Habitat for Humanity Guyana Building more than houses Building Impact in the Housing Sector

What started as a small housing market study turned into an organization-wide reflection of how to impact the housing sector.

THE ISSUE
Housing crisis in Guyana
Housing deficit of 19,400 (as of 2008) 52,000 homes are over 30 years old, not properly maintained Fast, unplanned urbanization Ordinary housing consumers limited access to funds to meet housing needs

Incentives only for few actors (e.g. tax relief for banks)
Mismanagement of housing cooperatives and credit unions Dual legal framework for property rights Government and donor resources only benefit few Local housing markets distortion by govnt subsidies and donor support Private sector investment discouraged by housing markets distortion

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Guyana government new Housing Policy (2012)
Housing production is a highly productive economic activity, capable of generating direct employment, income multipliers and employment linkages at least equivalent to those of other conventional productive sectors such as agriculture, industry and services.

HfH is launching new 4-year strategy in 2014

STARTING POINTS
Not-for-profit or non-profit does not mean for loss Shift in identity from charitable to development organization Market mapping analysis (who is doing what in my sector, who/what are influencing the sector, etc?

Donor and coporate funding have become more competitive and scarce
Donors, Govts. and corporations are becoming more selective with whom they partners with HfH is launching new 4-year strategy in 2014

Choices, opportunities and seizing the moment

PARTNERSHIPS
working together to maximize use of limited resources to make a greater impact in pursuit of a desired outcome
Take a moment to reflect on the following feelings expressed b corporate and government partners: If we want to achieve our goals, we cant do it alone. NGOs are influencing our policy and allowing us to anticipate future trends and issues. We would like to partner but through more than the usual fundraising; we would like to use our expertise and skills to contribute to partnerships. Our least successful partnerships? Those where we donated money and got reports back. Maybe the project was successful, but as a partnership it wasnt a partnership.

More reflection thoughts:

In an ideal world, partnership is when you bring your expertise and combine it with the expertise of non-profit partners to build programmes to create social value; this for us is the ultimate objective of the partnership. We dont just donate money; we just want to share our knowledge. It has to be related to our core business. We provide funds, equipment and employees. Its an integrated approach. Must be more than about money, i.e. exchanging knowledge and experience (two-ways). For example, we provide technical expertise

When planning a potential partnership we should think:

Win-Win Think outside the box What are my valuable assets/what do I bring to the table What impact are we seeking to achieve Do I have capacity required to be a good partner What do I really want out of this partnership What possible forms can it take: social marketing, value chain integration, formal, informal, project, long-term program, etc.

Main takeaways 1. Partnerships are inevitable and required in a more competitive, inter-dependent and globalized world 2. Donations are not partnerships
3. We partner all the time but are not aware in most cases (beneficiaries, board, etc.)

Building more than houses Building Impact in the Housing Sector