Key Definitions

Module 7.1: Introduction to How to Set Fair Housing Goals that Ensure Meaningful Actions

What goals will help a Program Participant comply with the duty to affirmatively further fair housing depends on local context and may require an array of strategies to address local, regional, and state-wide barriers to fair housing choice, patterns of segregation, and disparities in access to opportunity, as well as to ensure participation by a diverse group of community stakeholders. The key to successful implementation of these fair housing strategies is thoughtfully setting goals that will lead to meaningful actions. In order to successfully affirmatively further fair housing, actions need to be meaningful and achieve a material positive change.

Fair housing goals are designed to address and overcome fair housing barriers or issues in a community. The fair housing goals set in the Fair Housing Plan should be incorporated into subsequent planning processes, including those to create Consolidated Plans and PHA Plans, by including the strategies, actions, and any necessary funding to achieve those goals in other relevant planning documents. Fair housing goals should be measurable, tracked, and ultimately, should affirmatively further fair housing.

Because fair housing is a broad topic touching on many issues and protected characteristics, Program Participants will likely have several fair housing issues and a plethora of possible goals to pursue to achieve fair housing outcomes. As such, Program Participants may need to prioritize their goals. In deciding which goals to tackle first, Program Participants should give the most priority to goals that address fair housing issues that limit and/or deny fair housing choice or access to opportunity, perpetuates segregation, or impacts fair housing or civil rights compliance.

Goalsetting has been a key focus throughout this toolkit and is a common thread that bonds all elements of Fair Housing Planning. Program Participants have learned that a thorough, data-driven fair housing analysis in conjunction with robust Community Participation can inform goalsetting. This module will dive deeper and present information about how to set thoughtful goals that will lead to meaningful actions to increase housing choice and access to opportunity, and build more inclusive communities free from discrimination.

You’ll learn:

• How to be thoughtful about goalsetting in Fair Housing Planning, taking into consideration past actions as well as the current fair housing landscape
• What types of factors to consider when goalsetting in Fair Housing Planning and tailoring fair housing goals to community’s needs
• How to prioritize fair housing goals
• How to make fair housing goals SMART-er in order to set those goals into action
• How to identify common issues with goalsetting in Fair Housing Planning and best practices for more thoughtful goalsetting
• How and when to incorporate fair housing goals into other community fair housing-oriented planning processes

Module 7.2: Factsheet with Tips on Goalsetting and Common Issues

What is Goalsetting for Fair Housing Planning?

The process of setting fair housing goals is essential to Fair Housing Planning, as goals should lead to meaningful actions to affirmative further fair housing. Fair housing goals can lead to more inclusive communities, free from discrimination, and also allow Program Participants to meet their AFFH obligation. Fair housing goals should strive to overcome identified fair housing issues, such as patterns of segregation or disparities in access to opportunity. Goalsetting should also encourage a balanced approach to community planning and development, which means ensuring housing choice by pursuing not only place-based goals, but also people-based goals, and policy-driven goals. Goals identified in Fair Housing Planning should be incorporated into subsequent community planning processes, including the strategies, actions, and funding priorities established in the Consolidated Plan and PHA Plan.

Considering Past Goals and Actions, and Current Fair Housing Issues

In order to set current fair housing goals and priorities, Program Participants should consider past goals and actions in previous Fair Housing Plans, Consolidated Plans, or PHA Plans, in addition to the current fair housing analysis.

Program Participants should ask:

• Have past fair housing goals been achieved?
  • Have these goals led to meaningful actions and positive fair housing outcomes? How has this success been measured? How can future fair housing goals build upon this success?
  • For any unmet goals, how much progress has been made toward achieving past goals? Should any unmet goals be incorporated into the current Fair Housing Plan? Have past goals utilized a balanced approach to Fair Housing Planning?
  • Have there been any changes to the Program Participant’s capacity to achieve past fair housing goals (e.g., resources, staffing, etc.) that would inform future goalsetting?
• Has a thorough analysis of the current fair housing landscape been conducted?
  • Has this analysis identified fair housing issues for individuals with protected characteristics such as patterns of segregation, barriers in access to opportunity, or others?
  • If the fair housing analysis is lacking, what resources, local knowledge, data, or expertise are needed to help improve the fair housing analysis?
• Do current goals address the identified fair housing issues?
  • Have we thoughtfully considered the identified fair housing issues and used this analysis to set meaningful goals to overcome these fair housing issues?
  • Are these current goals achievable? Will these goals lead to meaningful action and positive fair housing outcomes? How will we measure success? When do we expect these goals to be achieved?

Best Practices for Improved Goalsetting

Ideally, fair housing goals should lead to meaningful action. Therefore, goals should always include metrics, milestones, and timeframes for completion. It may be helpful to use the SMART-er framework when goalsetting:

• Specific: Detailed and crafted to explicitly address the stated goal.
• Measurable: Contains metrics and milestones to be used for measuring the success in achieving the identified goal.
• Action-Oriented: Describes measures to be undertaken, rather than simply express an aspiration for change.
• Realistic: Acknowledges the limitations and feasibility of the identified goal.
• Time-Bound: Includes a set deadline and specific timeframe for the achievement of the desired goal.
• Evaluated: Evaluation is about reviewing and reflecting and moving beyond goal characteristics and into goal action.
• Revised/Readjusted: As Program Participants evaluate in general, Program Participants need to evaluate whether goals should be revised.

In order to foster meaningful action, goals should consist of achievable activities that are designed to address real fair housing issues. Make sure to identify resources from local, state, Federal, non-profit, or other entities that are in a position to support fair housing goals and related activities. Identify individuals, groups, and organizations to be involved in each action and define their responsibilities. In addition, it may be necessary to prioritize goals to ensure that they are achievable and to maximize positive fair housing outcomes.

Common Issues with Goalsetting

It can be difficult to understand how to set effective goals in a Fair Housing Plan. The following list presents common issues that can render goals ineffective for Fair Housing Planning (please note that this list is not exhaustive):

• Goals that have no connection with and do not address the fair housing analysis and identified fair housing issues
• Goals that do not build upon past goals and actions or simply repeat past goals and actions
• Goals that list ongoing community activities rather than proactively addressing fair housing issues
• Goals that are not time-bound or where the measures of or milestones for success are not clear
• Goals that do not consider individuals with protected characteristics or only consider one protected characteristic at the expense of others
• Goals that do not consider feedback from the community and key stakeholders
• Goals that do not specify or consider what resources, staffing, or other considerations may be necessary to meet those goals
• Only setting goals that aim to end discriminatory practices and not addressing how to increase housing choice or access to opportunity
• Setting too many goals, without prioritization or any consideration of what can realistically be achieved in the Program Participant’s planning cycle

Additional Tips for Effective Goalsetting

• Prioritize goals and take into consideration the specific needs and concerns of the community, groups representing those with protected characteristics, and relevant policymakers
• Consider goals that take a balanced approach, which means ensuring housing choice by pursuing not only place-based goals, but also people-based goals and policy-driven goals. Consider goals that increase access to opportunity, such as transportation, education, healthcare, access to food, and the environment
• Use a data-driven analysis to assess fair housing issues, priorities, current policies, and current investments to inform fair housing goalsetting
• Solicit input from the community and key stakeholders through the Community Participation process; ensure that this input is considered when goalsetting

Module 7.3: Identifying SMART-er & Complementary Goals to Address Specific Fair Housing Issues

The Program Participant may find useful the following Goal Chart, which can be filled out to ensure goals are SMART-er and organized:

Program Participants may develop a variety of fair housing goals based on their fair housing data analysis and local context and should keep in mind a balanced approach to Fair Housing Planning.

• For example, a Program Participant may develop affordable housing that promotes integration in well-resourced areas of opportunity or preserve affordable housing in other areas as part of a place-based strategy to revitalize a racially or ethnically concentrated area of poverty.
• Program Participants may also remove barriers to the development of affordable housing in areas with low poverty and proficient schools by, for example, seeking the amendment of local zoning and land use laws or allocating funding for affordable housing through the HOME Program and/or through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).
• Alternatively, Program Participants may overcome disparities in access to opportunity by revitalizing areas with existing affordable housing to improve services, schools, and other community assets, sidewalks, and other infrastructure.

Here are some examples of how the Goal Chart may be used, which shows metrics in WHAT should be achieved, milestones for the actions or steps along the way, and WHEN are the timeframes for completion.

Program Participants are responsible for taking meaningful actions directly related to each of the fair housing goals. For example, a goal to reduce segregation requires meaningful actions that are designed and can be reasonably expected to achieve a material positive change in reducing segregation. For instance, where segregation in a development or geographic area is determined to be a fair housing issue, the Fair Housing Plan might include one or more goals to reduce the segregation. The Program Participant should think strategically about realistic goals that will achieve strong fair housing outcomes. Because the fair housing goals established will shape future obligations, it is important to ensure the goals are designed to affirmatively further fair housing.

Resources

• HUD AFFH Rule Guidebook - 2015
• Fair Housing Planning Guide
• Welcome! | furthering fair housing (mit.edu)
• Assessments of Fair Housing by State | furthering fair housing (mit.edu)

Program Participants may leverage and align HUD funding with other Federal, state, or local resources to affirmatively further fair housing. Here are some Federal grant opportunities that could be used to implement fair housing goals: