How Partnership for Strong Communities Uses Data to Advance Housing Policy

For organizations working to expand and preserve affordable housing, good policy starts with good information. In Connecticut, Partnership for Strong Communities helps policymakers, advocates, and community leaders better understand housing challenges across the state through research, education, and advocacy.

To support that work, the organization relies on data from a variety of sources, including the National Housing Preservation Database (NHPD). By incorporating preservation data into statewide reports and local housing profiles, Partnership for Strong Communities helps stakeholders understand where affordable housing exists, what challenges communities face, and which properties may be at risk of losing affordability in the future.

How Partnership for Strong Communities uses the NHPD

Partnership for Strong Communities is a state-level advocacy, research, and convening organization focused on advancing housing policy in Connecticut. Its mission is to ensure that everyone in Connecticut has access to a safe, stable, and affordable home in an equitable community of their choice.

Alysha Gardner, senior policy analyst, helps analyze housing-related legislation, draft public testimony, and develop research reports that support the organization's advocacy efforts.

“We're focused on low- and moderate-income housing,” Gardner said. “Whether that's reforming zoning so it's easier for housing to be built, advocating for more vouchers to help people who can't afford a home currently, or basic tenant protection rights, we find ourselves working with lots of different partners across the housing spectrum.”

The NHPD is a nationwide database of federally assisted rental housing properties used by housing organizations, policymakers, researchers, and advocates to better understand affordable housing stock, preservation risk, and long-term housing trends.

One of the primary ways the organization uses NHPD data is through its annual State of Housing in Connecticut report. The report serves as a reference tool for legislators, advocates, and other stakeholders seeking a data-driven understanding of housing conditions across the state.

The NHPD also supports the organization's Housing Data Profiles, a collection of town-level fact sheets that combine local housing indicators with preservation data. These profiles help communities understand their population characteristics; the age, cost, and makeup of their local housing stock; the need for affordable housing; how much federally assisted housing exists in their area; and how many units may be at risk in the coming years. 

^{An analysis of the NHPD for Hartford, CT.} 

Using data to support housing advocacy

As an advocacy organization, Partnership for Strong Communities places a strong emphasis on evidence-based policymaking.

“We try to stay grounded in the data and the evidence base,” Gardner said. “We're not going to make a claim without being able to back it up.”

The NHPD helps the organization understand not only how much affordable housing exists today, but also how much may be at risk of being lost in the future. That perspective is critical when evaluating housing progress and preservation needs.

“It's a very popular talking point to say, ‘We started 4,000 new builds this year,’” Gardner said. “But if there's 4,500 units coming offline in the next five years, are we actually making progress or are we just treading water?”

The ability to quantify preservation risk provides context for housing discussions and ensures policymakers have a more complete picture of both housing production and loss.

Getting data into the hands of decision-makers

For Partnership for Strong Communities, collecting data is only part of the process. The ultimate goal is to make sure that information reaches the people responsible for shaping housing policy. Gardner said the organization's reports and housing profiles are frequently used by policymakers, advocates, and community leaders throughout Connecticut.

One particularly encouraging moment came when the chair of Connecticut's Housing Committee shared a heavily annotated copy of the State of Housing report, demonstrating that the information was not only reaching decision-makers but also being closely reviewed and referenced.

“It feels really good to know that this information is getting into the hands of the people we want to know these things,” Gardner said.

By translating complex housing data into accessible reports and local profiles, the organization helps stakeholders better understand challenges such as aging housing stock, preservation risk, and long-term affordability.

Why centralized preservation data matters

Housing preservation data can be difficult to collect and compare across jurisdictions. Differences in reporting practices, staffing capacity, and data availability often make it challenging to develop a complete picture of housing conditions. Gardner said the NHPD helps solve that problem by providing a standardized national dataset that allows organizations to analyze trends consistently over time and across geographies.

“It's really helpful that there is a national-level organization creating a standardized dataset that allows you to compare over time and between geographies, both within and outside of the state,” she said.

Kelly McElwain, director of research at PAHRC, said this level of consistency is one reason organizations across the country rely on the NHPD.

“Affordable housing and preservation challenges can be found in communities across the country,” McElwain said. “A nationwide list of affordable housing properties gives communities a common starting point to identify trends, compare conditions across regions, and better understand where affordable housing may be at risk. When combined with local data, it can become an even more powerful tool that supports policy, planning, advocacy, and preservation decisions.” 

Advice for others using the NHPD

For organizations interested in getting started with the NHPD, Gardner recommends going beyond the dashboards to explore the underlying data.

“I would advise them to keep looking and keep digging,” she said. “The dashboards are fantastic, but once you start working with the data itself, that's where you're really able to find patterns and conduct analysis that is specific to your community and your goals.”

As Partnership for Strong Communities continues preparing future editions of its State of Housing report, the NHPD remains a key resource for understanding preservation trends and informing housing policy discussions throughout Connecticut.

Explore preservation risk in your community using the National Housing Preservation Database and related tools to better understand your local housing landscape.