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The Regional Housing Technical Assistance (RHTA) Program: An Award-Winning Program Supporting Housing in the Bay Area

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In 2024, Informing Change prepared a report, The Regional Housing Technical Assistance (RHTA) Program: An Award-Winning Program Supporting Housing in the Bay Area, summarizing the findings of its evaluation of the RHTA program. We were commissioned by Community Planning Collaborative (CPC) to evaluate the program established by the Association of Bay Area Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (ABAG/MTC).

Recognizing the urgency of California’s housing crisis, ABAG/MTC established RHTA with state funding available through the Regional Early Action Planning Grant of 2019. The RHTA Program was introduced in the sixth Housing Element Cycle, the most complex cycle Bay Area housing staff have experienced. It aims to promote housing across the Bay Area’s 109 jurisdictions and aid jurisdictions in creating their state-required Housing Element. CPC served as the principal consultant to ABAG/MTC for the Program and engaged a broad array of subconsultants with deep expertise in niche planning topics.

Using data from background documents, input from an Evaluation Advisory Group, interviews, focus groups/group interviews, and a survey, our evaluation explored the following three domains:

  1. Technical Assistance (TA) Use & Usefulness
  2. The Impact of the RHTA Program on Relationships
  3. Lessons Learned Administering the RHTA Program

Overall, RHTA’s TA products, services, and supports helped jurisdictions complete Housing Elements, ensure their compliance with HCD, and lift morale during a challenging time. The majority of survey respondents reported that the tools helped them do their work (87%), were easy to use (84%), and helped them develop their jurisdiction’s Housing Element (79%). While ultimately helpful to jurisdictions, some jurisdictions, especially smaller ones, found it difficult to take advantage of the full range of RHTA TA.

This evaluation shows how the RHTA Program successfully expanded the 21 Elements program model to benefit all 109 Bay Area jurisdictions, whether small or large and/or across the urban-rural divide. ABAG/MTC and CPC have honed the TA program model so that, in the words of one ABAG/MTC representative, they “have institutionalized the infrastructure for delivering TA now being exported to other parts of the agency that have nothing to do with housing.”

We found that the RHTA Program has situated ABAG/MTC as a trusted regional partner in housing. Thanks to their initial efforts and investments, ABAG/MTC is positioned to continue providing relevant technical assistance, building a portfolio of tools that meet jurisdictions’ individual needs, and keeping the Bay Area working together.

This report was prepared by the following Informing Change team members:

  • Michael P. Arnold, PhD, MSW, MPH, Partner & Co-Executive Director
  • Evan Gattozzi, Senior Associate
  • Inti Chomsky, Associate
  • Rebekah Blume, Associate
  • Ayenna Cagaanan, Research Assistant
  • Johnny Du, Writer/Editor