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At the time of the Initiative's design, it was recognized that there was limited reliable data on the nature and extent of homelessness in Canada. Also, there remained considerable debate in Canadian communities about how homelessness was best defined for purposes of planning remedial action. While some funding streams under the NHI allowed for research at the community level, the NSH recognized that most communities would be reluctant to spend much of their NHI allocation on research, given the extent of unmet basic needs among homeless people. In this context, a budget of $3. 5 million was set aside at the NSH for research related activities.²¹

The evaluation examined the extent to which the NHI succeeded in developing a research strategy and research projects in keeping with overall objectives.²² It was also interested in the extent to which the research component had contributed so far to increased knowledge about the nature and extent of homelessness and how to address the problem. This chapter describes the research activities undertaken, and assesses what has been accomplished to date.

NHI Research Agenda

In August 2000, the NSH Research team undertook extensive consultations within the NSH and with academics, homelessness experts, representatives of relevant HRDC branches, including regional offices, and other federal government departments.

These consultations led to the development of a research agenda which was finalized in November 2000. That agenda posed the following broad research questions:

• What are the structural/systemic issues in Canada that contribute to homelessness and what changes could lead to the long term reduction and prevention of homelessness in the long term?
• Who are the homeless, what are their numbers and what is needed by particular homeless populations (such as families, youth and Aboriginal people) to get them out of homelessness and prevent them from falling into homelessness in the long term?
• How can approaches to governance as well as particular initiatives strategically contribute to the growth of community capacity to prevent and reduce homelessness in the long term?

Given the $3. 5 million budget allocated to research, as well as the short three-year program period, it was unlikely that these broad research questions would be addressed fully before the end of the NHI. However, proponents of the Initiative expressed hope that the funds spent on specific research projects would contribute to building knowledge about homelessness.

In the end, the $3. 5 million budget covered independent research projects, as well as support to the activities of the NSH Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) team that inherited the homelessness database from CMHC in 2001. CMHC had developed HIFIS in 1995 to assist service providers to collect information about the homeless using the shelter system across Canada. The NSH took on this project under the research component. Since that time, the major concern has been to identify shelter providers, and expand and update the list of HIFIS and non-HIFIS users who are interested in sharing their data with the NSH. A user support line and a web help desk assure on-going support to existing HIFIS communities. Nine of the 10 major cities are participating in HIFIS and the team hopes to build a system that will involve all 61 communities.

On the basis of the research agenda, the NSH issued a call for proposals to assist in identifying priority research areas. The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) was subsequently hired to produce a report and annotated bibliography examining the structural and systemic determinants of homelessness. With the annotated bibliography and accompanying recommendations for research, the NSH team invited academics, consultants and researchers to submit research proposals. Interested public servants from other federal government departments were also invited to participate.

Researchers were invited to submit proposals for national as well as regional projects. Consultations with regional NSH staff led to the NSH's decision in early 2001 to set aside $500,000 for research in the regions for each of the last two years of the Initiative, but budget constraints limited the amount to $250,000 in the final year.

Progress on the research agenda

To date, the NSH research team has funded 31 research projects (see Appendix D). Long-term research proposals (national or regional) were discouraged because of the 3-year limitation. The NSH's approach for the selection and approval of research projects was to involve all ten regions collectively in the project selection, regardless of whether they were national in scope or more regional.

Three regions submitted proposals for local research: Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Edmonton, Toronto and the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) contributed to some research projects with SCPI funds. The funding and monitoring of local research projects was conducted by local research committees with representatives from all levels of government.

The majority of the research to date has been national in scope. Six projects have been completed and reports are available, and another six have been completed but were still being reviewed at the time of the evaluation. The remaining nineteen projects are still to be completed.

To date, the focus of NSH research has been on HIFIS, and on the 31 research projects that have been initiated. About $3. 5 million has been spent on the projects themselves and on the salaries and administrative costs to manage the research component. Dissemination of available research is in the early stages. The NSH plans to integrate a research website into its main website. The purpose of the research website will be to offer a "research highlights" series as well as user-friendly research summaries. In addition to the research website, NSH research staff have developed partnerships with other research groups across the country, such as Canadian Policy Research Networks and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, to maximize the sharing of homelessness-related research.

Because most of the NSH research findings are not yet available, it is too early to assess the extent to which progress has been made toward answering the questions in the research agenda. It is also too early to determine the progress made toward increasing knowledge about homelessness and developing better research tools and methodologies. To date, the objective of enhancing access to information on homelessness has not been pursued.

Footnotes

21	A total of $9 million was targeted for research, accountability-related functions, planning and capacity building (including training). Ultimately, about $3. 5 million was available for research on homelessness.
22	The evaluation focuses on research projects funded through the NSH's research program, as opposed to research projects funded by communities through SCPI funding.