Housing Policy Leadership Academy

Overview

Housing Policy Leadership Academy Banner

With support from the State’s Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grant program and to support the region’s efforts in response to recent state investments in planning to accelerate housing production and meet the goals of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), SCAG has developed a series of trainings that will support elected officials, advocates, and interested stakeholders in moving forward a pro-housing development agenda.

The SCAG Housing Policy Leadership Academy (SCAG-HPLA) offers a 10-session online training for emerging and established community leaders who want to better understand how to advance policy solutions to increase the supply and availability of affordable housing. The course brings together people from different backgrounds and disciplines in monthly sessions to examine issues and solutions from multiple perspectives and apply their learning to current housing policy challenges. Sessions explore the relationship between policy, planning, and housing development with a focus on how different policy solutions shape both the physical and social landscape and capacity to produce housing for all. 

The course is grounded in the HPLA 5Ps framework, which provides a foundation for examining the physical and social aspects of a healthy housing ecosystem.

Housing Policy Leadership Academy "5Ps"

Applications can be completed online by clicking the button below and are due by January 10, 2022. Notifications of acceptance will be issued no later than Jan. 18, 2022.

CLICK TO APPLY

Contact

Alisha James
james@scag.ca.gov
(213) 236-1884

When Will the Academy Take Place? 

The SCAG Housing Policy Leadership Academy will begin in February 2022. Sessions will occur at the following dates and times with some adjustments for federal and state holidays: 

  • Orange County, 1st Monday of the Month, 2 - 5:30 p.m.
  • San Gabriel Valley, 1st Thursday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.
  • Riverside County, 2nd Monday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.
  • San Fernando Valley, 2nd Thursday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.
  • Imperial County, 3rd Monday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.
  • Los Angeles County, 3rd Thursday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.
  • San Bernardino County, 4th Monday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.
  • Ventura County, 4th Thursday of the Month, 2 – 5:30 p.m.

Who Should Attend?

  • SCAG recognizes the importance of addressing intersectional barriers to housing and welcomes public agency staff from all departments and divisions, including but not limited to: housing, planning, community and human services, parks and recreation, economic development, public works, public safety, public health, and more.
  • Elected officials
  • Planning commissioners
  • Housing and tenant rights advocates
  • Housing developers (building market rate, workforce, and affordable products for both rental and homeownership)
  • Education, healthcare, and social services professionals
  • Transit, climate and environment, and parks advocates
  • Labor organizations
  • Employers and anchor institutions

How Much Time Should Participants Expect to Invest Each Month? 

The Housing Policy Leadership Academy requires a commitment of approximately 6-8 hours a month for 10 months starting in February 2022. Each month, participants will attend one 3.5-hour session, review course materials outside class, and work with a small group to develop a housing-focused policy proposal for their community or region.Participants must attend a minimum of 8 of the 10 Academy sessions to earn a certificate of completion.