Affordable Housing Moonshot Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA

The AmeriCorps VISTA member will be an essential member of our team dedicated to bringing people together to create great places to live. The VISTA will spearhead efforts to achieve the goal of the project- to construct Idaho’s comprehensive, statewide strategic plan for housing affordability and strengthen our data-informed decision making strategies. The member will serve as a community convener, identifying and building momentum within high-needs communities throughout the state and conducting research,
community engagement, surveys, and other proven methods. The VISTA will lead on
compiling and presenting relevant findings and suggestions to expand organizational
capacity, empower high-needs communities with the tools needed to promote affordability,
and publish and promote the results of project efforts in a comprehensive, comprehensible
report.

Lead organizational efforts to identify and consolidate existing data sets, partners, and more into initial guiding documents.

1. Lead research, community engagement, data collection, presentation, and other
duties related to building out a statewide strategic plan for housing affordability in
Idaho
a. Conduct a broad assessment of existing research and data sources, conduct
original research through surveys, focus groups, and other related strategies,
and collate information into appropriate demographic cross-sections
b. Identify best, promising, and emerging strategies to address needs and
opportunities for communities large and small
c. Evaluate the potential of several affordable housing strategies for high-needs
communities
d. Identify and pursue opportunities to expand

2. Convene community partners to assess affordability needs throughout Idaho and
identify high-needs communities for further engagement efforts
a. Conduct meetings with community partners, housing organizations, and others
to identify needs and opportunities
b. Design and implement surveys and other research instruments based on input

3. Review existing research on Idaho needs.
a. Analyze data gathered from various sources to compile preliminary findings
into a white paper
b. Produce proposals for community engagement, collaborative effort, and more
for relevant planning partners

Engage with target communities throughout the state to build out further goals, test
assumptions, and identify right-size affordable housing strategies.

1. Develop & begin implementation of community engagement plan
a. Design & conduct surveys, focus groups, outreach events, and other means as
appropriate with selected and participating high-needs communities
b. Maintain data organization throughout community engagement
2. Consolidate findings into appropriate formats and planning for webpage or similar
for information distribution.
a. Identify target audiences for produced materials and draft copy for publication
and promotion
b. Create materials for awareness campaign, including talking points, social
media content, presentations, print materials, and more
3. Begin testing assumptions and ‘right-size’ affordable housing strategies for
communities large and small.
a. Identify & engage with target communities to provide data and information
about strategic opportunities.
b. Identify opportunities for funding and other support to pursue
recommendations.
c. Further evaluate the potential of several affordable housing strategies for
selected and participating high-needs communities
4. Conduct conversations with other intermediaries, including related organizations
across the country carrying out housing affordability strategic planning
a. Identify best practices/lessons learned from other groups
b. Develop survey or conduct interviews with existing programs to determine
what tools/resources are helpful, what is established, and what needs to be
established.
c. Collect tools, templates, policies and procedures from existing efforts. Review
programs and policies from similar organizations to determine what existing
tools can be utilized and what will need to be established. Provide
recommendations to Idaho Smart Growth staff.

Create strategic planning documents for target communities.
Member Activities:
1. Compile specific recommendations for target communities into individual reports
a. Provide current and projected trends in demographics, economic profile,
and other relevant details
b. Outline identified ‘right-size’ housing affordability strategies for each
community, including recommendations for near- and long-term success
c. Identify opportunities for funding, partnerships, and/or other means to
pursue affordable housing recommendations
d. Present findings to relevant stakeholders as requested, including the
creation of presentation materials, media, and other means of sharing
findings

Consolidate regional findings and reports into a single, comprehensive, and comprehensible
statewide report.
Member Activities:
1. Merge existing findings and recommendations into a consistent format for
publication
a. Identify methodologies to promote the created strategic plan to different
audiences
2. Identify opportunities to improve report in subsequent years and strategies to
promote findings and recommendations.
3. Identify key personnel, partners, and strategies to continue project work in
subsequent years.