Increasingly, the federal government invests in cost-effective and outcome-oriented programs. To date, homelessness assistance programs have been able to make the case that the federal funding they receive is effectively and efficiently serving the most vulnerable people. Moving forward, the field will have to continue to prove that interventions are ending homelessness for target populations in a cost effective way. To do so, rigorous evaluation of program models and outcomes is required.
The purpose of the Research Agenda to End Homelessness is to better inform funders, both private and public, about research questions that will help make policy and practice more effective. The Agenda was developed under the guidance of the Alliance’s Research Council, a group of leading academic and policy researchers. The Agenda is not an exhaustive list of research questions, but rather a list of prioritized questions: those that are the most pressing given the evolving nature of homelessness as a social issue and those that will answer specific policy or practice concerns.