1.61 Mapping the Social and Affordable Housing Network

This research will map the social and affordable housing sector in Australia, to help improve the productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of the system and thus enhance access. A multi-layered supply chain map will be developed to identify the various elements of this complex system, in order to build understanding and transparency. Building on previous SBEnrc research, the map will integrate asset and service elements (around a person-centred approach) across nine domains, including insights on demographics, typologies, social procurement, and funding and financing models. The map will be high level but pragmatic for stakeholders involved in social and affordable housing policy, programs and delivery, to more accurately identify opportunities for improvement and innovation, and targeting of research priorities and skills gaps.

Objectives

The specific project objectives are to:

1. Compile relevant information on 11 elements across demographics, housing typologies, policy drivers, funding and procurement mechanisms, infrastructure, asset management and industry capability, in order to describe the current social and affordable supply chain in Australia.
2. Consolidate these elements into a series of high level, layered supply chain maps, identifying jurisdictional and regional variations.
3. Identify the strengths, weakness and critical junctions between the layers and elements.
4. Identify opportunities for improvement in the system; for example, in relation to technical, capability, coordination, cultural or other issues.
5. Make recommendations regarding policy, research and skills development priorities informed by the resultant maps. For example, what would need to change for the future system to have the capacity to handle greater diversity of inputs and outputs; i.e. different funding/resourcing streams and delivery mechanisms?

Industry Outcomes

The multi-layered map of the social and affordable housing supply chain in Australia will:

1. Contribute to improving industry practice or competitive advantage in social and affordable housing built around outcomes-based assessment.
2. Inform changes in legislation based on greater clarity around elements and critical junctions.
3. Illustrate interactions between different forms of value, such as to the market/tenants/politicians.
4. Highlight incentives and disincentives which exist for those moving along the housing continuum.
5. Illustrate funding lines and drivers of the supply chain.
6. Identify capacity and skills gaps