Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)
Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)
2023
🌍 Context and Publisher The document titled "Holistic evaluation of housing projects and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" is part of the Evaluation Perspectives publication series by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The CEB's Office of Evaluation (EVO) prepared this series to disseminate knowledge and evidence-based learning regarding social development issues among its member countries. The focus of this first issue is housing, a critical societal issue exacerbated by factors such as urban population growth, rising housing prices, and urban transformation trends. 🏠 Importance of Housing in the 2030 Agenda The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, emphasizes the importance of housing, specifically through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. This goal aims to foster inclusive and sustainable cities and communities, with a core target of ensuring access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing for all. The CEB has prioritized financing housing for lower-income and vulnerable groups since its establishment in 1956, highlighting its commitment to addressing this pressing issue. 📊 Findings from Evaluations The evaluations conducted by the CEB concerning social housing projects, including a comprehensive evaluation cycle completed in 2019, revealed valuable insights that can enhance the social impact of future projects. Traditionally, housing evaluations have concentrated on physical structures, measuring success based on the number of dwellings constructed or their quality and cost-effectiveness. However, housing is part of a broader urban context where investments have far-reaching effects beyond mere construction. 🔍 Holistic Evaluation Approach This paper advocates for a holistic evaluation framework that transcends physical interventions, employing a three-level assessment approach. The first level evaluates the physical aspects of the dwellings. The second level examines the direct and indirect effects on beneficiaries, such as improvements in health, household finances, employment, and education. The third level considers the broader impacts on neighborhoods, economic and social structures, and the natural environment. These third-level effects may take time to manifest and can be both positive and negative, often influenced by unforeseen consequences. 🌱 Sustainability Considerations Understanding the diverse range of effects from housing investments is crucial for ensuring their sustainability from human, social, environmental, and institutional perspectives. This comprehensive evaluation approach aims to maximize the benefits of housing projects while acknowledging the complexities involved in their implementation and outcomes.
Evaluation Perspectives is a Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) publication series prepared by the CEB’s Office of Evaluation (EVO) aimed at disseminating knowledge and evidence-based learning on contemporary topics related to the CEB’s social development mandate from an evaluation perspective. The first issue of the series is dedicated to the theme of housing. Access to housing remains a critical societal issue in many CEB member countries due to a variety of factors including a growing urban population, surging housing prices and urban transformation trends which exacerbate social inequalities. The 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN) in September 2015 both address housing: SDG 11 is aimed at creating inclusive and sustainable cities and communities, and defines “access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing” as a core target. The financing of housing for lower income and vulnerable groups has been a distinguishing feature of the CEB’s mandate since the Bank’s inception in 1956. The evaluations of CEB-financed social housing projects, including a multi-year evaluation cycle completed in 2019 focusing on housing for vulnerable groups, brought to light a number of valuable lessons which, if considered in the design of future projects, may enhance the social impact of housing operations. The evaluation of housing projects has traditionally focused on built structures by measuring results and success in terms of number of dwellings built or construction quality and costeffectiveness. Housing is in fact part of a broader and complex urban setting where housing investments always have major effects that go beyond the physical investment itself, as demonstrated by the series of evaluations undertaken by EVO. One criterion used by EVO for these evaluations is “the continued and voluntary habitation by the beneficiary population in the housing provided by the project, under safe, affordable and adequate conditions”, which is fully aligned with the first target of SDG 11. This paper makes a case for a comprehensive, holistic evaluation of housing projects that goes beyond the physical intervention. This holistic evaluation is based on a three-level approach. The first-level assessment relates to the physical fabric of the dwellings. Second-level results encompass the direct and indirect effects of housing on beneficiaries, such as the impact on their health, household finances, employment or education. Beyond the effects on the beneficiaries themselves, housing projects often have third-level impacts on the surrounding neighbourhoods, the wider economic and social fabric or the natural environment. Such third-level effects do not necessarily materialise in the short or medium run and may appear in the longer term. Moreover, the effects are not always positive; some of them are predictable while others are not. Some are intentional, but these may be outweighed – positively or negatively – by unintended impacts. Understanding this complex range of effects is necessary in order for housing investments to be sustainable from a human, social, environmental and institutional point of view.