HUD created a program – the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing – aimed at eliminating barriers to foster faster change and widespread use of innovation in the residential construction industry. Getting the program up and running and making a difference in the real world presented numerous challenges for HUD staff in Washington, DC.
Home Innovation Labs, with our years of relevant experience and a strong connection to the housing industry, served as one of the lead technical partners for the PATH program, providing a range of services to HUD, including leadership support to the program in the PATH office. Home Innovation Labs was able to bring our real-world experience to bear so that the return on the government’s investment was practical and actionable information that builders and trade contractors could use and apply in their companies to improve the quality and affordability of housing.
We built an inventory of emerging technologies for builder consideration, we developed field evaluation and demonstration projects with builders across the United States, we created a technology road-mapping process for PATH, and we provided leadership support via Home Innovation staff working in the PATH office.
Over a five-year period, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the PATH program successfully supported activity at every stage of the technology development and diffusion continuum, from basic research and R&D through the various stages a technology goes through until it is successfully incorporated into the market. The key roles played by Home Innovation Labs – including the launch and maintenance of a comprehensive and unbiased information dissemination portal, the construction of small and large demonstration projects, and the development of a Technology Inventory – were key to the success of PATH. Home Innovation Labs bridged the gap between government and industry to help create an invaluable public/private partnership.