New Research Funding Opportunities From the Office of Policy Development and Research

New Research Funding Opportunities From the Office of Policy Development and Research

By John Gibbs, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research

On June 24 and 25, 2025, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) published two new Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs): Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Research Grant Program and Advancing Building Technology Grant Program. Through these funding opportunities, PD&R is making up to $20 million available to support quality research that will generate actionable insights and evidence to inform policy decisions to address the housing affordability crisis in the short term.

Areas of Focus for These New Funding Opportunities

The Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Research Grant Program NOFO will award competitive grants to support research projects that will build knowledge and advance policy solutions in the following five research categories:

• Government-Induced Demand and Housing Affordability
• Immigration and Housing Affordability
• The Financialization of Housing and Housing Affordability
• Economic Opportunity Cost and Housing Affordability
• Opportunity Zones

The research that this opportunity funds is expected to expand our understanding of the drivers of the housing affordability crisis in the United States and generate actionable insights and evidence that can inform policy decisions at the local, state, and federal level. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education as well as nonprofit and for-profit organizations. HUD and PD&R are particularly interested in projects that will produce initial products, such as summaries of preliminary findings, research briefs, or policy action toolkits, within the first 12 months of the award in order to influence policy and programs in a timely manner.

The Advancing Building Technology Grant Program NOFO will award competitive grants to study how the adoption of emerging innovative building technology solutions can increase the production and supply of quality, affordable housing in the United States. Through this funding opportunity, PD&R will fund research projects in the following five research categories:

• Post-Disaster Housing Recovery
• HUD Code Reform
• Offsite and Emerging Technologies
• Innovative Financing
• Artificial Intelligence for Regulatory Relief

The objective of this NOFO is to develop knowledge that can increase the supply of housing as directed by the memorandum issued on January 20, 2025, "Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis." HUD and PD&R encourage research projects that not only study the impact of different building technologies but also suggest pathways and strategies for adopting or scaling effective innovations, whether through public policy or industry practices, that reduce the time and expense of housing construction and deployment.

Additional Information for Potential Applicants

Applications are due on July 24, 2025. For more information on these funding opportunities and the eligible research questions, please review the NOFOs on the grants.gov website.