Solutions Labs: Solving complex housing problems together

If there’s one thing the pandemic has highlighted, it’s the importance of having a place to call home. As complex problems continue to persist in the housing industry innovative solutions are needed now more than ever to ensure Canadians are able to have a home that meets their needs.

The Solutions Labs  program is a $3 million program under the National Housing Strategy that provides housing stakeholders with funding ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 to take innovative and unconventional approaches to develop, incubate and scale potential solutions under the strategy’s key priority areas.

Finding solutions to complex housing problems

The challenges the program tackles are not black and white — they are layered in complexity, often messy and at times daunting. Part of the program's role is to deepen stakeholder understanding of the specific challenge by exposing them to the perspectives of other stakeholders.

“Putting stakeholders and experts together allows them to draw on each other’s strengths, creativity and wisdom. This encourages them to explore new ways of making progress on the problem they want to solve,” said Andrew Cowan, Senior Specialist, Innovation and Research at CMHC.

No one group has the answer, but by enabling groups to work together, the Lab can develop collective, relevant and responsive solutions. The successful solutions in the end, will support strengthening the affordable housing sector across Canada.

Solutions that meet the needs of Canadians

The Solutions Labs call for applications launches on October 25, 2021. To fill gaps that have been under represented in previous years, this year, we will prioritise proposals that focus on these populations:

• racialized groups
• women and children fleeing domestic violence
• members of the LGBTQ2+ community
• veterans
• people dealing with mental health or addiction issues

Looking to get inspired?  

Explore previous successful Solutions Labs that have addressed the housing needs of urban Indigenous youth and young families in Surrey, B.C., created collaborative solutions for affordable seniors housing in urban and rural communities and many more.

The scale of the housing challenges that exist today can’t be solved alone. To make the greatest impact, mobilizing the industry to find solutions together will help achieve the goal of Canadians having a home that meets their needs. Discover how your solution could help solve the challenges of housing today.