Housing Opportunities in Mentorship and Education Technical Assistance Program

MAG launched the Housing Opportunities in Mentorship and Education Technical Assistance Program (HOME-TA Program) in late 2023 with philanthropic support in partnership with local and tribal governments. The goal of the program is to provide local and tribal governments with customized technical assistance to build and preserve housing that is affordable. The assistance will be provided from October 2024 to October 2025. A final report will offer the lessons learned, tools developed, and insights gleaned throughout the project. The need to increase access to housing that is affordable was identified in Pathways Home, the Regional Homelessness Action Plan for Local and Tribal Governments approved by the MAG Regional Council in December 2021.

HOME-TA Program Free Assistance

Learn More About the HOME TA Program

Please scroll below the request form to play the plenary and breakout videos from the HOME TA August 13, 2024 launch event.

Apply for Customized Technical Assistance

Through the Housing Opportunities in Mentorship and Education Technical Assistance (HOME TA) Program, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is connecting local and tribal governments with free technical assistance to build and preserve housing that is affordable. The topics for technical assistance were identified by MAG member agencies. The assistance will be provided by the Matrix Design Group and other partners as needed. The time period for the technical assistance is October 2024 to October 2025.

If interested in requesting technical assistance, please answer the following questions by 3 p.m. MST on Friday, September 13, 2024. The requests will be assessed by a team. Higher-ranked requests will be fulfilled within the funding available for technical assistance.

Topics available for technical assistance:

The technical assistance provider will work closely with local or tribal governments to understand their questions regarding the supply of housing in their community and collaboratively identify the appropriate steps to answer these questions with data, community outreach, and direction from the mayor, council, and manager. The study will result in a detailed final report that provides customized analysis and recommendations with specific action steps the local or tribal government can take to make housing more affordable in their community. The study will include the existing needs and considerations entailed with different kinds of housing and the future housing needs. This may include, for example, various kinds of infrastructure, transportation options and employment centers with amenities, zoning, funding, timeframes, regulations, analysis and understanding of local characteristics that impact housing design and supply, community demographics and area median income. This will also include analysis and understanding of local characteristics that impact housing design and supply, community demographics and area median income. The technical assistance provider will also work closely with local or tribal governments to understand their needs, capacity and priorities in identifying parcels for redevelopment. The technical assistance provider will analyze the parcels within the jurisdiction that meet criteria jointly established by the technical assistance provider and the local and tribal government. The technical assistance provider will provide cost estimates to secure the parcels and a ranking of the parcels representing the best opportunities for the construction and preservation of housing that is affordable.

The technical assistance provider will work closely with local or tribal governments to understand their funding needs related to the construction and development of housing that is affordable to their residents. Based on these goals, the technical assistance provider will provide customized recommendations for funding sources that might be viable to meet their needs. The consultant will prepare a funding strategy that describes in detail the steps the local or tribal government can take to secure the funding.

The technical assistance provider will work closely with one or more local or tribal governments to understand the partnerships already in place and additional partnerships that could benefit their efforts to build and preserve housing that is affordable for their residents. The technical assistance provider will connect the local or tribal government with viable partner prospects, such as developers, and facilitate an exploration of the possible opportunities for collaboration. The technical assistance provider will provide a detailed report with customized steps the local or tribal government can take to create, maintain and expand meaningful partnerships with the goal of building and preserving housing that is affordable.

The technical assistance provider will work closely with local or tribal governments to understand their needs related to building community support for the construction or preservation of housing that is affordable for their residents, the history of any previous interactions with the community, and the possible allies in their community to accomplish this goal. The technical assistance provider will develop, in consultation with the mayor, council and manager, a detailed strategy for building community support that addresses their priorities, aligns with their capacity, and represents data driven best practices.

The technical assistance provider will conduct a review of existing model ordinances and identify gaps that need to be filled in order to meet the needs of the local and tribal governments being served by HOME TA. The technical assistance provider will develop the additional model ordinances through a data driven process that leverages partners with expertise. The technical assistance provider will work closely with local and tribal governments to assess which model ordinances will best meet the needs of their community. The technical assistance provider will provide technical assistance to help local and tribal governments operationalize the model ordinance.

The technical assistance provider will work closely with local and tribal governments to understand their questions regarding affordable housing set-aside incentives. Drawing from expertise and existing data, the technical assistance provider will develop a report that addresses the priorities of the local and tribal governments, answers the questions posed, and offers detailed recommendations for how these voluntary incentives can best be addressed within the capacity of the local and tribal governments.

The technical assistance provider will work closely with local and tribal governments to understand their previous interactions with developers and their goals for current and/or future interactions. The technical assistance provider will provide customized, detailed strategies for optimizing negotiations with developers and practical tips to enhance the working relationship with developers. The technical assistance provider will assist the local and tribal governments in current negotiations on defined, discreet tasks. The focus will be constructive relationship-building and actionable strategies that result in successful, mutually beneficial outcomes.

The technical assistance provider will assess the current capacity of the local and tribal governments to utilize low-income tax credits, provide training to build capacity, and recommend specific, customized strategies to help local and tribal governments best utilize low-income tax credits in their community. The final report will reflect the analysis, training, and strategies. If a local or tribal government is currently developing or designing housing that is affordable, the technical assistance provider will advise on how low-income tax credits could be utilized.

The technical assistance provider will work closely with local and tribal governments to understand their needs related to interfacing with the federal government for housing that is affordable, any previous interactions, and their goals for future interactions. The technical assistance provider will work to understand any barriers and opportunities to enhance these interactions. Based on this assessment, the technical assistance provider will develop specific strategies to help the local and tribal governments. The technical assistance provider will assist local and tribal governments in building relationships with appropriate federal agencies to support the construction and preservation of housing that is affordable in their communities.

HOME-TA Event Videos