Understanding the Benefits of Community-Focused and Affordable Housing Projects from a 3-Pillar Perspective: An Impact Measurement Framework

Abstract

Ontario is facing an affordable housing crisis. As of 2021 10.1% of Canadian households were in core housing need with 77% being attributed exclusively to a lack of affordability, 10% attributed to housing inadequacy or unsuitability, and an additional 13% facing a combination of such issues. This is especially prominent in Ontario as 12.1% of households were in core housing need (Gov’t of Canada, 2022). Much of the shortage is attributed to an insufficient supply. The project is part of a multi-stakeholder initiative to create an assessment framework to value affordable housing projects, grounded in academic theory and practice. The purpose of this research is to develop a measurement framework to estimate the social, environmental, and indirect economic contributions of affordable and community-focused housing projects. Quantifying the social returns of investments will provide organizations a tool to justify budget allocation decisions and to advocate for government funding support. The proposed framework is generated using the Common Approach to Impact Measurement (CAIM) Common Foundations, a set of 5 governing practices for developing impact measurements. The Common Foundations were used to select effective impact measurements for a wide range of housing projects. The CAIM is in early stages of development, but will be used by impact investors, social enterprises in Ontario, and is supported by the Canadian Social Finance Fund. The framework was informed by content analysis, a frequency analysis, and semi-structured interviews with professionals. As a proof of concept, the proposed framework was applied to a case study with the United Property Resource Corporation to understand what impact measures are relevant, cost effective to measure, with accessible data. The framework encourages practitioners to interpret the cost-effectiveness of measurement. The proposed framework and case study application demonstrate the importance of accounting for social returns of affordable housing projects as opposed to simply reporting the economic costs. This research contributes to emerging literature in the areas of affordable housing valuation, social finance, and impact measurement. Future studies should consider gaining feedback from affordable housing tenants and indirect beneficiaries to create a more comprehensive indicator set.