IMPORTANT
The NHS Solution Labs is now closed until further notice. Please reach out to innovation-research@cmhc-schl.gc.ca for questions or assistance.

This lab aims to address the significant housing challenges faced by people with developmental disabilities who often have low incomes and rely on government assistance. Despite past efforts, there has been little progress in increasing the supply of deeply affordable, inclusive housing due to a lack of coordinated, system-wide approaches. This lab will bring together policymakers, housing developers, financial institutions, philanthropic organizations and people with lived experience to co-develop a replicable framework. At its core will be an innovative partnership model and adaptable funding strategy designed to fast-track the creation of deeply affordable inclusive housing. By building strong cross-sector collaborations and designing scalable solutions, the project will not only deliver inclusive housing for people with disabilities but also contribute to a broader increase in affordable housing supply. The goal is to significantly accelerate development over the next 1 to 3 years and provide a model that can be applied in communities across Canada.

This lab helps faith communities transform underused lands into affordable housing by using geospatial mapping and AI-driven models to identify development-ready sites. It provides design concepts, 3D models and best practices to guide land conversion by analyzing zoning, service access and housing needs. The project offers a replicable solution, enabling faith-based groups to create affordable housing while sustaining their social missions.

This lab explores new ways to meet the housing needs of racialized women in the Waterloo region, especially those moving on from crisis situations. As opposed to traditional development, this lab explores a community-led, asset-based approach to create safe, culturally appropriate housing with wrap-around supports. The lab will use a scattered-site model, partnering with local homeowners to add units and help women integrate into welcoming neighbourhoods. Mid-term housing options with tailored, culturally sensitive services will help bridge the gap between shelters and permanent housing, reducing repeat crises and promoting long-term stability. The lab also supports local organizations not usually involved in housing by giving them tools and partnerships to help expand community-based solutions. Recognizing the strong link between housing and health, it brings together different sectors to support overall well-being. This innovative, community-driven model reflects cultural identities, fosters belonging and offers a sustainable way to close housing and service gaps for racialized women.

This lab focuses on creating abstinence-based recovery homes that provide transitional housing for individuals recovering from addiction and homelessness. The goal is to develop a model for recovery housing that can be replicated in different communities. By using social innovation strategies and collaborating with a range of partners, the lab will identify key opportunities for securing resources, funding and improving operations. It aims to redefine how recovery housing addresses both homelessness and addiction, making these solutions more sustainable and scalable for long-term impact. The proposed “recovery campus” model will include up to 6 new homes, housing 8 to 10 residents each, resulting in 60 transitional housing beds.

This lab takes a community-focused, step-by-step approach to tackling barriers in affordable housing. It will introduce innovative funding options including a zero-interest bridge financing solution, providing early-stage support to help with pre-construction hurdles such as zoning and permits, making it easier and less risky for housing providers to get started. The project also brings together a task force, advisory committee and community of practice to guide decisions, share knowledge and build skills across sectors. By focusing on local needs and cross-sector collaboration, this lab aims to create affordable housing solutions that are inclusive, sustainable, and easy to adapt in different communities. Three pilot projects will receive early funding through this lab to help them complete key steps before construction, like permits and approvals. This support will prepare them to apply for larger funding from CMHC and other sources.

This lab aims to unlock large-scale capital for affordable housing in Canada by exploring the use of a Community Interest Company (CIC) model. A CIC can balance affordable housing needs with investor interests, attracting private investment and reducing costs. The project will develop a strategic plan and CIC prototypes to scale housing projects, build sector capacity and drive sustainable growth.

This lab will explore how credit unions can create new financial tools to help community land trusts grow. Community land trusts often struggle to get enough funding to buy and hold land for affordable housing. The lab will bring together credit unions, community land trusts and financial experts to design and test solutions like simplified community bonds, equity-like loans, and blended finance options. These tools aim to close the funding gap that community land trusts face, especially for financing that doesn’t require regular repayments or can sit behind a mortgage. By working together, the partners will ensure the tools are practical, scalable and easy for credit unions to implement. The most promising ideas will be tested in real-world situations and shared widely with other housing organizations. The goal is to make it easier for community land trusts to acquire property and create more permanent affordable housing.

This lab aims to connect key players — investors, capital intermediaries and community housing providers — to unlock new funding for affordable housing. It will engage a wide national network of institutional investors, including foundations, high-net-worth individuals, faith-based groups, and portfolio managers, many of whom want to support housing but lack a clear pathway. A major barrier to building and preserving community housing is access to capital. This lab sees specialized intermediaries as a missing link — organizations that pool investment products and direct funds toward housing projects. It explores how to grow and strengthen these intermediaries, making them ready to raise and deploy capital effectively. The lab also looks at how to use technology to expand access to impact investment projects and connect funders with housing providers. By building these bridges, the lab aims to create a more coordinated, scalable approach to financing community housing across Canada.

This lab accelerates affordable housing delivery by streamlining site readiness and using factory-built construction. It focuses on creating a prototype for preparing public land for modular housing and developing a roadmap to scale this approach. By fostering collaboration among municipal departments, community housing agencies, builders and landowners, this lab offers a replicable model to deliver high-quality affordable housing faster and more efficiently.

Community-led housing projects — like co-ops, land trusts, co-housing and small non-profits — are built by local people responding to local needs. These efforts already contribute to the housing supply on a small scale, but in places like the UK and EU, community-led housing plays a much bigger role. What’s missing in Canada is a reliable, tailored financing system. Right now, community-led housing groups often depend on expensive loans or unpredictable grants and donations, which limits their ability to grow and innovate. This lab will develop a roadmap for creating a dedicated community-led housing financing stream in Canada. It will bring together people with experience in housing development and finance, gather data on the real risks and opportunities and explore how to build a supportive financial ecosystem. The goal is to unlock the potential of community-led housing to build more housing for those in need and help address Canada’s housing crisis in a more sustainable, community-driven way.

This lab will support First Nations organizations and partners in creating a housing approach grounded in First Nations ways of knowing. It will lead to the development of a national playbook that guides how housing policy, programs and processes are designed and delivered for First Nations communities. The playbook offers practical guidance for governments, private sectors partners, non-profits and First Nations themselves, helping them align their efforts with First Nations perspectives and priorities. It also includes an implementation blueprint showing how to apply the approach within existing funding programs or as a new standalone model. While there are housing programs and policies for First Nations in Canada today, this framework will offer a culturally grounded and flexible foundation that can enhance current systems and shape future ones.

This lab aims to scale community housing by helping providers pool their land and resources into a shared portfolio, enabling growth and more affordable housing. It will develop practical solutions and pilot a prototype in Ottawa with local partners through a co-design process. The goal is to create an implementable and replicable model that preserves existing housing and supports new development of more affordable housing.

This lab aims to increase funding for non-market housing providers by reducing the risks of community investment. The lab will use a 2-part approach. The first part will explore the concerns of individual, group and institutional investors in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Halifax to understand cultural, policy and behavioural challenges. By addressing these barriers, the lab can unlock funding for community housing and strengthen local economies across Canada.

This lab aims to improve how newcomers settle in rural Newfoundland and Labrador by creating a new model of affordable housing. It will test specifically designed rental units that include on-site services like language classes, employment support and health care. By combining housing with key services, the lab helps newcomers feel supported and connected, making it easier to adjust to life in their new community. It also tackles common rural challenges like isolation, high housing costs and lack of nearby services. Virtual reality will be used to design and test the housing and service spaces, allowing newcomers and other stakeholders to give feedback before anything is built. The result will be a practical, scalable housing model that can be used in other rural areas to support newcomer success.

This lab sims to create a new path to affordable housing by combining community action, behavioral insights and technology. It unlocks untapped local resources through 3 key innovations:

• a community investment model that empowers residents to invest using vehicles like Community Housing Bond’s and Social Purpose REITs, and

a realtor network that turns 1,500 real estate offices into advocates for housing solutions like secondary suites and multiplexes; Together, these tools form a powerful, self-sustaining system to boost affordable housing, support BC Housing’s $80K secondary suite initiative, and significantly increase the rate of adoption of accessory dwelling units.

Building on the success of local bonds, this lab aims to develop a ready-to-implement national community bond to fund affordable housing across Canada. It will support housing providers of all sizes in developing projects tailored to local needs by providing early-stage capital. This initiative can unlock new funding, stimulate development and create a robust pipeline of affordable housing nationwide.

This lab seeks to create a culturally competent housing strategy that combines traditional Chinatown models with modern community land trust approaches to preserve aging affordable housing. By developing and testing a tailored acquisition and governance model in Toronto’s Chinatown, it aims to preserve existing affordable housing while ensuring it remains community-led and culturally rooted. This scalable approach could protect and expand culturally significant affordable housing, setting a precedent for similar communities across Canada.

This lab aims to create effective, affordable housing solutions for justice-involved youth with complex needs by identifying the core requirements for success, and then testing and scaling what works. Rather than relying on fragmented programs, it brings together youth, housing providers, service organizations and communities to co-design housing that is viable, scalable and sustainable. During the lab, at least 10 new units with wrap-around supports will be delivered in Belleville within a single building. In Ottawa, over 100 units will be created by scaling the successful Operation Come Home intermediary model, which is already operating with 30 units. The lab addresses key system gaps — such as youth being released without housing due to abrupt court discharges — and focuses on where systems interact or break down. By prototyping diverse solutions, the lab builds a practical roadmap for housing justice-involved youth, even in the absence of clear cross-sector accountability.

This lab is a national initiative to improve the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors by creating a new, scalable model that connects affordable housing, healthcare and social supports. It will contribute significantly to both the creation and improvement of housing units tailored to meet the needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors. It tackles issues like social isolation, housing insecurity and lack of inclusive care by bringing together diverse partners with deep experience across sectors. What makes this effort unique is its collaborative, human-centred approach, designed with and for seniors, and its focus on real, actionable solutions. By combining research, lived experience and practical tools, the lab not only supports 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors but also builds on a model that can be adapted for other communities across Canada.

This lab aims to help community housing providers overcome financial and structural barriers to build more affordable housing. By collaborating with private developers, legal experts and financial institutions, it will explore partnership models to make mixed-income housing development more feasible. Partner teams in Halifax, Cape Breton and Ottawa will test adaptable frameworks and tools to help community housing providers scale efforts, improve sustainability and expand affordable housing nationwide.

This lab introduces a model for community housing providers to pool assets regionally, enabling easier financing and development of large-scale affordable housing while maintaining independence. Using 3 diverse models in operation the lab will co-develop solution porotype that is bilingual, multicultural and scalable, leading to more affordable housing . By bundling resources, organizations can boost financial capacity, secure government sites and create mixed-income housing for lasting social impact.

This lab seeks to reform restrictive zoning laws that hinder community and faith-based organizations from developing affordable housing on their land. It will create flexible zoning solutions to reduce barriers and speed up approvals by collaborating with planners, policymakers and stakeholders. With engagement from 10 municipalities, the project aims to unlock underused community lands for affordable housing, addressing the crisis while preserving their community purpose.

This lab explores how community-serving organizations can be involved in designing housing models that better support diverse communities. It goes beyond just building homes by integrating services like health and social care. The lab focuses on understanding the experiences of newcomers to design a more complete community-oriented housing model that is culturally responsive and enhances tenant well-being. It encourages collaboration between municipal governments, housing developers and community organizations to break down barriers and align resources. By involving community expertise, housing solutions are tailored to the real needs of diverse populations. The lab will center newcomer voices and use insights from community organizations to ensure solutions will reflect cultural, social and economic needs. Based in Edmonton, it aims to develop scalable models and actionable insights that can be applied across Canada, tackling issues of affordability, diversity and inclusion in housing.

This lab aims to expand affordable, community-oriented housing units by designing prototypes for co-living options in Canada. Co-living, where residents share space, costs and community, has proven successful in Europe by increasing density, reducing isolation and offering more flexible, affordable housing. In Canada, however, co-living faces barriers like unclear demand, financing challenges and a lack of support systems. This lab brings together developers, housing providers and community members to identify the requirements needed to make co-living viable and scalable. It supports pilot projects and integrates co-living into future developments. As more people, including older adults, seek alternatives to living alone or in institutional care, co-living offers a middle ground: affordable, connected living in their communities. By coordinating across sectors and focusing on practical solutions, this lab aims to unlock a co-living market in Canada that meets the needs of a changing and growing renter population. The lab explores new construction of co-living units as well as retrofits of larger 3-bedroom units.

This lab aims to help community housing providers acquire high-quality land from private developers to build affordable homes. By creating win-win partnerships, financial models and clear agreements, it facilitates land transfers for housing near essential services. This approach strengthens housing providers, unlocks valuable land and increases the supply of affordable housing across Canada.

This lab aims to develop a housing model that addresses the growth challenges of community land trusts and the shortage of supportive housing for people with disabilities. By designing a prototype solution, it will explore how families can contribute properties to the community land trusts under terms that ensure permanent supportive housing. With legal, financial and operational frameworks, this model has the potential to scale across Canada, providing long-term housing solutions for those in need.