Housing and Homelessness Innovation & Voice Programme

By amplifying the voices of those with lived experience, embedding participation, promoting collaboration and utilising a creative problem solving process, we aim to address the root causes of the challenge and contribute to reducing and preventing homelessness in Northern Ireland.

Aligned to the Foundation’s strategic priority areas of Building Sustainable Communities and Community Voice, The Housing and Homelessness Innovation and Voice programme aims to support the development, testing and delivery of new ideas and collaborations addressing the root causes of housing issues and homelessness, by working with a range of organisations and giving voice to individuals with lived experience across Northern Ireland.

Expected outcomes:

New collaborations emerge amongst organisations working on housing issues and homelessness
New solutions to specific challenges within housing and homelessness are developed and tested, placing the insights and voices of people with lived experience at the centre
New opportunities to influence decision making and public services relating to housing and homelessness
Enhanced knowledge and skills in creative problem solving for participating individuals and organisations

The Housing and Homelessness Innovation & Voice Programme

The Housing and Homelessness programme is an innovative, participative initiative which not only funds individual projects but which supports the creation of a movement working on the root causes of homelessness.

The purpose is to provide an opportunity for organisations working on housing and homelessness to collaborate in developing, and delivering, solutions to shared challenges. The outputs of the process could comprise either new services to be directly delivered by the sector, or campaigns seeking policy change at statutory level, or both.

Using creative problem solving methods combined with seed funding, VCSE organisations will collaborate, design and test new solutions to specific social challenges.

Funding for the Housing and Homelessness Innovation and Voice programme has been received from Oak Foundation.

Participation and voice

At the heart of the programme is the involvement of people impacted by housing and homelessness issues.

The entire programme will adopt a ‘participatory grant-making’ approach, meaning that individuals affected by housing issues and homelessness will participate throughout, including identifying the challenges around which projects will be developed, as well as making the final decisions on which projects receive grant-funding.

How the programme works

Housing & Homelessness Programme 2021/22 is now open!

13 Priority Challenges have been identified by individuals with lived experience of the issue
Call for organisations and individuals with lived experience to apply for a place on the programme

Click here to find out more

Interested in Housing and Homelessness Issues?

Click below for links and resources relating to Housing and Homelessness in Northern Ireland

Take our Survey!

Have you experience of Housing and/or homelessness issues? CFNI are asking you to tell us what you feel are the root causes of Housing and Homelessness in Northern Ireland. Your input will inform our Innovation and Voice programme as as to influence and inform future service design and policy reform.

Oak Foundation

Oak Foundation address issues of global, social and environmental concern. Visit the Oak Foundation to find out about their mission, values and the programmes they deliver across the world

Oak Foundation Website