The Expert Community on Housing College of Reviewers

The Expert Community on Housing (ECOH) is a virtual community where housing-related experts with diverse experiences can collaborate. The community enables members to connect and network with other industry experts from across the country in a variety of fields. It welcomes its members to join the conversation on housing through its forum, events, webinars and other collaborative activities.

The ECOH Inventory is a database of the community’s members and their expertise. The Inventory has helped Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation create a College of Reviewers who help evaluate applications for National Housing Strategy programs. The College of Reviewers serves as an example of the opportunities made possible by the community and its Inventory.

Project scope and expected outcomes

Supporting the National Housing Strategy

The Inventory serves as a database of housing industry experts, storing self-reported information on member expertise. Information gathered through the registration process is valuable for creating connections between housing industry experts. It can be used to find collaborators and evaluators for the strategy, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the community’s member projects.

The College of Reviewers serves as an example of the collaboration activities that can be achieved through the Inventory. The College of Reviewers draws upon the expertise of the Inventory to find evaluators for they strategy’s programs.

National Housing Strategy applications reviewed by peers

The College of Reviewers acts as a support tool for the strategy’s programs. Some of the programs that that it supports include the Solutions Labs and Demonstrations Initiatives. This enables the College of Reviewers to play a role in achieving the goals set out in the strategy.

The College of Reviewers enables applicants to have their projects reviewed by peers. The reviewers are people who work in similar housing or housing-related fields and are interested in supporting housing innovation. The peer review process allows for a better-quality project selection and ensures that the best applications are funded.

Projects matched by expertise

The College of Reviewers allows members to evaluate innovation in their areas of expertise during the review of applications. Reviewers are connected to projects based on the expertise listed within the Inventory using a matching tool. The tool is currently used for the strategy’s programs and may be expanded for use in focus groups.

There is a wealth of diversity within the Inventory and the College of Reviewers. There are over 97 categories of member experience, such as Real Estate, Communications, Policy, Sustainability and Research. These categories include they strategy’s Priority Areas and experience with populations in vulnerable situations.

The College of Reviewers showcases the value of the ECOH Inventory, which continues to grow in size and diversity. The College is always looking for new members to expand the variety of the expertise available for evaluation. Participation also has benefits for volunteers. It allows them to connect and collaborate with industry experts, and to participate in the advancement of innovative housing solutions.