Transforming housing through collaboration, innovation, and sharing.
Mark Gittos, driven by a deep commitment to social housing, founded Open Thoughts. His ambition focuses on the site's core principles: fostering collaboration, innovation, and sharing best practices, all aimed at positively impacting residents and transforming the social housing sector through collective wisdom and effort.
Mark Gittos
High Hopes, Big Ambitions
Share More, Learn Faster, Improve Together
On Open Thoughts, collaboration means opening your thinking, sharing practical detail, challenging respectfully and helping others turn ideas into better outcomes for residents and communities.
Open Ideas That Change How Housing Works
Innovation on Open Thoughts means sharing bold ideas, testing better approaches, learning from failure, and helping you turn practical thinking into real sector improvement.
Share What Works, Help The Sector Improve
On Open Thoughts, sharing means offering useful detail, resources and lessons so you can help others learn faster and improve services with confidence across housing.
From my nugget to the net!
Open Thoughts started in Manchester, at a housing event in a session called Open Source. With a title like that, you would expect practical sharing: the thinking, the method, the fix, the lesson, or at least something others could understand, adapt and build on. Instead, it was 45 minutes of hearing that an organisation had found a problem with a common off-the-shelf CRM, written a fix, solved the issue — and then shared almost nothing useful about how. No fix. No method. No explanation. No real learning. Just: we had a problem, we fixed it, and that is all we are telling you.
That frustration became the seed for Open Thoughts. Because this was not really about one session. It was about a wider pattern in the sector: polished case studies with the useful detail removed, presentations that share the outcome but not the working, and collaboration that sometimes feels more like a social housing Magic Circle than genuine open learning. No secret handshake. No hidden script. No “we solved it, but we cannot tell you how.” Open Thoughts was built as the opposite of that, because good ideas should travel further than the room they were first presented in.
Open Thoughts is not about giving everything away without thought, or ignoring ownership, data protection, copyright or commercial reality. It is about an open-source mentality: share the thinking, credit the source, improve the idea and help the sector move faster. Real learning happens when people are willing to say what they tried, what worked, what failed, what they would change, and what others can adapt. That is the spirit of Open Thoughts: practical, generous, responsible sharing that helps social housing stop starting from scratch.
Germination of an idea
Disappointment of the "Understanding Opensource and Making Opensource Work for You." Workshop sparks a thought!
Maps out the concept
Pencils sharpened, A4 drawing pads at the ready, site map drawn. A4 drawing pads awash with Mind Maps. Philosophy outlined, strategy drawn up!
Housing Safety and Wellbeing Taskforce
Project takes a backseat so not to have a conflict of interest with the work I am doing with the Housing Safety and Wellbeing Taskforce.
Death of a Mentor
The death of a Housing beacon kick starts the Open Thoughts Org aspiration.
The Start of Bee The Change
A new approach to consultation starts to emerge. Bee The Change begins its journey to make resident voice more creative, inclusive and impossible to ignore.
Back on track for the development of OpenThoughts
New designs, new plans and a new build begins in earnest for a 2026 launch - Final push towards completion over the Summer
Philosophy outlined
Open Thoughts may have been born from irritation, but it is not built on irritation. It is built on the belief that social housing can do better.
Across the sector, we keep seeing the same themes: complaints, poor communication, weak listening, inconsistent services, residents not feeling heard, lessons not being learned, and regulation tightening because the sector has not always kept its own house in order.
Not because people do not care — many people care deeply — but because we need better ways to connect the thinking, share the learning and turn good intent into practical improvement.
Open Thoughts stands against siloed thinking, guarded learning, performative collaboration and the social housing Magic Circle.
It stands against events where the useful bit is held back, and against the idea that every organisation has to start from scratch
because someone else wants to keep their working hidden. Instead, it stands for practical collaboration, open-source thinking, respectful challenge, shared resources, co-design and giving people the detail that helps — not just the headline that impresses.
The honest version is simple: I sat in a session called Open Source that was not open source, left annoyed, and thought: right, let’s build the thing I thought I was walking into. A place where people in housing, councils and local authorities can share ideas, resources, learning and practical thinking. A place where useful detail is not treated like a secret. A place where collaboration is not a performance. A place where people help each other solve problems faster. That is Open Thoughts — and if you believe good practice should be shared, not hidden, this site has been built for you.
Embracing the Open-Source Philosophy At Open Thoughts Org, we are deeply rooted in the principles of open-source philosophy.
This philosophy isn't just about sharing information; it's about fostering a culture where collaboration, innovation, and shared learning
are the cornerstones of progress. Our platform embodies this ethos, offering a space where housing professionals can come together
to solve problems, share insights, and drive meaningful change in the social housing sector.
The Power of Collective Intelligence We believe that the collective intelligence of our community is our greatest asset.
By pooling our knowledge, experiences, and ideas, we can tackle the complex challenges facing social housing today.
Our platform is designed to facilitate this sharing, ensuring that every voice is heard and every idea has the potential to spark change.
Fostering a Culture of Empathy and Humility Empathy and intellectual humility are at the heart of Open Thoughts Org.
We encourage our members to understand and appreciate diverse perspectives, recognising that no single person has all the answers.
This approach not only breeds a more inclusive community but also leads to more innovative and effective solutions.
A Relentless Pursuit of Knowledge Our commitment to continuous learning is unwavering. We understand that the social housing landscape is ever-evolving, and staying ahead means being open to new ideas and approaches. At Open Thoughts Org, learning is a journey, not a destination. We provide the resources and support our members need to keep growing, both professionally and personally.
More Than Just a Website Open Thoughts Org is more than a digital platform; it's a movement. We're dedicated to creating a smarter,
more inclusive, and more sustainable social housing sector. Through our collective efforts, we're not just addressing immediate challenges; we're shaping the future of housing in the UK.
Join Our Movement We invite you to be a part of this transformative journey. Whether you're contributing ideas, learning from peers,
or implementing new strategies, your participation in Open Thoughts Org is a step towards a brighter future for social housing.
Together, with open minds and open solutions, we can achieve extraordinary things.
Our Pledge
Open Thoughts Org pledges to maintain free membership for UK Housing Associations, Local Authorities, and Councils employees. All advertising revenue will be reinvested to sustain and enhance the Open Thought platform.
What People Say
Through our years of experience, we’ve also learned that while each channel has its own set of advantages.
“Incredibly user-friendly website; navigating and accessing resources has never been easier or more efficient.”
"The philosophy of open collaboration and sharing truly sets Open Thoughts Org apart. Inspirational!"
"Open Thoughts Org benefits the housing sector immensely, fostering impactful innovations and sustainable solutions."
The is no "I" in Team!
There is no “I” in team, which is slightly awkward at Open Thoughts because, at the moment, the team is just me. So technically, there is quite a lot of “I” in this particular team. I am the strategy department, ideas department, content department, tea-making department and occasional IT support, usually all before lunch. But that is how many good things start: with one person, one idea and far too many tabs open. Open Thoughts may begin with an “I”, but its whole purpose is to become a “we” — a shared space built by everyone who joins in.
