Evaluation of the WOHNSCHIRM Housing First Program

Project duration: 1.2.2026 - 31.10.2026

The project includes an external evaluation of the WOHNSCHIRM Housing First programme, which was launched in October 2024 with the aim of providing homeless people with rapid access to permanent housing and securing it in the long term through social work support. Against the backdrop of rising housing costs and increasing homelessness in Austria, the evaluation will examine the extent to which the programme objectives are being achieved, where there is potential for quality and improvement and whether efficiency gains or indications of cost-effectiveness can be identified.

In terms of content, the evaluation focuses on the micro and meso levels: At the micro level, the open house procedure, the structure of the funding (support contributions, lump sums), support intensities and support phases (including extensions), as well as support services (e.g. start-up support, repayment of rental costs, rent stability) and issues of reaching the target group (e.g. possible selection/"creaming" effects, low thresholds, exclusion criteria) are examined. At the meso level, the focus is on processes and cooperation, in particular housing acquisition (interaction between the processing office - advice centres - housing industry), the perception of the programme by housing providers and possible synergies between Housing First and the "rent" track. A mixed-methods design is used (document analysis, evaluation of administrative programme data, guided interviews/case studies). Finally, the findings are summarised in a conclusion with specific recommendations and fed back via interim and final reports as well as presentations; accompanying project management ensures quality assurance and ongoing coordination.

• Scientifically sound programme evaluation of WOHNSCHIRM Housing First as a mixed-methods study. The results are an interim and final report including an executive summary, indicator-based evaluations (administrative programme data), qualitative findings (guided interviews/case studies) and specific recommendations for the further development of programme design and implementation (e.g. reaching target groups, housing acquisition processes, support logic, interfaces).
• Potential for practice-orientated policy briefs and specialist presentations.