Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) has today published a new workbook to help social housing providers explore how sensors and connected technology could support their services and residents.

Making Sense of Sensors: The Business Case Workbook, available through the Connected Homes Innovation Hub, provides a step-by-step framework for developing a clear, evidence-based business case for Internet of Things technology.

Making Sense of Sensors: The Business Case Workbook (PDF, 6.2MB)

Sensors could help housing providers identify problems earlier, improve services and make better use of information about their homes. Potential uses include monitoring conditions linked to damp and mould, supporting connected care and improving the performance of heating systems.

However, choosing the technology is only one part of the process. Providers also need to consider residents’ needs, the condition of their homes, data and privacy, connectivity, costs, procurement and how new information would be used by staff.

The workbook is designed to help teams work through these questions before investing in a solution, starting with the problem they want to address rather than the technology itself.

 The workbook takes housing providers through four stages:

• Prepare: define the challenge, identify possible uses and set clear objectives.
• Plan: assess properties, connectivity, data requirements, resident engagement, costs, benefits and organisational readiness.
• Procure: prepare for market engagement, develop supplier requirements and consider social value.
• Review: plan how the technology would be integrated into day-to-day services, monitored and evaluated if adopted.

Practical tasks, prompts, worked examples and a final checklist are included to help teams build the evidence for their business case as they move through each stage.

Learning from Greater Manchester

The workbook draws on learning from GMCA’s Connected Homes work and Internet of Things pilots delivered across social housing in Greater Manchester. These explored how connected technology could support earlier action on damp and mould, enable new approaches to connected care and improve the control and monitoring of heating systems.

The pilots showed that successful projects depend on more than choosing suitable technology. Resident trust, clear responsibilities, reliable connectivity and effective links with existing services and systems all need to be considered. This learning has informed the questions and practical guidance included in the new workbook.

John Duncan, Connected Places lead at GMCA, said: “Housing providers are increasingly interested in how sensors and connected technology could help them improve homes and services, but it can be difficult to know where to start.

“This workbook brings together learning from our work in Greater Manchester and provides a clear process for considering the benefits, costs and practical implications before making investment decisions.

“If you work in social housing and can see the potential of this technology in your line of work, it’s a great place to start, regardless of where you fit into your organisation.”

Housing providers can access Making Sense of Sensors: The Business Case Workbook through the Connected Homes Innovation Hub.

The Hub also brings together case studies and guidance on resident engagement, data governance, connectivity, procurement, installation and the day-to-day use of connected technology.

Article Published: 02/10/2026 15:15 PM