Government Performance Lab announces new State Housing Production Accelerator to help local communities meet state housing production goals

tap833 Tue, 07/07/2026 - 14:04 July 7, 2026 Cambridge, Mass. — The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL) announced the launch of a new program to build durable state capacity to help local governments meet ambitious housing goals. Working with a cohort of state participants, the State Housing Production Accelerator will address common challenges faced by local communities as they interpret and apply state legislation to enable faster, more expansive housing production in response to ongoing housing shortages. The Accelerator will help state leaders create replicable and scalable solutions for key challenges to increasing housing production in their communities, including fragmented and slow development processes, limited state capacity to provide hands-on technical assistance to localities, uneven uptake of recent housing reforms, and a lack of shared, field-tested tools that work across different markets. States interested in the program are invited to complete an expression of interest form and participate in an interview with GPL staff over the summer of 2026. “Pro-housing legislation is essential, but it’s not enough on its own. State and local governments need practical support to identify what works, strengthen implementation, and quickly scale those solutions so more people can access stable, affordable homes,” said Carin Clary, Director of Homelessness & Housing at GPL. Through the Accelerator, participants will receive direct technical support, structured learning and problem-solving sessions, peer networks across states, and support for designing and implementing projects with local partners—all with the goal of translating policy into the on-the-ground housing production. The program will launch with a four-state cohort in its inaugural year with plans to increase in program size the following year. States not able to join the cohort but interested in participating are invited to join the Community of Practice to benefit from ongoing program findings. Outcomes from the Accelerator are designed around measurable impact in the communities the program serves, including establishing sustainable processes for partnering with cities, piloting improvements in local development pipelines and permitting systems, and transforming pilots into models to deploy statewide. Professor Jeffrey Liebman, GPL Faculty Director: "As we watch housing become increasingly unaffordable for people across the country, it's vital that state and local governments deliver more homes, on faster timelines, in the communities where they're most needed. The GPL's Housing Production Accelerator will help state leaders translate their policy goals into clear, measurable housing results." For more information about the State Housing Production Accelerator please visit: About the Government Performance Lab The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab is an applied research lab based in the School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Support for the State Housing Production Accelerator is provided by Arnold Ventures. Government Performance Lab announces new State Housing Production Accelerator to help local communities meet state housing production goals Contact Nicole Morell, Director of Communications