What we’re doing now

want to influence systemic changes to the housing system by supporting, testing and evidencing solutions for increasing the availability of decent affordable homes for people in need. We influence for positive change to policy and practice by funding the right charitable causes and providing evidence to persuade key change-makers.

The Decent Affordable Homes strategy began in 2013 and is structured into phases. We moved into phase three in 2021. This third phase is structured to ensure that the work that we started in phase two can be completed and the evidence used to influence changes to our housing system.

Evidence-led solutions

To be able to influence for change, we need robust evidence of solutions and how they can be applied. Therefore, we use our funding to test promising ideas and build evidence of solutions to change our housing system. Part of our approach is to enable and facilitate projects so that they’re given the time and space they need to learn and create quality evidence.

Our belief in allowing ideas to grow and flourish is fundamental to our approach. Where we see rich potential for systemic change, we will take projects onto new levels. Therefore, just as important as generating quality evidence is using it wisely.

We have worked with partners and on our themes for a number of years, and as a committed organisation we invest in ensuring that learning and knowledge is used and understood to influence policy and practice. This means that solutions are noticed and welcomed by people and organisations who can take action to change the housing system for the better.

Our work to generate and use evidence is structured across three programmes.

Understanding how the housing system works

A new aspect of our strategy for phase three is the introduction of a strategic stream of work to truly understand how the housing system works – and how it fails – and most importantly, how it can be transformed.

We will collaborate with organisations that share our ambitions and approach to produce two valuable outputs:

  1. A causal loop map of the housing system to identify leverage points for systemic change. This map will provide knowledge of how different part of the system interact with other areas, and what the impacts and consequences are of different interventions. This systems mapping will show what is causing the biggest problems the sector is trying to solve and will put decent and affordable housing at its centre.
  2. A framework for change using knowledge from the ecosystem of stakeholders to build a common framework for change. By bringing together stakeholders, all with a common vision and shared understanding of the system, together we will be able to coordinate our actions for the greatest positive effect. The framework will help us and others to define and make meaningful contributions to changing the housing system.

We believe in the importance of this mapping approach because we recognise that the housing system is complex and interconnecting. We know this is an ambitious task, however, if we can understand what it is that holds the problems in place, together we can shift those conditions. We are excited by the potential for collaboration and we hold a deep faith in the potential for change.

Working together Our programmes