Designing for Systemic - Impact : Rent Subsidies and the Canada Housing Benefit - April 2019
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
..
Designing for Systemic
Impact : Rent Subsidies and
the Canada Housing Benefit
..
.. Presented by
Adrienne Pacini, Principal, Strategic Design, SHS Consulting
Esther de Vos, Director, Policy, Research and Education, Capital Region Housing
Jay Martin, Senior Manager, Human and Social Services Team, KPMG Canada
..
Nice to meet you!
Adrienne Pacini Esther de Vos Jay Martin
Principal, Strategic Design Director, Policy, Research Senior Manager, Human
SHS Consulting and Education and Social Services Team
Capital Region Housing KPMG Canada
@adriennepacini
@jaymartinwrites
2
Rent Supplements in Canada
Rent Supplements in Canada
• Generally geared to helping achieve affordability in the private
rental market.
• Essentially, two models in use today:
1. Private Landlord 2. Direct-to-Tenant
Where the supplement is paid Operates more like a portable
directly to the private market benefit and paid directly to the
landlord and the recipient pays up tenant living in private market
to the threshold of affordability (25- rental.
30% depending on the province or
territory).
: Esther de Vos, 2019 4
Rent Supplements in Canada Policy Objectives The objectives of the current models are understood as: 1. Creating housing affordability 3. Achieving a mixed-income in the private rental market for neighbourhood low income households 4. Mitigating rent inflation 2. Addressing (in some cases) (particularly for the private insufficient supply of social or landlord model) affordable housing : Esther de Vos, 2019 5
Rent Supplement design • Most current models are aimed • Designed more so as a at a particular demographic “rationed allowance” rather (low-income households) than a universal benefit • Some programs exclude • Administered by the households receiving income provincial/territorial assistance, some do not governments • Most have some form of • Seen as an alternative to social residency requirement and housing as social housing eligibility criteria (similar to tenants are not eligible for rent that of social housing) supplements : Esther de Vos, 2019 6
A New Canada Housing Benefit
The National Housing Strategy articulates the following about a
new Canada Housing Benefit:
• It will be in partnership with • It may be open to those living in
provincial and territorial social housing, on a waitlist for
governments social housing or those living in
private market rental without
• It will be a new tool to address
housing affordability
housing affordability challenges
• Much is still unknown about the
• It will be flexible to address local
program design, benefit amount and
needs
eligibility
: Esther de Vos, 2019 7
Designing for Systemic Impact Possible Objectives for the New Benefit • Addressing housing affordability • Increasing the supply of affordable housing • Creating neighbourhood diversity through a mixed- income approach • Addressing the financial sustainability of social housing • Creating a more flexible and localized approach to respond to those in housing need : Esther de Vos, 2019 8
Program Design Possible Design Options for Canada • Universal benefit model • Housing voucher/portable housing benefit to specific demographic in housing need • Private Landlord – eligible to a specific demographic in housing need : Esther de Vos, 2019 9
Looking to Australia…
Canada + Australia … The same but different. Some similarities Some differences • Pockets of very high and rising • Substantial cash transfers for renters housing prices paid through the (federal) social • Subsidized social housing (rent security system – to supplement capped at 30% of income) operated social housing supply by provinces and not-for-profits • Municipalities tend to stay out of • Nearly 200,000 on waiting lists for housing. Very few have subsidized social housing homelessness or poverty strategies : Jay Martin, 2019 11
Canada + Australia
Context: Canada and Australia have some of the world’s least affordable housing markets
Pockets of very high housing prices
have left parts of Canada and Australia
the least affordable housing markets in
the world.
Many towns and cities, particularly in
regional areas, remain more affordable.
Chart Source: HuffPost Canada, median multiple for each
market indicates ratio of median house price to median incomes
(Q3, 2018) 12Rent Assistance in Australia
• Rent Assistance was introduced in 1985, • Rent Assistance is not paid for renters
and has been extended to new groups living in social housing operated by
over time. governments, although it IS paid where
social housing is provided by not for
• Requires renters to pay a minimum rent,
profits. In these cases, it acts as an
then pays 75% of actual rent, above the
operating subsidy to not for profits.
threshold, to a maximum amount
• Eligibility linked to income support • In June 2017, median monthly Rent
payment or child benefit, and reduced Assistance payment was $286 and
for private income. median monthly rent was $953.
• All amounts and payments are uniform
across Australia. There are no provincial
or local differences in amounts or
payments.
Source: Parliamentary Library Research Paper, “Housing and the social security system”;
: Jay Martin, 2019 Australian Institute for Health and Welfare 2017, Housing Assistance in Australia 13Expenditure on CRA (real $2013-14 and nominal) 1984-85 to 2014-15
In real terms, over the last 30
years, Rent Assistance
spending has risen from less
than $240 million per year to
over $4.5 billion per year
(real $ 2013-14) – an increase
of nearly 20 times.
Cost drivers are primarily
increased numbers of eligible
people renting (due to
decreased home ownership)
and higher rents.
Source: DSS in Gounder (2016) Appraising affordable housing in contemporary Australian economic infrastructure supply discourse; Parliament of Australia,
Housing and the social security system, October 2016. 14Proportion of low income renters spending more than 30% of gross household income on rent 2007/18 to 2015-16 Despite massively increased expenditure, a considerable, and growing, number of households live in rental stress. Source: Productivity Commission Report on Government Services 2017, Volume G 15
Cash Transfers Selling Points • Improve affordability at a low • Can support mixed per dwelling cost (no capital neighbourhoods / diversity. spend). • People able to make own • Low administrative overhead. decisions regarding • Can avoid poverty traps & type/location of rent. ‘housing cliffs’ – when households ‘fall out of’ social housing eligibility. : Jay Martin, 2019 16
Cash Transfers Challenges • Need to pick a value and an uplift • Don’t address non-financial process that balances meaningful barriers to renting. assistance with sustainability. • Risk contributing to / worsening • Can be difficult to predict costs, price inflation. especially over time, and can end • Can contribute to workforce up expensive for government. disincentives – because it needs • No guarantee housing will be to cut out at some point. affordable, available, or ‘decent’ quality. : Jay Martin, 2019 17
Trade-Offs Where Australia Landed • Uniformity in payments (vs. • Maintenance of dual system (vs. responsiveness to local contexts tenure neutral) and individual situations) • Housing free market-oriented • Co-payment for part of housing policy (vs. controlling possible costs incurred (vs. guarantee of rental inflation) affordable housing) • Reliance on ‘mom and dad’ • Adjusts with changes in cost of investors to supply and manage living (vs. cost of housing) housing (vs. incentivizing • Shallow subsidy to many (vs. deep developers / governments to subsidy to a few) construct and manage new supply) : Jay Martin, 2019 18
What’s Working in Australia • Rent assistance does make • No separate eligibility process – all housing more affordable than it income support payments are would otherwise have been. wrapped up together, and • Limited interference in the market delivered in one go. – the subsidy is hidden and • Cost of administration is relatively landlords don’t know how much it minimal. is or who gets it. • Supports people to make choices regarding rental location, amenity, etc., and to not have to move when their circumstances change. : Jay Martin, 2019 19
Challenges in the Australian System
• In unaffordable markets, does not • Extends workforce disincentives (high
necessarily deliver affordability – despite Effective Marginal Tax Rates) into high
substantial spending. incomes
• Linkage to cost of living means it has • Market reliance means government
fallen behind as a proportion of housing doesn’t have control over other levers –
costs, despite spending increases. e.g. neighbourhood diversity / amenity of
subsidized housing
• Massive cost increases in spending over
decades – making increased depth
financially difficult.
• Growing difference between cost of
private rent (after assistance) and social
housing maintains substantial incentive
to try to get into social housing
(including through reducing income).
: Jay Martin, 2019 20Calls for Reform in Australia
• Increase the rate of payment for • Cash out all forms of housing
rent assistance and link increases subsidy with government
to the cost of housing. relinquishing its role in supply.
• Consider if eligibility should be • Deliver equity between similar
tightened (i.e. fewer people eligible people with similar needs in similar
for more). housing.
• End split responsibilities between
province and federal government
for housing.
For further discussion see:
• 2015 Senate Economics References Committee, Out of reach? The Australian housing affordability challenge. Canberra: Parliament of
Australia
• 2015 Reform of the Federation Discussion Paper. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
• 2016 Housing and the social security system. Parliamentary Library Research Paper. Canberra: Department of Parliamentary Services
21– the – “HOW”
Co-designing within Complexity : Learnings from the Canada Housing Benefit Solutions Labs
Our context :
CMHC identified the design of a
Canada Housing Benefit as a
complex problem requiring an
innovative human-centred
approach through a solutions lab.
24This presentation :
1. How do we identify a complex
problem?
2. What is a solutions lab approach and
what makes it different?
3. What did our process look like?
4. What did we learn?
25SHS Consulting :
We are a team of urbanists and
strategists creating solutions to
foster community inclusion and
housing opportunities for all.
26SHS Consulting :
Development Innovation +
Policy + Research Consulting Strategic Design
27Our team :
Christine Pacini Adrienne Pacini Cheryl Hsu
• Founding partner at SHS • MDes, Strategic • MDes, Strategic
Consulting with 35 years Foresight and Innovation Foresight and Innovation
of experience
• Housing research, policy, • Strategic design, systems
• Housing policy, and strategic design change, health and food
affordable housing systems research
development, strategy
29Our travels :
Whitehorse
St. John’s
Prince Albert
Saskatoon Halifax
Regina
: SHS Consulting, 2019 30Our conversations :
4 6 11 50+ ~200
provinces + cities co-design hours of workshop
territories workshops engagement participants
: SHS Consulting, 2019 31Part 1 :
How do we identify
complex problems?
32Complex Problems
It likely feels
like you’re
dealing with
this…
33Complex Problems
According to Rittel
& Webber (1973)… 6. Wicked problems do not have an
enumerable set of potential solutions.
7. Every wicked problem is essentially
1. There is no definitive formulation of a
unique.
wicked problem.
8. Wicked problems are symptoms of other
2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule.
problems.
3. Solutions are not true-or-false, but better
9. The existence of a discrepancy
or worse.
representing a wicked problem can be
4. There is no immediate and no ultimate explained in numerous ways.
test of a solution.
10. The social planner is liable for the
5. Every solution is a “one-shot operation”; consequences of the actions they
every attempt counts significantly. generate.
Source: Rittel and Webber, 1973. 34Complex Problems
Not only is “We had a solution that
housing was searching for a
affordability a problem to solve.”
complex
problem…
Canada
Housing
Benefit
: SHS Consulting, 2019 36Part 2 :
What is a solutions lab
approach and what
makes it different?
37Solutions Labs Embedded design labs are temporal entities, within organizations that utilize design knowledge and capacity to enhance innovation processes. : Jonathon Romm, Institutt for Design, Oslo, Norway : SHS Consulting, 2019 38
Co-Design Co-design is a creative, inclusive approach to problem-solving, and developing and evaluating solutions. : SHS Consulting, 2019 39
Co-Design
Principles for co-design
Co-design is Everyone is an expert in Co-design is iterative and
participatory—people their own domain, and inclusive—from concept
involved in the problem are brings value through their creation to testing and
involved in solving the experience and through evaluation of ideas.
problem. contribution to the design
process.
Co-design takes a human- Co-design embraces We have a bias towards
centred approach, with the ambiguity by withholding “showing” instead of
person at the forefront of the urge to quickly get to “telling” by making ideas
the problem you’re trying to “the answer”. tangible.
solve by building empathy.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 40Bringing People to the Forefront
The balanced breakthrough
model describes the place
where innovative solutions
emerge.
feasibility
The sweet spot for innovation
is where we find a solution
balancing desirability,
desirability viability
feasibility, and viability.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 Source: figure adapted from Brown, 2008 and Stanford d.School 41Bringing People to the Forefront
In design, we start by
exploring what solutions
might be desirable for future
beneficiaries of the CHB.
feasibility
Start here! desirability viability
: SHS Consulting, 2019 Source: figure adapted from Brown, 2008 and Stanford d.School 42Part 3 :
What did our process
look like?
43Our challenge : How might we guide a range of stakeholders through a co-design process to envision future possibilities for a Canada Housing Benefit in their communities? : SHS Consulting, 2019 44
Methodology
Moment of Moment of
divergence divergence
Moment of Moment of
convergence convergence
: SHS Consulting, 2019 45Methodology
Discovery Co-Development Roadmap
Problem Finding Solution Development
Discovery, vision, and insight Discovery, vision, and insight
• Literature review • Workshop 2
• Stakeholder interviews
Roadmap
Problem Framing Refining and articulating
Focusing on the definition of the potential ways forward
problem we’re trying to solve • Data synthesis
: SHS Consulting, 2019 • Workshop 1 • Insight development 47Problem Finding
Discovery :
Key Questions Tools + Methods
1. Who is in greatest need of housing • Literature review
support?
• Stakeholder interviews
2. What are their pain points or
moments of success along their
journey? +
3. What barriers and enablers to
change exist within the system?
4. What competing priorities exist
among stakeholders?
: SHS Consulting, 2019 48Problem Framing
Workshop 1 :
Key Questions Tools + Methods
1. How might we empathize with the • Personas of potential benefit
journey and needs of the people recipients
who will use the Canada Housing
• Empathy maps of current
Benefit?
experiences
2. What does the program have to
• Success criteria development
address to be successful?
: SHS Consulting, 2019 49Empathy Maps : SHS Consulting, 2019 53
Success Criteria
Think about the success criteria as design
constraints to help you focus your thinking.
all of the possible
solutions to your
challenge
the solutions that fit
within your design
constraints or success
criteria
: SHS Consulting, 2019 57Pause :
Synthesis
and Sense-
Making…
… Also known as our
sticky-note-bonanza.
58Solution Development Workshop 2 : Before starting, we brought back our synthesis work and confirmed: • The articulation of the problem that the benefit will aim to solve (in the form of a “How might we…” question; and • The success criteria that we will use as a guide to design the elements of the benefit. : SHS Consulting, 2019 59
Solution Development
Workshop 2 :
Key Questions Tools + Methods
1. What might a desirable housing • Mapping the elements of the
benefit look like for recipients? benefit on a canvas
2. What new relationships, roles, and • Low-fi prototype-building
responsibilities might we need to
• Group presentations
consider in delivering this
program?
: SHS Consulting, 2019 60Benefit Canvas
The objective for idea generation is to think
creatively and move outside the limits of every day
constraints to discover innovative solutions.
BRAINSTORMING RULES
4. 6.
build focus
on other on th
1. e
ideas topic
go for 2.
quantity be 5.
visual 3. encourage
defer wild ideas
d g e m ent
ju
61Benefit Canvas
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
Begin to cluster your ideas
around themes to see new As a group
solutions emerge. 1. Work on your own first, then take turns share
your ideas with your group. As you are
sharing your ideas, start to cluster similar ideas
along themes and patterns.
2. Take a look at the themes that have emerged:
• Which ideas stand out?
• Can any of the ideas be combined into a
more comprehensive solution?
• Are there any similar innovations from
other spaces (e.g. technology) that you
can draw inspiration from?
• Write down any new solutions that
emerge from discussion. 64Low-Fi Prototyping
• It brings your idea out of
your head and into the real
world.
Why • It allows the group to react
prototype?
to, build on, and interact
with ideas in an
unconventional way.
Is it just arts
• It forces people to take a
leap of faith and articulate,
build, and execute an idea.
and crafts? • It helps keep the humans at
the centre of the design
process.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 67Part 4 :
What did we learn?
68We learned :
Our job was, in large part, to
facilitate an appetite for
working through complexity
+
with a human-centred lens.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 70We learned :
Our job was also, in large part,
to advocate for that human-
centred process, including
+
involving individuals with lived
experience and expertise.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 73We learned :
Take the time to understand
who you should involve in the
process, how you will involve
+
them, and at what point in the
process.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 74We learned :
+
: SHS Consulting, 2019 75We learned :
Get to prototyping quickly, but
with alignment and intention.
+
: SHS Consulting, 2019 77We learned :
This process is most successful
when you can create a space of
trust, transparency, presence,
+
and other conditions for
collaboration.
: SHS Consulting, 2019 78We learned : Close out the process by asking your group, “what did we achieve alignment on?” + : SHS Consulting, 2019 83
We learned : Do not underestimate the power of a good space, good food, and adequate + refreshment breaks! : SHS Consulting, 2019 84
End. That was fast! Want to discuss further? Have an idea for a Solutions Lab? Let’s continue the conversation. Adrienne Pacini Principal, Strategic Design @adriennepacini : apacini@shs-inc.ca
..
Thank you.
Questions? Comments?
Contact
Adrienne Pacini : apacini@shs-inc.ca
Esther de Vos : esther.devos@crhc.ca
Jay Martin : jaymartin@kpmg.ca
..You can also read
