Greater Washington has seen genuine momentum recognizing housing as a shared, regional priority. This includes recent and ongoing research on production and affordability challenges, efforts by area governments to revamp their comprehensive plans and adopt new policies, new public, private, and philanthropic investments in housing production and preservation, and the regional housing targets endorsed by the COG Board of Directors in September 2019.

Despite this progress, more work is needed to connect people to housing in new ways, so that they recognize the central role that housing plays in the region’s success and see their stake in supporting and advocating for better housing opportunities for all.

To build this public support for action, several organizations, including COG, came together to develop a playbook authored by national expert Dr. Tiffany Manuel of The Case Made to help area leaders—across all sectors—communicate more effectively about housing. While the project was underway, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, and nation’s reckoning with racial inequalities added even more urgency to this effort.

The playbook, A New Narrative for Housing: Playbook for the Greater Washington Region, was informed by talking to area residents and local leaders in a series of focus groups and backed by months of research. It provides valuable guidance on how to talk about housing solutions in a time of uncertainty and change, linking housing with better health outcomes, a stronger economy, and greater equity.

The playbook features sample language and Do’s and Don’ts for talking points, op-eds, and other outreach focused on the following 11 messaging recommendations:

1. Be intentional about building a collective regional or place-based identity into your narrative, onto which a broader appeal for support can be built.
    
2. Powerfully connect housing to the top concerns of Washingtonians.
    
3. Elevate the urgency to tackle housing as a public concern by showing how housing positions the region to better adapt to change.
    
4. Shift Washingtonians into investment mode and out of a charity mindset regarding housing solutions.
    
5. Use data to highlight the possibilities for wide-scale improvement, not to remind people of the "housing crisis" they are so accustomed to hearing about. 
    
6. Position housing as a powerful shaping force that can determine whether we thrive or merely survive.
    
7. Motivate Washingtonians to do the hard work of systems change. Use metaphors to explain how improving those systems could help everybody and show evidence that change is possible and that the hard work is truly shared.
    
8. Take the time to introduce and center equity effectively into EVERY conversation about housing.
    
9. Tell the "comeback" story often and position Washingtonians as the heroes, working with the support of institutions of conscience.
    
10. Help Washingtonians visualize what success looks like and how the outcomes we are after will help THEM. Be explicit about the metrics of success, explain how things will get better as a result of our sacrifices and ask them to hold you accountable for the results.
     
11. Be intentional in sharing the value proposition of housing and community development organizations as having a strong track record of creating/preserving housing as well as giving voice to the concerns, expertise, and resources of the communities they serve.

On November 17, the playbook was officially released during a webinar for government, business, philanthropic, and community leaders. Peter Tatian of the Urban Institute provided an overview on current housing trends, Dr. Manuel presented the playbook’s strategy and messaging recommendations, and a panel of area leaders—Christian Dorsey, Arlington County Board and the COG Board of Directors, A.J. Jackson, JBG Smith, Heather Raspberry, Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND), and Tonia Wellons, Greater Washington Community Foundation—discussed how enhanced communication can help advance their housing priorities.

COG and its partners are sharing the playbook through their networks in the weeks and months ahead as part of the effort to advance the housing targets and shape a better future for the region.

Download the playbook

To view the full November 17 webinar video, visit the COG Vimeo page.

PLAYBOOK SPONSORS

• Greater Washington Partnership
• AOBA-Metro
• Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington, including these members:
  • 2030 Group/Buchanan Partners
  • Citi Community Development
  • Enterprise Community Partners
  • Greater Washington Community Foundation
  • Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
  • Urban Land Institute-Washington
  • Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers