Housing Supply Challenge: Round 1 - Data Driven
An opportunity for innovators to present disruptive solutions that can effect change
Introduction
The results are in!
Transcript
Have you heard about the Housing Supply Challenge?
We're calling on communities, we're calling on organizations, we're calling on experts, to propose innovative solutions to address barriers to the creation of new housing supply in Canada.
With up to $300 million in funding available, there are multiple rounds, encouraging new ideas to help more Canadians find an affordavle place to call home.
The challenge will:
- address barriers to housing supply and affordability
- enhance community engagement
- cultivate partnerships and encourage collaboration
- inspire others to scale and adapt for a Canada-wide impact
First round launching in Fall 2020!
Sign up for updates and be the first to hear about the launch of each round.
cmhc.ca/housingsupplychallenge
Building Together
The Housing Supply Challenge (HSC) invites citizens, stakeholders, and experts from across Canada to propose innovative solutions to the barriers that limit the creation of new housing. $300 million in funding is available through the various rounds of the Challenge, resulting in new ideas and solutions that will help more people find an affordable place to call home.
The challenge objectives are to:
- Address barriers to housing supply and affordability
- Enhance community engagement
- Inspire others to scale or adapt ideas for “Canada-wide impact”
- Cultivate collaboration and partnerships
The Challenge will also provide a platform to share these innovative solutions, acting as a catalyst for others to take action.
About
Housing Affordability Matters
Everyone in Canada deserves housing they can afford and that meets their needs. Still, many Canadians struggle to find, maintain and afford a place to live, as a lack of supply in cities coupled with significant demand for housing can push prices up.
In 2016, 2.9 M households were spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing. 1.5 M of those households were in core housing need. It is estimated that by 2030, an extra 2.1 M households will need a place to call home.
Why a Housing Supply Challenge?
Challenges are powerful tools to address complex issues where the objective is clear but the path to achieving the objective is not. Given the potential for innovation in the housing system, the Housing Supply Challenge offers an opportunity for innovators to present disruptive solutions that can effect change.
- Complex issue with a clear objective: Canada requires more housing that is affordable, but there is no single solution that can address this need. This Challenge is an opportunity to address a problem that cannot be solved by one organization.
- Local solutions to local issues: The Challenge is an effective medium to spark change from the ground up and mobilize participants to engage with and solve issues in their area.
- Housing supply at the national level: Different rounds of the Challenge can bring housing supply solutions to light that can be scaled up nationally, and others that can be replicated across various municipalities.
- Working together: The Challenge is an opportunity to bring housing sector participants together, empowering collaboration and partnerships.
- New perspectives: The Challenge welcomes new participants to engage with, and provides an environment that encourages and rewards innovation.
Rounds
The Housing Supply Challenge will award up to $300 million in funding through a series of unique challenges on different topics over a five year period. More details will be available when each round launches.
- Round 1 - Data Driven [Applications closed]
- Round 2 - Getting Started: Pre-development Processes [Applications closed]
- Round 3 - Northern Access: Supply Chain Solutions for Northern and Remote Housing [Applications closed]
- Round 4 - Construction Technology [Applications closed]
- Round 5 - Level-Up [Applications closed]
Identified Issues, Trends, and Supply Barriers
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has identified some of the key issues and trends affecting housing supply in Canada, which shaped the development of the various rounds of the Challenge. Consultations with stakeholders and experts improved our understanding of these issues, which include:
- Support for urban densification
- Inefficiencies in construction
- Limited data on land availability and value
- Long approval processes and timelines
- Land availability constraints
- Lack of flexible tenure options
- Misalignment between urban infrastructure and housing plans
- Conflicting incentives for creation of new supply
Support for urban densification
Increasing the densification of our cities is a critical part of increasing housing supply. Municipal and provincial governments across Canada are taking steps to combat urban sprawl, however, it is unclear if the process of densification is meeting its potential. Defining the "appropriate" level of population density in urban centres remains a difficult task. In some cases, public resistance adds a further barrier to increased density.
Inefficiencies in Construction
The cost of building new homes consists of the cost of the land that is being built on, and the materials and labour to build the structure. Although the productivity of the construction industry has been largely constant over time, a challenge could focus on finding efficiencies through innovative methods such as manufactured production, 3D printing, materials usage, etc., which could be applied in areas affected by housing supply constraints.
Limited data on land availability and value
Land prices are critical to understanding urban economies. They reflect overall housing demand, but can also be affected by elements such as proximity to infrastructure and regulations. In Canada, there is currently a limited availability of transparent and open data on land ownership and land prices (with certain exceptions in some provinces).
Long approval processes and timelines
Building new housing can be a lengthy process. In many cases, the time delay to build involves moving through administrative and regulatory processes to obtain approval for new development or re-development. There may also be delays in getting appropriate infrastructure in place. This can increase uncertainty reduces the timeliness of responding to price increases. It can also lead to price increases directly. This barrier is strongly linked to local contexts and planning processes that differ widely between municipalities across the country.
Land availability constraints
Limited land availability is a key factor limiting the growth of housing supply in many markets. Factors affecting land availability include geographic and natural features, as well as land which could potentially be developed for housing but might be zoned or used for other purposes. However, land can also be constrained by controllable factors such as the various planning functions undertaken within jurisdictions or by maintaining underutilized land uses for lengthy periods of time (e.g. vacant shopping malls, etc.).
Lack of flexible tenure options
Housing tenure refers to how a property is occupied. It can be rental or ownership. Tenure isn’t a feature of housing supply, but a property can be built to serve a particular tenure type. Tenures can shift, for example, moving from ownership to rental. The fact that tenures can change suggests that innovation may be possible in this area, but it is unclear whether existing housing structures or designs are amenable to flexible tenures. Limited tenure options and housing choices have a large impact on vulnerable populations such as racialized communities, those fleeing violence, and seniors.
Misalignment between urban infrastructure and housing plans
Housing choices are often linked to the time it takes to get to work and local amenities. For many people, a challenging commute means that they will want to live closer to their place of work or services that they routinely access. While many jurisdictions are encouraging development of housing near transit, in many cases the high cost of new transportation infrastructure limits its expansion in a timely way to many urban areas, which in turn affects supply.
Conflicting incentives for the creation of new supply
Many of these topics interact and overlap, and there may be tensions between them. A municipality with strong densification policies may find it difficult to implement these policies in new housing developments due to market demands. New development may primarily take place at the edges of cities, where transportation networks are less developed, leading to longer commute times and higher commute costs, and counteracting the otherwise lower housing costs. It takes time for new supply to come to market, and there may be a gap between the desires of a changing demographic and the available housing stock.
Investing in Change
The Challenge is part of Impact Canada and is led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), in collaboration with the Impact and Innovation Unit in the Privy Council Office and Infrastructure Canada. Up to $300 million will be distributed over five years through the various rounds of the Challenge.
Process
There will be five separate and unique rounds as part of the overall Challenge. Details and information surrounding each round will be released as they become available.
Objectives of this round:
- Identify and cultivate data solutions that positively impact housing supply that is affordable and meets people’s needs.
- Provide funding and support to implement and scale the most promising data solutions that target housing supply decision makers.
- Create long-term partnerships to connect data expertise, housing expertise, and the communities that can enable housing supply initiatives.
- Create a culture of trust and openness in Canada to encourage the accessibility of housing data for everyone that might benefit from it.
The Data Driven round invites applicants to submit data solutions or methodologies that improve the collection, sharing, analysis and integration, and/or presentation of data. The broad definition allows participants to determine the solution that best fits the needs of the identified problem.
We want decision makers to use the solutions to provide and maintain needed housing supply. Solutions should help government agencies, policy makers, private or not-for-profit organizations, etc. have a real impact on housing supply at a macro or a local level.
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Stage 1 - Application intake
January 20, 2021
Applicants will form collaborative teams to develop their solution idea for the Initial Submission.
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Up to 25 shortlisted applicants chosen from all applicants
March 2021
Up to 25 shortlisted applicants will receive $100 000 each to enter stage 2
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Stage 2 - Prototype development
March 2021 to September 2021
Shortlisted applicants develop a prototype of their solution for the Final Submission.
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Solutions chosen
October 2021
Selected solutions will share a pool of $22.5 million in funding through deliverable or milestone-based contribution agreements, ensuring the implementation is successful and expected outcomes are achieved.
Evaluators
Data Driven - Evaluation Panel Members
Bianca Wylie
Co-founder, Tech Reset Canada | Co-founder, Digital Public | Senior fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation
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Full bio
Bianca is an open government advocate with a dual background in technology and public engagement. She is the co-founder of Tech Reset Canada, the co-founder of Digital Public, and a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. She worked for several years in the tech sector in operations, infrastructure, corporate training, and product management. Then, as a professional facilitator, she spent several years designing, delivering and supporting public consultation processes for various governments and government agencies. She founded the Open Data Institute Toronto in 2014 and co-founded Civic Tech Toronto in 2015. She is a writer, guest lecturer, and speaker on open government and public sector technology policy and is on the advisory board of The Computational Democracy Project.
Lynette Keyowski
Managing Partner, REACH Canada
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Full bio
Lynette Keyowski is the Managing Partner at REACH Canada, an expansion of the world-leading Lynette Keyowski NAR REACH real estate technology growth program, scaling technology companies into the real estate and ancillary verticals.
Lynette comes to REACH after more than a decade as a senior executive and CEO in the REALTOR association world in Canada. Her professional focus has been to support the delivery of value-add technology solutions into the real estate sector and streamlining the real estate practitioner and consumer experience.
Having contributed extensively to real estate initiatives in both the US and Canada, Lynette is passionate about the opportunities REACH will offer to the Canadian real estate vertical, and is excited to continue to expand her extensive network of relationships in the real estate and tech communities into the global sector.
With a healthy appetite for knowledge and a commitment to continuous personal improvement, Lynette blends an active outdoor lifestyle with the responsibilities of parenting two daughters: one recent University graduate, and one aged ten.
Stéphane Roche
Professor of Geomatics Sciences, Laval University
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Full bio
Engineer and geographer, I am a full professor of geomatics sciences at Laval University. I have held various university management positions, department and research center director, vice-dean, vice-president. I am an observer of the modes of spatial organization of anthropocene human societies from the digital transition perspective. I am particularly interested in skills and spatial reasoning as the main source of a new form of urban intelligence.
Rana Sharif
Senior Specialist, Data and Information
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Full bio
Rana joins from CMHC’s Innovation team where she is focused on leading digitally enabled concepts and solutions tackling a breadth of challenges within the Canadian housing ecosystem.
Prior to joining CMHC, Rana brings 18 years of experience in the Financial Services industry in a variety of different roles; most recently in FinTech, serving in a Digital Strategy and Product Management capacity. While having led product design, tech development teams, and deployment of technology solutions, Rana has only strengthened her passion for the role data and technology can play within Canada’s housing ecosystem.
Wojciech Kujawa
Data Governance Manager, City of Edmonton
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Full bio
Wojciech brings more than 11 years of experience in Business Intelligence, project management, data analytics, data management and data governance from being the Senior Manager of the Data Governance and Management Manager at the City of Edmonton. As a Data Governance and Management Manager Wojciech priorities focus on standing up the data governance program and the data governance team at the City, establishing the stewardship framework, standardizing data management processes, building data awareness and literacy, and managing data as an asset.
Wojciech holds a Project Management Professional certification, a Master's degree in International Relations from the Universities in Poland and Germany, as well as a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Alberta.
David Wachsmuth
Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance, McGill University
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Full bio
David Wachsmuth is the Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance at McGill University, where he is also an Associate Professor in the School of Urban Planning. He directs UPGo, the Urban Politics and Governance research group at McGill, where he leads a team of researchers investigating pressing urban governance problems related to economic development, environmental sustainability, and housing markets. He is the co-lead of the Adapting Urban Environments for the Future theme of the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative, where he is part of a broad interdisciplinary team developing new ways of conceptualizing, measuring, and improving urban sustainability. A major focus of his work has been explaining a transition in policy and planning from identifying the city as a global sustainability problem to identifying the city as a solution to global sustainability problems. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the impacts of short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb on cities around the world, and consults widely with municipalities and community organizations on designing appropriate regulations. Dr. Wachsmuth has published widely in top journals in urban studies, planning and geography, and his work has been covered extensively in the national and international media, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. He is the Early Career Editor of the journal Territory, Politics, Governance and serves on the editorial board of the journal Urban Geography.
Maryam Haghighi
Director, Data Science | Data and Statistics Office, Bank of Canada
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Full bio
Dr. Maryam Haghighi is the Director of Data Science at the Bank of Canada, where she provides strategic leadership for data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to promote the economic and financial wellbeing of Canada.
She has successfully led development across diverse teams from academic and research-oriented environments to global enterprises and private partnerships. With over 15 years of experience in a broad range of topics in advanced analytics and AI-driven innovation, she has overseen implementation of sophisticated solutions to complex data problems for multi-billion-dollar projects on the ground and in the skies.
Prior to joining the Bank, she pioneered the first ever space-based data analytics systems of a new satellite constellation. As Canada’s delegate to international advisory panels, she provided data and modelling expertise for the safety of global aviation and the betterment of lives of millions of Canadians.
Previously, she successfully applied her expertise to a diverse range of projects within the Government of Canada, in health care and in not-for-profits.
She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics- Combinatorial Optimization and Operations Research from the University of Ottawa. She was a professor of mathematics and computer science courses and has been a technical consultant in patent processes. She has a deep passion for interdisciplinary work and building bridges between advanced theories of mathematics and real-world applications as well as supporting women in technology initiatives.
Monica Bradley
Director of Technical Services, First Nations Technical Services Advisory Group Inc. (TSAG)
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Full bio
Monica is the Director of Technical Services for the First Nations Technical Services Advisory Group Inc. (TSAG); an organization dedicated to the technical services and training for Alberta First Nations. As a proud member of the Treaty 6 Michel First Nation, Monica’s dedication and commitment to First Nations is prevalent in her work and ensuring to always deliver quality programs that foster personal development and personal growth.
A continual learner, Monica has spent much of her professional experience in senior accounting roles with additional roles cultivating her skills in event management, recruitment, marketing, training and program development. She is currently the Vice Chair of the Amiskwaciy Cultural Society Aboriginal Head Start and a Director on the Little Warriors board. Monica believes strongly in working and volunteering with organizations that mandate themselves in transparency and growth.
Monica lives in St. Albert with her family and spends much of her time golfing, travelling and spending as much time as possible supporting her step children, nieces and nephews as they peruse their goals and aspirations.
Recipients
How did we get here?
- 136 solutions submitted.
- 21 Solutions Shortlisted, receiving $200,000 each to prototype their solution.
- 14 prototypes were selected for funding and will share a pool of $22.5 million to start implementing their solutions today!
14 solutions to receive funding to bring their idea to life
The Data Driven Round is the first round of the Housing Supply Challenge. In this round, we looked for data solutions that improve decision-making for housing supply in Canada. Applicants submitted technology solutions or methodologies that can improve the collection, sharing, analysis and integration, and/or presentation of data.
In this multistage process, applicants moved progressively forward until the final stage in which select applicants will receive final funding to implement their idea. A panel of evaluators reviewed each solution and measured it against program criteria in order to determine successful applicants.
This rigorous two-stage evaluation process ensures that the Housing Supply Challenge will fund the best solutions to improve housing supply.
Starting today, Stage 2 funding recipients will begin the process of implementing their exciting solutions and will sign milestone agreements to ensure progress over the coming years.
First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba
FNHSSM eHealth Housing Database
Manitoba
First Nations lack access to a centralized database with Indigenous-specific housing information. To address this gap, for Round 1 of the Housing Supply Challenge, the First Nation Health & Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM) proposed a multi-phased solution to create a First Nations Housing Database that will be made accessible to all 63 First Nations in Manitoba. This housing database is an information-based application tool that helps communities support and develop proposals and projects that address housing and housing-related gaps and issues in each of their areas.
This will be a searchable e-tool to support housing proposals, infrastructure, community development, maintenance & education (among others). The following pillars inform the framework of the e-tool: Housing & Education; Research, Policy & Community Development; and Housing Supply & Coordinated Access.
Purpose Analytics
Low-end of Market Rental Housing Monitor
Ontario
Households with low incomes are limited and forced to rely on the low-end of the market (LEM) to meet their housing needs, as they are unable to access housing in the broader housing spectrum. Anecdotal evidence indicates that affordable housing in the LEM is slowly being lost, and there is limited data to address this potential crisis.
As part of the Housing Supply Challenge, Purpose Analytics will create the LEM Rental Housing Monitor to track this crisis. It will quantify the magnitude of the issue and identify where it is most acute within Canada’s major cities. This information will assist decision-makers to set policy or take direct action.
The Low-end of Market Rental Housing Monitor will integrate several datasets to estimate the supply and location of deeply affordable rental housing in urban areas. The modelled data will be made accessible to users through an interactive, map-based tool and through an API that will allow users to access raw values and to pass data to other applications.
Specifically, it will be scaled to six urban centres in Canada. The data in the web-based interactive map will come from within the existing Canadian Rental Housing Index, via download and API calls, and through data stories that provide guided analysis for visitors.
University of British Columbia
Needs Assessment and Well-Located Land: A Data-Driven Solution to Balanced Supply of Housing
British Columbia
There is currently no standardized method among Canada’s three levels of government to measure housing needs by income category or sizes. Disaggregated data on marginalized groups is also weak and inconsistent. Housing needs assessments rarely include net loss of affordable housing or include additional needs based on population growth and change over a 10-year period. Another data gap is a lack of an agreed upon approach to identify and use well-located land for affordable housing.
A standardized approach and consensus method is necessary to properly inform plans that can generate effective, equitable, and comparable housing strategies to address housing needs.
To address this problem, as part of the Housing Supply Challenge, the Housing Research Collaborative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will create a ‘proof of concept’ needs assessment tool based on international best practice, and a Housing Access Rating Tool (HART), that can be overlaid on publicly-owned land to model scenarios.
UBC will create the tools in partnership with municipalities, governments and non-profits by developing shared understandings, methodologies and data. UBC will disseminate and scale the use of these tools across the country, and provide training for urban planners and other urban professionals through an online certificate program.
UBC will work directly with 11 governments and regions to scale up the tools, publish a public housing need data dashboard, improve the potential for acquisition strategies, and create a toolkit and online course to ensure sustainability of HART.
McMaster University
CHEC Administrative Data Centre
Ontario
A lack of robust and accessible administrative data is a barrier to analyzing the impact, efficiency and effectiveness of housing supply initiatives. Data collected on these initiatives is not standardized and not accessible, as much of the data exists only in reports or in individual organizational records.
As part of the Housing Supply Challenge, CHEC proposes to build, maintain and create access to existing housing datasets that lacks an organizational structure.
CHEC Data Centre will process data from NGOs, municipalities, provinces, territories and CMHC from 2001 to the present, and use data management teams to clean, aggregate, anonymize and document datasets to make them research ready.
The final Aggregate or depersonalized data will be made publicly available through an online content management system.
McGill University
Data Homebase: A prototype visualizing Canada’s housing characteristics to foster a circular economy
Quebec
One approach to tackling housing supply is the circular economy (CE). CE is when materials and buildings are kept in use for as long as possible to reduce waste and promote sustainability, and end of life building material is reused, rather than turned to waste.
However, effective CE decision-making requires robust, building data. Unfortunately, this is currently scattered and lacks standardization.
To overcome this barrier, for Round 1 of the Housing Supply Challenge, McGill University has proposed to develop ‘housing passports’ (HP) - standardized digital descriptions of residential building characteristics.
Each HP will represent different residential typologies based on analysis of existing building stock. Through a new web-based, data visualization prototype named Data Homebase, HP information will be organized, semantically linked, and visualized in a manner that makes it easily accessible to a wide variety of housing stakeholders, from building sector, to financial and policymaking actors. For example, HPs could help banks complete property assessments and could support cities with asset management of government housing.
The Métis Nation of Ontario
Using Strategic Data to Shape Regional Allocation of Affordable Housing Investments for Métis citizens in Ontario
Ontario
As it currently stands, no granular Métis-specific housing data exists. Without this data, it is difficult to make effective decisions regarding new construction and renovation investments for those in most need, and gear them to viability conditions in different regions. Specific and accurate housing data would support better strategic decisions in terms of allocating Métis housing funds to increase affordable supply for Métis.
To address this problem, for Round 1 of the Housing Supply Challenge, the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO) will mine available data sets and update them to generate a Métis-specific picture of housing supply issues at the Census Division level. This will enable MNO leadership to set regional supply targets for the Métis Housing and Homelessness Strategy.
The proposed solution is ultimately a data-driven system that informs housing investment allocations on a regional basis to supply affordable housing to eligible Métis Citizens of Ontario.
Université Laval
Mapping of population vulnerability and exposure to extreme heat waves
Quebec
The effects of heat are largely influenced by an individual’s ability to access resources, particularly adequate housing. Government and non-governmental organizations, whether they’re local, regional or provincial, must face the social and economic consequences of climate change.
The goal of this project is to develop an interactive online mapping application that provides valid information on the geographic distribution of vulnerable populations and exposure of major Canadian communities to heat waves.
This mapping will represent the geographic distribution of vulnerability and exposure, specifying their intensity for each geographic unit. With this information, authorities will be able to intervene to reduce the health effects of these heat waves and respond more appropriately when these hazards occur.
MapYourProperty Inc.
Single Data Intelligence Platform for Affordable Housing Development
Ontario
The Consortium of Affordable Housing Data (CoAHD) will build an end-to-end data intelligence platform using CoAHD’s Artificial Intelligence and ETL (Extraction, Transform, Load) technology. This technology will drive the interactive mapping platform which acquires & analyzes hundreds of housing indicators into a single solution, updating in almost real-time. By having access to key indicators including surplus lands, distance to transit and amenities, pro forma costs, and rental rates, users will be able to make better, more streamlined decisions on affordable development and construction.
The final platform will empower users to make better, faster decisions about affordable housing development. The consortium is made of the largest non-profit housing organizations, academics, and emerging technology startups in the housing space in Canada. The lead firm, MapYourProperty, at www.mapyourproperty.com
Ontario First Nations Technical Services
Ontario First Nation Housing Needs
Ontario
There are housing shortages in Indigenous communities throughout Ontario.
However, Indigenous communities lack the quality data needed to truly understand and quantify what is needed to ensure communities have housing that meets their needs. The ability to accurately predict housing demand and base housing projections for long term planning strategies in each community is limited by the quality of information available. The quality of information correlates to the actual housing need.
For Round 1 of the Housing Supply Challenge, Ontario First Nations Technical Services proposes to examine and develop a methodology to obtain, analyze and store quality data. They will analyze existing data and find data gaps, and utilize other methods to collect data.
The objective of the solution is to create quality data that informs leadership and funding agencies assistance to solve the housing gap.
It will help project their future housing needs based on current population and projected growth population and ensure that they can store live data so that the information will not become stale and outdated in a short duration of time.
Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus (EOWC)
Filling the Housing Information Gap in Rural Eastern Ontario
Ontario
Currently, in rural Eastern Ontario, there is a shortage of proper housing data. The lack of adequate data prevents proper planning and construction of affordable housing development in the region.
Through the Housing Supply Challenge, the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus (EOWC) will build a streamlined digital tool to fill the housing information gap. This locally driven tool will support municipalities in the planning and development of affordable housing. It also aims to support not for profit builders in overcoming barriers to implementing housing in rural communities from information gaps.
EOWC will build this tool by consolidating the information that is available through eastern Ontario municipalities’ existing resources. By having a consolidated effort for data acquisition, EOWC can implement a streamlined approach to enhance the data collected by CMHC through the central digital tool.
In the medium to long-term, the EOWC will use this information to bring appropriate affordable housing to the region and keep residents in their communities’ of-choice.
The project key deliverables will be:
- Operationalizing an on-line housing information system populated by Eastern Ontario data for use by eastern Ontario stakeholders.
- Development of a long-term Sustainability Plan and Roll-Out Strategy for additional geographies post-funding window based on the demonstrated utility and benefits of the information system for Eastern Ontario housing project proponents and supporting agencies.
Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services
Digital database and software tool to support housing needs for Indigenous CFS youth transitioning
Manitoba
There is little comprehensive data on youth aging out of care and their unique housing needs. Currently, there is no data linking this specific group to ensure that they have adequate housing supply.
Youth are aging out of care and are disproportionately high risk of being under housed and/or homeless immediately after leaving the care of Child Family Services, or within 30 days of transitioning into community.
Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services will create a database prototype for collecting and sharing information with stakeholders on housing supply needs and availability specifically for youth aging out of care for the 11 communities they serve. Additionally, youth will be engaged in creating a software tool that will connect them to housing supply, agencies, and options.
This new data will help expand current housing supply data and support planning and development of current and future housing for Indigenous youth.
OPEN Technologies
Net-zero Navigator Extension for Affordable Housing
BC
Affordable housing projects are often cancelled before they even start as teams struggle to navigate conflicting priorities, such as the energy requirements versus the cost of higher efficiency buildings.
To address this problem, OPEN Technologies proposes to extend Net-Zero Navigator - a beta tool developed with the University of Victoria. Net-Zero Navigator allows building designers to leverage advancements in machine-learning based "surrogate modelling" to drastically improve their workflow in finding high-performance building designs.
With the extension of Net-Zero Navigator, project teams will be able to quickly and easily find the right balance between construction costs, energy performance and costs, and adaptation to climate change, therefore reducing barriers to investment, lowering costs to meeting new energy and/or GHG obligations and advancing projects more readily.
This will support the supply of affordable housing by making this type of analysis available for decision makers (often non-technical users), leading to fewer cancelled projects and more homes hitting their cost target.
The proof of concept focused on the BC and Ontario contexts, and the Affordable Housing Navigator will eventually become a national tool in the coming months.
Family Services Windsor-Essex
Maintaining Affordability through ADUs: A Tracking and Analysis Model
Ontario
Provincial legislation permits Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a way to increase the number of housing units within single-detached zoning districts. This is altering Canada’s housing supply.
Without a national mechanism to track and analyze these units, little is known about the quantity of ADUs (existing and in construction), their financial and market value feasibility, nor their impact on the socioeconomic makeup of a geographic region.
In order to solve this problem, Family Services Windsor-Essex has proposed a model under the Housing Supply Challenge to develop a data collection mechanism to track and analyze ADU creation across various jurisdictions. Subsequently, the model will provide a web-based mapping tool for users to understand the relationship to socioeconomic data within their local communities.
Specifically, the model will calculate the total buildable area of a residential property based on the setbacks, lot coverage requirements and other factors using parcel files, building footprint files, and street centerline files from the City of Windsor’s Open Data Portal.The proposed tool will provide state and non-state actors the ability to compare both the information gathered alongside the social and financial indicators to make policy and development decisions within their local communities.
Vivre en Ville
Residential lease registry: Open data for maintaining affordable housing supply
Quebec
The supply of affordable housing requires maintaining affordable prices in the existing stock. Rental units in Quebec are subject to provisions of the Civil Code of Québec, which base allowable annual rent increases on the lowest rent paid by a tenant in the past 12 months. However, there is no clear and practical mechanism for verifying rent paid for any given unit: We must rely on the landlord, who is inherently in a conflict of interest, for this information.
Vivre en Ville is partnering with Monloyer to create a prototype lease registry that improves upon and promotes its solution (with a renewed interface, complementary data, etc.).
The prototype will benefit from the existing technology and assets of Monloyer and the organizational capacity of Vivre en Ville. It will test the solution’s full potential and gather complementary data to provide decision makers with a more accurate picture of the Quebec rental market.
Stay connected
Use the hashtag #HousingSupplyChallenge to join the conversation and get the latest updates on the Housing Supply Challenge. You can also email us at challenge@cmhc.ca.
Housing Supply Challenge Support Program
Are you an applicant looking for additional support with your submission? Visit the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge Support Program, run by our partners at Evergreen. They are available to answer any questions about the application process and provide one-on-one support.Round 1: Data Driven
Key Dates
- Launch: October 23, 2020
- Initial Submissions: January 20, 2021
- Shortlisted Applicants: March 2021
- Stage 2 Final Submissions: September 29, 2021
- Funded Solutions Announced: October 2021
Who can apply?
- For-profit and not-for-profit organizations
- Indigenous organizations and groups
- Canadian post-secondary institutions
- Government (Provincial, territorial, municipal, local, and regional)
- Consulting firms
- Teams composed of a variety of participants
* All participants must be affiliated with a legally incorporated organization
Funding Allocation
- Stage 1: Incubation funding for prototyping - 25 shortlisted applicants will receive $100,000 each
- Stage 2: Implementation Funding - Selected solutions will share a pool of $22.5 million in funding
Important Resources
Publications
Last modified: 2025-01-26