The PIElink is an on-line community of practice for all those interested in developing the practice and theory of 'psychologically informed environments' - PIEs - through dialogue.The PIElink offers a voice to frontline services, users, commissioners, researchers and policy makers, using discussion, video and interviews, publishing papers, even cartoons, and now live streaming conversation.Starting in England, and now spreading to other parts of the UK, and to the US and Canada, the PIElink's aim is to develop an awareness of the on-going role of the psycho-social environment in creating, and then in tackling, chronic exclusion. Our ambition is to bring about a much closer dialogue between policy, research and practice, and across nations.

Founder of the PIELink (http://pielink.net), an on-line community of practice for those interested in developing through dialogue the practice of "psychologically informed environments:; I am now also a Director (and formerly Company Secretary) of HomelessInsight, a social enterprise created with the aim of promoting greater recognition of "psychologically informed environments" (PIEs) in policy, research, and practice.Until recently I was also editor of the principal quarterly journal in my field, "Housing Care and Support"; but have now stood down as overall editor, though remaining as an associate editor, in order to be able to concentrate on homelessness issues.Our intention as an editorial team remains to expand the scope of the journal, from coverage primarily of residential community care, supported housing and homelessness (still a major focus, though) to also encompass public and community health, social capital, housing as one of the social determinants of health etc.

R&D catalysts for a new approach to community mental health and wellbeing. RJA's specialist field is the links - potential and actual, positive and negative - between mental health and housing. For a period of 10 years, we advised government departments and regions, local authorities, Trusts and housing services. Much of our work was and is pro bono. But RJA was able to sponsor the creation of the PIElink (www.pielink.net), which seems to have more real impact.It's probably fair to say that RJA was for a period influential - in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king - in developing vision and policy around housing and mental health in the UK. It's also fair to say that RJA as a co-operative has no employees as such, and is usually mainly just me.....

I am still there!

This was a new venture, joining academia both to strengthen my own research profile, and to help widen the range of the NTU Business School in public service management and social enterprise. It never really came to anything much, apart from attending a few conferences and seminars; but it did allow me to 'pass' for a 'proper' academic, for a period, especially when linked to the editor role at Housing Care and Support....

The regional committee is part of the formal governance structure for Rethink as a national charity. From 20017 - 2011 I was a regional committee members, As of 2011, I was for a short period a regional rep member of the national Campaigns and Communications committee, before transferring to the national Services and Resources Committee as a subject specialist and co-optee.

Until recently I was also editor of the principal quarterly journal in my field, "Housing Care and Support"; but have now stood down as overall editor, though remaining as an associate editor, in order to be able to concentrate on homelessness issues.Our task as an editorial team was to expand the scope of the journal, from coverage primarily of residential community care, supported housing and homelessness (still a major focus, though) to also encompass public and community health, social capital, housing as one of the social determinants of health etc.

For more on the "enabling environments" project, see the RCPsych site: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/quality/quality,accreditationaudit/enablingenvironments.aspx.and/or the last and next issues of "Mental Health and Social Inclusion"For more on "psychologically informed environments", see: http://www.rjaconsultancy.org.uk/PIEconcept.htmland/or the new cpractice exchange site: http://pielink.ning.com/

Policy advice and development in community care.