Council of Europe Development Bank
Council of Europe Development Bank
2023
🏠 Context and Purpose The document titled "Holistic evaluation of housing projects and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" is a publication from the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). Released on June 30, 2023, it is part of the Evaluation Perspectives series prepared by the CEB’s Office of Evaluation (EVO). The series aims to disseminate knowledge and evidence-based learning on topics pertinent to the CEB’s social development mandate, specifically focusing on the pressing issue of housing. 📊 The Importance of Housing Access to housing is increasingly recognized as a critical societal issue across many CEB member countries. Factors such as a growing urban population, rising housing prices, and urban transformation trends contribute to social inequalities. The 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in September 2015 directly address housing-related goals. Specifically, SDG 11 promotes the creation of inclusive and sustainable cities and communities, emphasizing the necessity of “access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing.” 🔍 The CEB's Mandate Since its inception in 1956, the CEB has prioritized financing housing for lower-income and vulnerable groups. Evaluations of CEB-financed social housing projects, including a multi-year evaluation cycle completed in 2019, have highlighted valuable lessons that can enhance the social impact of future housing operations. 🧩 A Holistic Evaluation Approach Traditionally, housing project evaluations focused on physical structures, measuring success through the number of dwellings built or the quality and cost of construction. However, this publication argues for a comprehensive evaluation that extends beyond the physical aspects of housing. A three-level approach is proposed: 1. First-Level Assessment: Examines the physical condition of the dwellings. 2. Second-Level Results: Considers direct and indirect effects on beneficiaries, such as impacts on health, finances, employment, and education. 3. Third-Level Impacts: Evaluates broader effects on neighborhoods, economic and social fabrics, and the environment, which may not become apparent in the short or medium term. 🌍 Understanding Complex Effects Recognizing the range of impacts—both positive and negative—is crucial for ensuring that housing investments are sustainable from human, social, environmental, and institutional perspectives. The document emphasizes the need for a holistic understanding to improve the effectiveness of housing projects and their ability to address the needs of communities.
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.