management services are now accessible to all members.

Dynamic Purchasing System

CHIC now has an established a Dynamic Purchasing System as an important alternative route to market. This provides a flexible electronic tender solution for CHIC’s asset management, development and facilities management services, which amongst many other needs helps members with compliant procurement where S.20 leaseholder consultation is required.

New Frameworks & Contracts

As our membership has progressively grown over the past year, so has the need for a more diverse suite of options to meet project requirements. In 2021 we introduced 13 new frameworks and contracts.

Sponsoring Apprentices

Community investment and delivering social value are core to CHIC’s objectives. In 2021 CHIC supported 8 apprentices through local employment groups. This will increase to 30 in 2022.

CHIC Webinars & Website

We continued our successful series of webinars into 2021, and updated our website to optimise the content for members.

The CHIC Order Management System (COMS)

We launched a browser-based ordering solution that features programme and catalogue management for members, as well as a platform to make and receive orders for contractors and suppliers.

Membership Growth

CHIC now has 206 members, an increase from just over 100 in 2020.

So, 2021 was a busy year on many fronts, with lots of change and service development. This puts CHIC in a strong position to support our members during 2022 and beyond.

If you have any ideas on how CHIC can better it’s service offerings, please get in touch at enquiries@chicltd.co.uk