We are proud to present the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-2018. The goals outlined in this document are designed to achieve a central goal: expanding opportunity for all Americans.

The new plan adds additional measures for assessing our progress towards an even broader set of agency objectives—encompassing the work HUD contributes to every day. Specifically, it largely continues and builds on the five strategic goals of the last plan, in the form of four policy-oriented strategic goals and a set of eight specific management objectives. These are:

• Strategic Goal 1: Strengthen the Nation’s Housing Market to Bolster the Economy and Protect Consumers
• Strategic Goal 2: Meet the Need for Quality Affordable Rental Homes
• Strategic Goal 3: Use Housing as a Platform to Improve Quality of Life
• Strategic Goal 4: Build Strong, Resilient, and Inclusive Communities
• An additional 8 management objectives establishing strategies and metrics for acquisitions, departmental clearance, equal employment opportunity, financial management, grants management, human capital, information management, and organizational structure. 

This work has arguably never been more important. In 2009, the Great Recession had devastated communities across the country. Millions of Americans had their lives turned upside down, losing jobs, savings and homes. Optimism for the future had dimmed and dreams had been deferred.

Over the past five years, HUD has worked tirelessly to address these challenges by building ladders of opportunity that give families a fair chance to lift themselves up, rebuild after the crisis and better their lives. HUD has been committed to doing its part, whether it’s assisting homeowners in fighting off foreclosure, enhancing access to affordable housing or revitalizing distressed communities. In total, these and other measures have worked, helping to turn around the housing market and fuel the overall U.S. economic recovery.

To build on this progress, HUD’s FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan lays out priorities and goals to accelerate the gains already made and ensure a crisis of this magnitude never occurs again. The first component is strengthening the nation’s housing market to spur economic growth and protect consumers. We will continue to bolster the Federal Housing Administration’s mission to ensure that qualified homebuyers have access to credit, and push for a housing finance system that maintains the careful balance between responsibility and opportunity.

Another priority is meeting the great need for quality affordable rental housing. According to the latest HUD “Worst Case Housing Needs” study, nearly 8.5 million families with very low incomes pay more than half their monthly income for rent, lived in substandard housing, or both. The demand for action is growing, which is why we’ll continue to look for innovative ways, working with partners, to both preserve and produce affordable rental housing for families. In addition, we will continue to help the most vulnerable communities, including those experiencing homelessness and trapped in poverty. Stable housing is an important tool in helping households achieve other life outcomes and we are working every day to give families access to these opportunities.

Finally, through efforts like Choice Neighborhoods and Promise Zones, working with partners at the federal and local levels, we strive to build strong and inclusive communities that connect housing with other important community assets: good jobs, quality schools and safe streets. With this comprehensive approach, we will turn neighborhoods with problems into neighborhoods with promise, giving more families a chance to thrive and succeed.

In total, HUD’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan represents an opportunity agenda. By giving more families a fair shot at fulfilling their promise, we strengthen communities and our nation as a whole. HUD looks forward to working with a wide variety of partners to achieve the goals outlined in this document. Working together, we can help secure opportunities for all Americans.