UKAA Best Practice Guide: How you can contribute

The aim of the UKAA’s Best Practice Guide is that its contents should support the Build to Rent community and encourage the pursuit of excellence by sharing knowledge and de-risking the industry for investors, developers, operators and suppliers.

As a resource which will ultimately apply to every element of the Build to Rent sector, articles are sought on topics from design and funding through development and construction to mobilisation and operation.

Why contribute?

The UKAA values the expertise of its members and believes they should be given the opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership and best practice. It’s a chance to raise your profile and contribute to the development of the industry.

It’s free to contribute, following the guidelines below.

What are we looking for?

Each submission should offer an in-depth look at its subject area, as well as practical and actionable insights.

They should also be structured to reference the Guide’s ‘Golden Thread’. These themes can be referenced within the submission itself or set out separately. The areas covered by the Golden Thread are:

1. Managing risk: What questions must be answered to enable a Build to Rent scheme to be funded, developed or operated successfully – this will range from underwriting principles to building safety.
2. Customer experience: How does this topic affect the customer experience?
3. Sustainability/ESG: What impact does this content have on sustainability and social value from the perspective of key stakeholders – the customer, investor, operator, and community.

Your contribution does not have to be a written article; it could, for example, be a podcast, video or graphic. However, the standards for content remain consistent whatever the medium.

The Guide is not a vehicle for advertising or self-promotion. Contributors are acknowledged through by-lines, author biographies, website links and case studies.

Planning your submission

If you have an idea for a topic, please get in touch to discuss the scope of the article, what it should cover and how it should be formatted onto the UKAA template.

Composing your submission

1 – If it’s to be a written article, start by dividing it into headings covering the key areas for discussion. Allocate a number of words for each section and aim for 700-1,000 words in total. Don’t forget the Golden Thread!

For example: The Rowdy Studio submission takes the reader through several clear steps in the branding process.

The same process applies for podcasts and webinars – make sure you introduce the topic, the participants and what you expect to cover. The maximum length for either should be 40 minutes.

2 – The opening paragraphs should tell the reader what the article is about. The journalistic way is to tackle the who, when, where, what and why.

For example: The Packaged Living submission sets out clearly the rationale for, and the focus of, their article.

3 – The Guide is a compendium to serve the whole sector so technical content about legislation or construction should be written in a way which is accessible to BTR professionals outside those arenas, or to students who are learning about them.

For example: The submission from Arcadis explains clearly the cost drivers in BTR

4 – Case studies are welcome. Please submit them in the format of: The Brief, The Method, The Impact.

For example: The Velocity Village case study in the Quadient submission

5 – Referencing. You can refer to sources either through a website link or in academic style. If using the academic style, please list them at the end of the article, not in footers.

For example: Aster Muro provided myriad web links throughout their submission

For example: Chapman Taylor provided a separate list

6 – You may want to include further resources as appendices to your submission. This is fine.

For example: The Quod article includes definitions and links to further reading

7 – BPG writing style: Please stick to these formats – Build to Rent, BTR; Single-Family Housing, Multi-Family Housing (where used as proper nouns) otherwise lower case.

Submitting your content

1 – Please complete the BPG Content Submission Template. It has sections which ask for:

• Author details (bio and contact)
• Company website details
• Suggested headlines and sub-headings
• Summary / synopsis
• Keywords

2 – Written copy should be on a Word document with 1.5 spacing. Podcasts should be an MP3 file and video/webinars MP4.

3 – Pictures are welcome. These should be jpeg/png and free of copyright (not saved from Google). Please supply captions.

What happens next?

1 – Your submission will be reviewed and then edited. The editor will be in touch with you should there be questions.

2 – You will receive a copy of the edited version and a link to the draft of the upload. Please approve any changes as soon as possible.

3 – Following your approval of any changes, your submission will be published in the Best Practice Guide.

For more information or any queries, please get in touch.