Client: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Services: Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research

Key Work Areas: Program Evaluation, Survey Design & Data Collection

The purpose of this project is to conduct an evaluation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. The RAD program enables public housing authorities to convert their public housing units into Section 8 housing with the goal of improving the physical condition and financial viability of converted properties while providing tenants with the opportunity to choose other affordable housing. The evaluation focuses on the impact RAD has had on tenants’ use of choice mobility, the long-term financial preservation of converted projects, and the oversight and management of those projects. It also examines the impact of RAD on other tenant outcomes and on organizational changes made by housing authorities.

The project has produced four reports to date, and a fifth report is forthcoming. This report evaluates the implementation of the RAD Choice Mobility option on property outcomes, tenant outcomes, and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. The Econometrica Team reviewed HUD administrative data and census data; conducted virtual site visits; interviewed PHA staff; conducted qualitative interviews with residents; and conducted a web-based survey of a census of RAD PHAs, third party owner-operators of RAD projects, a sample of residents who exercised the Choice Mobility option, and a sample of residents who did not exercise the Choice Mobility option.