Background |
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PD&R was established in 1973 as an office headed by an Assistant Secretary. The statutory authority for PD&R' s research activities is found in Title V of the 1970 Housing Act, which authorizes programs of "research, studies, testing, and demonstrations relating to the missions and programs of the Department." Research priorities have differed from administration to administration, with varying mixes of housing studies, housing technology research, demonstrations, HUD program evaluations, and policy reports. PD&R' s research activities are designed to have immediate relevance to the policy issues facing the Secretary and his principal staff.
In the 1990s, PD&R assumed two new functions: assisting in the program regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (primarily setting their affordable housing goals and monitoring their performance) and promoting university/community partnerships through grants and technical assistance.
PD&R also provides analytical expertise and information resources to help senior HUD staff make informed policy decisions. For instance, PD&R plays a policy advisory role in preparing HUD' s budget and legislative proposals, and in other activities such as approving regulations and setting performance goals and measures.
PD&R provides a valuable service to researchers and the public by expanding the availability of statistics on housing and urban development. In addition to the American Housing Survey and State of the Cities Data Systems, PD&R makes available (1) unique data on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit; (2) public use files of data on the activities of the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; (3) annual publications of fair market rents (FMRs), which are used as a standard for determining rent and subsidy levels in HUD programs, and also as a measure of the local cost of affordable housing; and (4) a variety of other publications on the characteristics of families assisted under HUD programs.
