The Board Portal Designed For Housing Associations
Convene is a board portal for housing associations and registered providers. It is purpose-built for housing governance, risk and compliance (GRC). Housing boards, executives and company secretaries use Convene to run paperless board meetings, manage governance information securely, and save time and money.
Designed specifically for housing associations and registered providers
Trusted by a large network of housing boards and company secretaries
Part of a growing housing GRC community focused on better governance
Why housing associations choose the Convene Board Portal
Designed for housing governance, regulation and GRC
Housing governance is different. Housing associations operate in a regulated environment, answer to tenants and communities, and must demonstrate strong board oversight. The Convene Board Portal is designed to support housing governance and GRC, not just generic corporate meetings.
Support the NHF Code of Governance and all other Housing standards
Convene helps you evidence clear decision-making, good record-keeping, and appropriate controls. Every action is logged, and every board pack is easy to retrieve.
Secure by design
Permission-based access, strong encryption and detailed audit trails support your responsibilities around data protection and sensitive governance information.
Built for boards, committees and subsidiaries
Use one portal for your Group board, subsidiary boards, audit & risk committees, remuneration, development, and resident panels. You can configure access so each group sees only what they should.
Part of a housing-focused GRC ecosystem
With Convene Assure and our GRC suite, you can run governance reviews, board evaluations and skills assessments tailored to the housing sector.
How Convene helps housing boards save time and money
Many housing associations still spend days preparing board packs and hundreds of pounds on printing and postage. Convene changes that. It replaces manual, paper-based processes with a streamlined digital workflow.
Save Hours On Board Pack Preparation
- Build agendas with drag-and-drop tools
- Attach documents directly from your file system
- Reuse agenda templates for recurring board and committee meetings
- Add late papers without rebuilding and resending the entire pack
Cut Printing And Postage Costs
- Move from thick printed packs to secure digital board packs
- Allow board members to read, annotate and search documents on any device
- Reduce courier, print and staff time costs associated with paper packs
Reduce Risk And Admin Workload
- No more version confusion or “which pack is final?”
- Automatic notifications and reminders reduce manual chasing
- A single source of truth for all board and committee papers
A growing housing governance & GRC community
Convene is not just a piece of software. It is part of a growing community of housing governance professionals. When you adopt Convene, you join a network of housing boards, company secretaries and governance teams all working on similar challenges.
Housing-specific webinars and events
Regular sessions on housing governance, regulation, ESG, risk and board effectiveness.
Best-practice content for housing associations
Articles, guides and checklists focused on governance and board meetings in the social housing sector.
Peer networking
Opportunities to learn from other housing providers using the Convene Board Portal to modernise their governance.
GRC thought leadership
Insights on how governance, risk and compliance can be supported by modern tools, structured reviews and board development programmes.
Features housing boards and company secretaries rely on
Convene brings all the tools you need for housing board meetings into one secure platform. It is easy for board members to use, and powerful enough for governance teams to run a full board cycle.
For company secretaries and governance teams
Agenda Builder
create and update agendas quickly, reuse templates and keep every meeting consistent
Board pack automation
compile board papers into a single digital pack with automatic pagination and sectioning
Permissions and late papers
control access for different boards and committees and insert late documents without confusion
Distribution, RSVPs and reminders
invite attendees, track responses, and send reminders from within the board portal
For board members and executives
For board members and executives
tailored to board members who just want to log in, read papers and make good decisions
Digital annotations
highlight, comment and add notes directly on documents, privately or shared with other members
Hybrid and remote meeting support
use Convene with your video conferencing tools for fully digital or hybrid meetings
Voting and e-signatures
record approvals, resolutions and signatures securely in the same platform
Security and compliance for housing organisations
Housing associations handle sensitive information: tenant issues, financial data, HR matters, safety reports and commercial strategy. The Convene Board Portal is designed to keep this information secure and compliant.
- Strong encryption for data at rest and in transit
- Role-based access control for boards, committees and individuals
- Detailed audit trails for who viewed, downloaded or changed documents
- Support for secure authentication and modern IT policies
FAQs about housing governance and board portals
What is a board portal for housing associations?
A board portal for housing associations is secure board management software that stores board papers, agendas and minutes in one place. It lets board members access documents, annotate papers, join meetings, vote and track actions online.
The Convene Board Portal does all of this, but is also designed to support housing governance, regulation and GRC, not just document storage.
Why should a housing association use a board portal?
Housing associations should use a board portal to:
- Reduce the time and cost of preparing and sending board packs
- Improve security compared with emailing documents around
- Support remote and hybrid board meetings
- Provide a better audit trail for governance and regulation
- Help board members stay engaged, prepared and informed
Convene combines these benefits in one platform that is already used by many housing providers.
How does Convene help with housing governance and GRC?
Convene supports housing governance and GRC by:
- Providing full records of meetings, decisions, and board papers
- Making it easier to show regulators how decisions were made
- Supporting structured reviews, board evaluations and skills matrices through Convene Assure
- Giving boards and company secretaries tools to manage risk and follow-up actions consistently
How does a board portal like Convene save money for housing associations?
Convene helps housing associations save money by:
- Reducing printing, postage and courier costs for board papers
- Cutting the time spent on compiling and distributing packs
- Reducing the number of separate tools needed for meetings, documents and approvals
- Lowering the risk of errors or miscommunication that can lead to costly issues
Over time, these savings add up across every board and committee meeting.
Is the Convene Board Portal easy for board members to use?
Yes. The Convene Board Portal is designed for board members who may not be technical. They log in, see the meetings they need to attend, open their papers on a tablet or laptop, and can navigate, search and annotate easily. This leads to higher adoption and better-prepared meetings.
Can Convene support multiple boards and committees in one housing group?
Yes. Many housing organisations have group boards, subsidiary boards and specialist committees. Convene supports multiple entities within one system. You can manage different boards, committees and user access from a central platform, while keeping sensitive documents restricted to the right people.
Ready to modernise housing governance and board meetings?
If you are a housing board member, executive or company secretary and you are looking for a board portal designed for housing associations, Convene is here to help. Our platform combines board meeting software, housing governance support and GRC capabilities in one secure solution.