HUDRD - HBCU Research Center of Excellence

Research on topics highlighted in the Learning Agenda will enable the establishment of up to three additional Historically Black College and Universities Center(s) of Excellence  (COE) or additional funding to a COE that received partial funding under the previous COE NOFO.  The research projects are intended to initiate an ongoing series of reports focused on housing, community, and economic development in underserved communities that can serve as national, local, or regional benchmarks and assist in support of COE(s) that expand the housing and community development research efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).  For benchmark comparisons, applicants are encouraged to consider the work of other university based housing research centers such as Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida, and the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California Berkeley, that sometimes focus on national issues, but largely focus on local or regional housing and community development issues. The research projects, proposed by the awardee, will focus on topics of interest to the Department about underserved communities from the unique perspective of institutions that are often located in, and serve the residents of underserved communities. The COE should take a multidisciplinary approach to housing and community development research, and through innovative methods study the social and economic factors that create healthy communities. Ultimately, the purpose of the COE should be to influence policy at the local, state, and national levels, providing evidence-based innovative approaches to community development based on research it undertakes.  In addition to identifying research projects, the awardee will be required to develop and submit a detailed plan for the development and long-term sustainment (beyond 5 years) of a Center of Excellence to carry on the work of the initial reports and to serve as a focus of thought leadership and alternative analysis of the issues related to underserved communities. The COE will serve as a platform for the formulation, analysis and dissemination of solutions utilizing alternatives to current academic theory and policy prescriptions to address problems confronting underserved communities. The COE will perform academic research, hold expert convenings, and conduct related activities designed to advance understanding of economic and social factors that affect communities, including housing, economic and workforce development, health and health care, education, civic engagement, public safety, and other dimensions of community health. Through academic programs, research projects and thought leadership, the COE will help leaders across all levels of government as well as the business and civic sectors address critical issues that impact the social and economic well-being of the families and individuals who reside in underserved urban and rural communities. The challenges faced by underserved urban and rural communities are long-standing and complex and have defied conventional approaches for decades. HUD intends to fund research projects to initiate a series of benchmark reports that will apply new and context-specific approaches and methods to studying those challenges to develop innovative, evidence-based policy recommendations. HUD seeks applicants with demonstrated ability to conduct complex research and devise actionable policy recommendations. At the same time, HUD encourages applicants to propose building on their demonstrated experience to do something new and innovative. HUD encourages the submission of proposals that draw on novel research approaches, including big data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence; and novel partnerships such as academic consortia, and collaboration with private entities or other federal agencies. Competitive applications will include action and sustainability plans, creative partnerships and collaboration models, multidisciplinary and holistic methodologies, and new or enhanced theory of change models designed to achieve transformative outcomes. The funds made available under this NOFO will make awards for recipients to undertake multiple research projects. This will assist in the COE(s) ability to use this work to develop other streams of revenue and grant funding, including from private enterprise and private philanthropic organizations, to support on-going and sustainable operations and activities. HUD is particularly interested in research that may include, as noted in the Presidential Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, a better understanding of the disparities in our laws and public policies, and in our public and private institutions, that may be denying equal housing and community building opportunity to individuals and communities and policy prescriptions that might address these disparities, the results of which would widely be available for application in the field. The subjects addressed by the applicant should be framed by issues of barriers to improving the quality of life and creating paths to increased economic success in underserved communities while improving access to sustainability in rental and owner housing and other areas of investigation, particularly for minority residents. The research should take the view of both short- and long-term strategies. Research must be framed toward a long-term goal (e.g., improving minority homeownership). It may also include, but not limited to topics like: The production and availability of quality affordable housing; Impact studies, policy analysis and alternatives for housing and community and economic development initiatives focused on people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality; and Topics listed in the Learning Agenda mentioned earlier: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/HUD-Learning-Agenda.pdf).