The leadership program for affordable housing is a multi-sectorial program that was created in the context of the sharp increase in housing costs incurred by Israeli households and the belief that a concerted multi-sectorial effort is required to address the challenge. The program was implemented from April to October 2013 in collaboration between the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the JDC Institute for Leadership and Governance. The participants were some 30 senior-level professionals representing ministries and government agencies, local government, civil society organizations, and the business sector.
The participants learned about affordable housing and work done in the other sectors, and drafted recommended guidelines for an affordable housing law for the Ministry of Construction and Housing. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute was commissioned to evaluate the program.
The study examined implementation of the program and its outcomes at two levels: The program’s contribution to each participant’s abilities and efforts to promote affordable housing; and the participants’ perception of the extent to which the formulated guidelines are likely to help promote affordable housing.
Four data-collection methods were used: a self-report questionnaire distributed to the participants at the end of the program; semi-structured in-depth interviews with a sample of participants and staff members at the end of the program; observations of the meetings; and analysis of program documents.
The main findings included:
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The participants greatly benefited in most of the areas promoted in the program: deeper and broader knowledge and views on the issue; development of a multi-sectorial perspective; and the creation of professional contacts on which to base further cooperation.
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The program contributed to the development of a strong base for future cooperation to promote affordable housing. In the short time that it was implemented, the program was less successful in converting this base into practical ideas and actual cooperation. The benefits in this area need to be examined over a longer period.
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There were considerable differences among the sectors in their assessment of the expected contribution of the guidelines that were drafted for promoting affordable housing: most of the participants from the civil society and local government expected a considerable contribution, while the representatives of the government and business sectors were less optimistic.
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The participants expressed high satisfaction with the management and implementation of the program, including the joint work on the guidelines for the law.
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Many participants emphasized that it was important to continue the program in order to promote the implementation of the guidelines and further multi-sectorial cooperation on affordable housing in Israel.
The study findings have been presented to a senior forum at the Ministry of Construction and Housing headed by the director general. They are also serving as input for decisions on other inter-sectorial processes with respect to housing and other areas.
Citing suggestion: Almog, Y., & Gorbatsevich, J. (2014). Leadership Program for Affordable Housing. RR-668-14. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. (Hebrew)