Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing through Off-Site Construction and Pro-Housing Reforms Research Grant Program Pre and Full Application | FR 6700 N 92

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6700 N 92

The "Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing through Off-Site Construction and Pro-Housing Reforms Research Grant Program" is a discretionary HUD research funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number FR 6700 N 92; CFDA 14.506) administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R). The core purpose is to fund research that closes major evidence gaps and helps build a stronger, practical knowledge base that can speed up adoption of strategies that increase the production and overall supply of quality, affordable housing in the United States. In other words, HUD is looking for studies that do more than describe problems; they should generate credible findings that can inform real-world decisions by policymakers, practitioners, and the housing industry about how to expand supply and improve affordability.

The program is centered on two major research thrusts. First, it seeks rigorous research on off-site construction methods, including approaches such as modular construction, panelization, and other forms of industrialized or factory-based building processes. HUD is interested in whether and how these methods can meaningfully increase housing supply, reduce construction costs, and ultimately lower housing expenses for low- and moderate-income renters and homeowners. The intent is to assess the real potential of off-site construction to address bottlenecks like labor shortages, schedule delays, cost overruns, quality control issues, and other barriers that can make conventional construction slow and expensive. Research under this thrust would typically examine cost structures, timelines, scalability, financing constraints, regulatory hurdles, supply chain capacity, workforce implications, building performance, and the conditions under which off-site methods produce measurable affordability gains.

Second, the program supports research on pro-housing reforms, especially changes to local zoning and land-use regulations that may unlock additional housing production and expand housing choices. HUD is looking for studies that analyze how reforms to rules governing density, multifamily development, minimum lot sizes, parking requirements, accessory dwelling units, permitting processes, and related land-use controls can increase the supply of quality, affordable housing. A key emphasis is on whether these reforms expand access and opportunity for low- and moderate-income households, which can include evaluating distributional effects, neighborhood change, displacement pressures, fair housing considerations, and the extent to which reforms translate into actual housing units rather than just theoretical capacity.

This NOFO is explicitly tied to HUD's FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, particularly Strategic Objective 2A, "Increase the Supply of Housing." Applicants are expected to make a clear connection between their proposed research and this departmental objective. HUD also signals that proposals should align with relevant housing-supply portions of HUD's Learning Agenda, meaning the work should be designed to produce actionable evidence that can guide future policy, program design, and implementation. In addition, applicants are invited to respond to specific research questions found in PD&R's Offsite Construction for Housing Research Roadmap, which indicates HUD has already identified priority knowledge gaps and is encouraging researchers to help fill them.

Structurally, awards are made as cooperative agreements, which generally means HUD anticipates an active role during the project period (for example, coordination on research direction, deliverables, data, dissemination, or stakeholder engagement) rather than a purely hands-off grant. The funding activity category is listed as science and technology and other research and development, reinforcing that this is a research evidence-building program rather than a direct housing production subsidy. The award ceiling is $500,000, and HUD anticipated making around five awards under this opportunity, suggesting a competitive selection process with a limited number of funded projects.

Eligibility is broad and includes many kinds of entities that can credibly execute policy-relevant research: state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. This wide eligibility indicates HUD is open to academic, governmental, nonprofit, and private-sector research teams, including interdisciplinary collaborations that combine technical construction expertise with policy analysis and quantitative evaluation.

From an applicant's perspective, a central requirement is to clearly identify which priority research category or categories the proposal addresses and to explain how the work will contribute meaningfully to HUD's strategic and learning goals related to affordable housing supply. The framing matters: HUD is not only interested in whether something could work in theory, but in credible methods, measurable outcomes, and practical insights that can accelerate implementation of effective construction innovations and land-use reforms. The opportunity originally opened on June 15, 2023, with an application deadline of August 1, 2023 at 11:59:59 PM Eastern time, and it covers both pre-application and full application stages as indicated in the title, implying a multi-step submission and review process designed to narrow to the strongest full proposals.

• The US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing through Off-Site Construction and Pro-Housing Reforms Research Grant Program Pre and Full Application" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.506.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 15, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 01, 2023 The application deadline is 115959 PM Eastern time.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for FR 6700 N 92

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: