SHHA: Collaboration takes us to the next level

Sylwia Ziemacka, head of membership and partners network at the SHHA reflects on a successful 2023 for the organisation.

This has been another important year in the development of the Senior Housing & Healthcare Association. Our activities have proven that we are driven by thought leadership. Our first Senior Housing & Healthcare Summit with EPRA as co-partner was a valuable industry event that generated value and brought market players’ cooperation to the next level.

From the beginning, our goal has been to bring together industry leaders – operators, developers, financial institutions, investors – to share insights, strategies and best practices to help build confidence and engagement in the sector.

Collaboration and openness are in our DNA. That is why we have formed strategic partnerships with several other organisations with whom we share a common goal – EPRA, Co-living Ventures, ARCO from the UK and KIDO from Poland.

We also began to cooperate with the EU Commission. Dana Carmen Bachmann, head of unit, directorate general for employment, social affairs and inclusion, attended our first Senior Housing & Healthcare Summit in Brussels and we are also involved in working groups focused on ESG, social impact and measurement.

We know that openness serves our members well, especially when times are challenging and there may be more difficult questions than easy answers.

On the other hand, we know that the clouds over the market are temporary, and when it comes to our asset class, the medium- and long-term outlook is positive. One thing we can be sure of is that we are not going to reverse demographic trends. This will lead to dynamic growth in senior housing and healthcare markets.

Sylwia Ziemacka is head of membership and partners network at SHHA