Services And Products
1. National gaps assessment
Structured evaluation of the delivery infrastructure in an economic/ financial environment (typically a nation) focusing on (1) legal/ government environment, (2) financial resources and existing programs, (3) sponsor delivery capacity. Characterize the environment in its evolution and ecosystem. Uncover where the delivery system is strong, where it is weak, and what interventions (new creatures or changes to existing creatures) would improve the ecosystem. End product a substantial report including statistics, populated ecosystem, and documentary references.
Ecosystem of a nation’s housing finance
Customers:
National policymakers, Transnational resource providers, Major national stakeholders.
2. Inventory evaluation
Structured, quantitative evaluation of the affordable housing inventory in a host geography (probably a nation, possibly a region), focusing on (1) adequacy, (2) age, condition and needs, (3) population cohorts served and unserved, (4) sponsor capacity to address the inventory, (5) ongoing financial and operational viability.
Customers:
National policymakers, National resource providers and regulators
3. Stakeholder symposium
Organization and delivery of a symposium of stakeholders — national or transnational or international — coming together for a common purpose designed to improve the ecosystem. Potential foci include (1) consensus building around needs, (2) creation of political will to pursue change, (3) program design.
The symposium goal should be not just information or education but exit actions with enduring consequences.
Stakeholder brainstorming workshop
Customers:
National policymakers, National stakeholders
4. Program design
Conceptualization and formal description of a programmatic intervention resources, financial product, legal/ legislative authority, that when implemented will improve the ecosystem by filling one or more national gaps.
Logically combined with or prepared in the context of a stakeholder symposium.
Design of housing finance program
Customers:
National policymakers, National stakeholders
5. Program advocacy
After design of a programmatic intervention, development, delivery, followup and stakeholder interaction in support of the designed program. May include just-in-time real-time evaluation/ response/ modification as a program navigates through the process of buy-in/ enactment/ approval. Logically ends when the program is adopted.
Customers:
National policymakers, National stakeholders
6. Program development
After program adoption, development of appropriate administrative guidance — regulations, handbook or similar administration, processes and analytical tools — to enable sponsors and resource providers to process individual transactions under the adopted program.
Customers:
National administrators charged with implementing a new program.
7. Stakeholder education or training
Executive education program, combining seminar-style classroom instruction (either in the host geography or in the US, depending on participant/ faculty/ inventory requirements) with Web-based distance learning.
Participants typically include sponsors, regulators, resource providers — program practitioners — at upper middle and senior management levels.
Customers:
National stakeholders, Funded by national or transnational funders
8. Ongoing Web-based update of affordable housing electronic information
Periodic Web-based update (similar to a Weblog) of new material, electronically available and originating in the US (and elsewhere), of interest to affordable housing stakeholders. Examples of items to be flagged: modifications to existing programs, new legislation or other proposed initiatives, research papers on existing legislation or need, symposia, databases. Brief commentaries would be supplied on each, focusing on its relevance, target audience, highlights, implications, and so on
Stakeholders today have access to an extraordinary wealth of information if they know where to look for it and what to look for. This Weblog-based service would provide that searching/ distillation. It thus adds value by (1) searching, (2) distilling, and (3) delivering information.
To be effective, the service should be free to customers; hence it would need to be pre-funded (annual grant basis) by a stakeholder interested in improving affordable housing generally.
Customers:
National stakeholders, Funded by national or transnational funders
9. Customized programmatic research/evaluation
"Thought experiment" report development evaluating a proposed initiative (legislation, financing program, tool) in the context of a target country.
Customers:
National stakeholders
10. Stakeholder information resource
Web-compatible library/ reference facility/ search capacity that enables host geography stakeholders to learn:
1. skill sets in requisite disciplines (e.g. development, financing, management, administration, intervention, enforcement, preservation),
2. experience, best practices, and lessons learned from other national experiences (similar or divergent ecosystems),
3. country-specific insights, resources, program advisory and utilities,
4. links to resources (Web, people, agencies) for customized support.
Customers:
All stakeholders