This international knowledge exchange project explored the conventional housing policy narratives that have dominated government thinking in Australia, Britain and Canada (the ABC countries) over the past 20-30 years. It sought to construct more effective, progressive policy narratives robust enough to thrive within the tough competitive environments that prevail within public policy-making and budgetary processes.

The collaboration involved three academic partner organisations – University of Glasgow, University of Toronto and UNSW – as well as a constellation of industry and government bodies in the three countries. These included the Australian not-for-profit entities Bridge Housing Ltd, Brisbane Housing Company, Community Housing Ltd, and Housing Choices.

The project sought to draw on published and ongoing research, as well as learning from the direct experience of communities, city halls, boardrooms and governments – represented through the non-academic partner organisations. Academic-industry interchange was achieved through international workshop events in Sydney and Toronto, as well as through a series of broader industry consultation events in Australia, Britain and Canada 2016-2018.