HUD Management: Impact Measurement Needed for Technical 	 
Assistance (25-OCT-02, GAO-03-12).				 
                                                                 
Technical Assistance is an important means through which the	 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can influence  
how its program funds are spent; this assistance can range from  
training workshops to one-on-one assistance. GAO was asked to	 
determine how many HUD technical assistance programs Congress has
authorized and their cost; why HUD offers technical assistance	 
programs and who provides and receives the services; and whether 
HUD program offices are overseeing and measuring the impact of	 
their technical assistance programs as required.		 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-03-12						        
    ACCNO:   A05382						        
  TITLE:     HUD Management: Impact Measurement Needed for Technical  
Assistance							 
     DATE:   10/25/2002 
  SUBJECT:   Community development programs			 
	     Funds management					 
	     Housing programs					 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Technical assistance				 

******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
** GAO Product.                                                 **
**                                                              **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
**                                                              **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
** document's contents.                                         **
**                                                              **
******************************************************************
GAO-03-12

                                       A

Report to the Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Housing and Community
Opportunity, Committee

on Financial Services, House of Representatives

October 2002 HUD MANAGEMENT Impact Measurement Needed for Technical
Assistance

GAO- 03- 12

Letter 1 Results in Brief 2 HUD Administers 20 Technical Assistance
Programs at an Annual

Total Cost of between $108 Million and $181 Million 4 Technical Assistance
Programs Vary by Program, Provider, and

Recipient 7 HUD Selects Most Technical Assistance Providers through a

Competitive Process 12 Although Program Offices Have Oversight Procedures
in Place, HUD

Does Not Require Impact Measures for Technical Assistance 15 Conclusions
16 Recommendations for Executive Action 17 Agency Comments and Our
Evaluation 17 Scope and Methodology 19

Appendixes

Appendix I: Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details 22

Appendix II: Comments from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development 30

Tables Table 1: Technical Assistance Programs and Budgets by Program
Office, Fiscal Years 1998- 2002 4 Table 2: Purpose of Technical Assistance
by Program Offices 8

Figures Figure 1: Funding for Technical Assistance, Fiscal Years 1998-
2002 6 Figure 2: Five- Year Average Percentage of Total Technical
Assistance Funds, by Program Office, Fiscal Years 1998*

2002 7 Figure 3: How HUD Delivers Technical Assistance 9

Abbreviations

CPD Office of Community Planning and Development FHOI Fair Housing
Organizations Initiative GPRA Government Performance and Results Act of
1993 HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development NOFA Notice of
Funding Availability PEI Private Enforcement Initiative PHA Public Housing
Authority SuperNOFA Super Notice of Funding Availability

Lett er

October 25, 2002 The Honorable Marge Roukema Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Housing

and Community Opportunity Committee on Financial Services House of
Representatives

Dear Madam Chairwoman: The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development*s (HUD) fiscal year 2002 budget is over $34 billion, most of
which is passed on to state and local governments and other agencies and
organizations that carry out HUD*s programs. Providing these entities with
technical assistance and capacity building is an important means for HUD
to influence how its program funds are spent. Congress and HUD sometimes
use the terms technical assistance and capacity building interchangeably,
and the definitions overlap. Technical assistance programs can be
generally defined as training designed to improve the performance or
management of program recipients, such as teaching one- on- one
procurement regulations to housing authority staff. Capacity building can
be generally defined as funding to strengthen the

capacity or capability of program recipients or providers* typically
housing or community development organizations* thereby building the
institutional knowledge within those organizations. Some of the programs
have both technical assistance and capacity building aspects. The overall

goal of both technical assistance and capacity building is to enhance the
delivery of HUD*s housing and community development programs. HUD staff
whose costs are covered by HUD*s salary and expenses budgets routinely
provide a wide range of technical assistance as part of their dayto- day
activities, but our work focused on funding specifically authorized by
Congress to be used for technical assistance or capacity building. To
simplify matters, except when citing specific examples, we will use the

term technical assistance to refer to both. To help you with your
oversight of HUD programs, you asked us to determine (1) how many HUD
technical assistance programs Congress has authorized and how much they
cost, (2) why HUD offers technical

assistance programs and who provides and receives the services, (3) how
HUD selects technical assistance providers, and (4) whether HUD program

offices are overseeing the technical assistance programs as required and
measuring their impact. To respond to these objectives, we obtained data
from HUD and

congressional budget documents describing HUD*s technical assistance
programs and their funding. We met with headquarters and regional
officials who administer these programs to determine how HUD oversees the
technical assistance. In addition, we observed technical assistance

providers delivering services to recipients to determine if the services
were delivered as specified in the funding instrument. More details about
our scope and methodology appear at the end of this letter. Appendix I

provides specific information on each of the technical assistance programs
that we identified.

We conducted our work from December 2001 through September 2002 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Results
in Brief HUD administers 20 technical assistance programs through five
program offices. From fiscal years 1998 through 2002, the annual funding
for HUD*s technical assistance ranged between $108 million and $181
million, which accounted for less than 1 percent of HUD*s overall budget
each year.

While the general purpose of HUD*s technical assistance is to help program
participants carry out HUD program goals, each program office designs
technical assistance specifically related to its programs. For example, an
Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control technical assistance
program might consist of classes to teach property owners and maintenance
workers how to evaluate and control lead- based paint hazards. Similarly,
an Office of Community Planning and Development capacity building program
might involve funding for a community- based

organization to help that organization improve its administrative
capabilities. Recipients of technical assistance could be states and units
of local governments, public or Indian housing agencies, community- or
faithbased organizations, or the public. Technical assistance providers
could be HUD officials or, more commonly, state or local governments;
communitybased, for- profit, and nonprofit organizations; or resident
service organizations.

HUD awards funding for 16 of the 20 technical assistance programs
competitively. The funding for the remaining programs is awarded
noncompetitively. HUD uses three funding instruments (contracts, grant

agreements, and cooperative agreements) and determines which funding
instrument to use according to its relationship with the awardee and the
level of federal involvement anticipated. Depending on the complexity of
the individual program office*s funding instrument requirements, this
process can take from 3 months to over 1 year to complete.

Noncompetitive technical assistance funding is either specified by statute
or is based on a formula set by HUD.

All five HUD program offices perform basic oversight of the technical
assistance they administer, such as visually observing the technical
assistance or reviewing reports submitted by the providers to ensure that
the technical assistance was provided. In addition, some program offices
also have impact measures in place. In line with the Government and
Performance Results Act of 1993, HUD program officials are required to
develop measures and track the performance of its overall programs
relative to the goals in its strategic and annual performance plans.
However, HUD does not require the officials to measure the impact or

outcomes of technical assistance and does not offer any central guidance
on how the program offices should measure its impact. Although some
headquarters and field officials said that it was difficult to measure the
impact of technical assistance, other officials said that they had
developed

and were using impact measures in some locations. Some of these measures*
including tests of technical assistance recipients* retention of
information learned in technical assistance classes or comparisons of the
number of grant applications that had to be returned for correction before
and after technical assistance was provided* seemed to demonstrate the

impact of the services provided. Because HUD spends substantial sums for
technical assistance and uses it to improve program goals and influence
far greater expenditures of program funds, we are recommending that HUD,

where possible, measure the impact of the technical assistance and develop
consistent guidance for program offices to follow. We provided HUD with a
draft of this report for its review and comment.

HUD*s Director, Office of Departmental Operations and Coordination, said
that the department would take the necessary steps to implement our
recommendations.

HUD Administers 20 Between fiscal years 1998 and 2002, five HUD program
offices

Technical Assistance administered a total of 20 technical assistance
programs. The majority of these programs are administered through the
Offices of Community

Programs at an Annual Planning and Development (CPD) and Public and Indian
Housing. The Total Cost of between

other three offices that administer technical assistance programs are the
$108 Million and $181

Offices of Housing, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and Healthy Homes
and Lead Hazard Control. Million Table 1 lists the 20 technical assistance
programs and initiatives, by program office, and their budgets. See
appendix I for details on the description and purpose of each as well as
the providers, recipients,

funding instruments, and oversight processes used. Information on how
technical assistance is provided also is contained in appendix I.

Table 1: Technical Assistance Programs and Budgets by Program Office,
Fiscal Years 1998- 2002

Dollars in millions

Budget, by fiscal year 2002 Program/ Initiative 1998 1999 2000 2001
(estimate) a

A. Office of Community Planning and Development

1. HOME Investment Partnership Program - Technical Assistance b $22.0
$22.0 $22. 0 $22.0 $12. 0

2. Section 4 * Capacity Building c 18.0 25.0 26.3 32.4 31. 0 3. Section
107 - Technical Assistance c 4.0 7. 5 0.0 0. 0 0. 0 4. Youthbuild Program
- Technical Assistance c 1.8 2. 1 2.1 3. 0 3. 3 5. Housing Assistance
Council d 2.1 3. 0 3.0 3. 0 3. 3 6. Homeless Assistance Grants - Technical
Assistance 0.0 9. 8 10. 2 7.7 6. 6 7. Rural Housing - Capacity Building
0.0 4. 0 2.8 12.0 12. 0 8. Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS 0.0
2. 3 1.7 2. 6 2. 0

B. Office of Public and Indian Housing

9. Office of Troubled Agency Recovery 8.9 17.3 15.4 11.0 11. 5 10. HOPE VI
Urban Revitalization 10.0 15.0 10.0 10.0 6. 3 11. Resident Opportunities
and Self- Sufficiency 0.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11. 0 12. Drug Elimination e 10.0
10.0 5. 0 3.0 0. 0 13. Native American (Indian) Housing Block Grant
Technical

Assistance 5.0 6. 0 4.0 6. 0 5. 0 14. National American Indian Housing
Council c, d, f 1.5 1. 8 4.2 2. 6 4. 8

(Continued From Previous Page)

Budget, by fiscal year 2002 Program/ Initiative 1998 1999 2000 2001
(estimate) a

15. Capital Fund Program 2.5 2. 5 2.5 4. 8 2. 5 16. Housing Choice Voucher
Program (Section 8) 0.0 0. 0 0.0 0. 0 10. 0

C. Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

17. Fair Housing Assistance Program 7.5 8. 3 11. 0 12.1 15. 4 18. Fair
Housing Initiative Program g 3.4 4. 8 6.1 5. 4 6. 7

D. Office of Housing - Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance
Restructuring

19. Mark- to- Market Program * Technical Assistance Grants 10.0 10.0 10.0
10.0 11. 3

E. Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control

20. Lead- Based Paint Hazard Reduction 1.0 3. 0 5.0 22.0 5. 0

Total $107.7 $165.4 $152.3 $180.6 $159. 7

Note: This table does not include technical assistance or capacity
building services paid for by HUD*s staff salaries and expense budgets. a
Fiscal year 2002 actual amounts were not available during the time of our
review.

b These amounts include technical assistance funds for the Community
Housing Development Organization Program. c Technical assistance funds
that are set aside within the Community Development Block Grant. d Also
administered through HUD*s Office of Policy Development and Research. e
This program was discontinued in fiscal year 2002.

f Technical assistance funds set aside within the Indian Housing Block
Grant. g These amounts are percentages of Education and Outreach, Private
Enforcement, and Fair Housing Organizations Initiatives.

Source: GAO analysis of HUD data.

As shown in figure 1, between fiscal years 1998 and 2002, the annual
funding for all of HUD*s technical assistance programs ranged from $108
million to $181 million. These sums accounted for less than 1 percent of
HUD*s overall budget, which averaged about $28 billion in each of those
years.

Figure 1: Funding for Technical Assistance, Fiscal Years 1998- 2002

Source: GAO analysis of HUD data.

Technical assistance funds fluctuated each year because the funds for
specific technical assistance programs increased or decreased or because
technical assistance programs were introduced or discontinued in any given
year. For example, technical assistance funding increased by about 53
percent from fiscal year 1998 to 1999. During this time, the technical
assistance funds (1) increased from $9 million to $17 million for the
Office of Troubled Agency Recovery, (2) were initiated in 1999 with $11
million for Resident Opportunities and Self- Sufficiency, and (3)
increased from $18 million to $25 million for Section 4 capacity building.
From fiscal year 2001 to 2002, estimated, technical assistance funding
fell by more than 11 percent, primarily because the Lead- Based Paint
Hazard Reduction funds

returned to the $5 million level, following a one- time $17 million
increase in fiscal year 2001 to build capacity to comply with a new
regulation; the HOME funds were reduced from $22 million to $12 million;
HOPE VI funds were reduced from $10 million to $6.3 million; and the Drug
Elimination Grant Program and its technical assistance funds were
abolished.

Figure 2 illustrates the breakdown of the cumulative technical assistance
funding from fiscal years 1998 through 2002, by program office. Not

surprisingly, the two offices that administer the largest number of
programs have the largest share of the overall technical assistance
budget.

Figure 2: Five- Year Average Percentage of Total Technical Assistance
Funds, by Program Office, Fiscal Years 1998* 2002

Source: GAO analysis of HUD data.

Technical Assistance While the overriding purpose of technical assistance
is to improve the

Programs Vary by ability of program participants to administer HUD*s
programs more

effectively, each HUD program office determines its own approach and
Program, Provider, and

administers technical assistance according to its program needs. Table 2
Recipient

describes the purpose of the technical assistance as defined by the five
HUD program offices.

Table 2: Purpose of Technical Assistance by Program Offices HUD program
office Purpose of technical assistance Office of Community Planning

Help organizations successfully access and utilize and Development HUD*s
programs and resources to help them accomplish local community development
goals. Office of Public and Indian Help public and Indian housing agencies
and Housing residents improve their management, planning, and

monitoring practices and resident services. Office of Fair Housing and
Equal Help organizations reduce housing discrimination Opportunity and
provide an open and free housing market.

Office of Housing* Office of Help educate and assist tenants who are
living in Multifamily Housing Assistance

buildings that are undergoing financial restructuring Restructuring

to make meaningful decisions about their housing. Office of Healthy Homes
and

Help recipients evaluate and control housing- related Lead Hazard Control
lead- based paint hazards and provide outreach and educational activities.
Source: HUD.

HUD provides appropriated funds for both its primary programs and related
technical assistance programs. It distributes the program funds to program
participants, such as state and local governments and other participating
organizations, and it awards the technical assistance funds to providers,
which use the money to deliver technical assistance to

recipients. Figure 3 illustrates this process.

Figure 3: How HUD Delivers Technical Assistance

Source: GAO analysis of HUD data.

The recipients of HUD*s technical assistance are generally those entities
or organizations that administer HUD*s programs. They also vary by program
and include state and local governments, public and Indian housing
authorities, tenants of federally subsidized housing, property owners

receiving federal housing subsidies, special interest groups, institutions
of higher learning, community- and faith- based organizations, national
and civil rights and disability groups, industry groups, and the public.

The providers of technical assistance can be HUD officials, but typically
they are entities or organizations that receive funding from HUD to
deliver such assistance. Providers, which also vary by program, include
state and

local governments; community- based, for- profit, and nonprofit
organizations; and resident service organizations. We visited with
technical assistance providers in selected locations across the country to
observe the various methods that each of the five program offices used to
deliver technical assistance to recipients. The following cases detail the
recipients, providers, and purposes of the technical assistance provided.

 The recipients of CPD*s technical assistance are local nonprofit
organizations, state and local governments, and other organizations
participating in and receiving funds through HUD*s community development
programs. The providers of these technical assistance programs are for-
profit and nonprofit organizations and government agencies that have
demonstrated expertise in providing the guidance and training that program
participants can use. For 2 days, we observed

a technical assistance provider for the HOME Program work with two
community housing development organizations in Arkansas. The purpose of
the technical assistance was to help the organizations plan for and
improve their procedures for developing low- income rural housing. Over
the 2 days, the technical assistance provider evaluated the

housing built by the community development organizations with HOME Program
funds and advised them on HUD- mandated procedures for counseling
prospective low- income home buyers.  The recipients of technical
assistance provided through the Office of Public and Indian Housing*s
Resident Opportunities and Self- Sufficiency Program*s capacity building
funds are associations of public housing

residents that HUD has determined lack the capacity to administer Welfare-
to- Work Programs or conduct management activities. The providers of the
technical assistance are resident and other nonprofit organizations. We
observed a 1- day conference conducted by a

Massachusetts statewide public housing tenant organization in conjunction
with several other organizations. The training was designed to increase
the knowledge and build the capacity of public housing

agencies, their residents, and state and local officials involved in
planning and rulemaking. The conference topics included income
recertification, methods of influencing housing legislation, public
housing safety and security, and private- market housing initiatives. A
Boston HUD employee served as a panel member during one of the training
sessions.

 The recipients of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity*s
technical assistance include state and local fair housing enforcement
agencies, public and private nonprofit fair housing agencies, and other

groups that are working to prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing
practices. According to an official from the Office of Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity, providers of technical assistance are HUD staff and
qualified, established fair housing enforcement agencies. We observed a
fair housing employee in HUD*s San Francisco regional office provide
technical assistance training to 10 employees of

California*s Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The objective of
the training was to help the state agency process fair housing complaints
more effectively, and the topics included tips on investigating fair
housing complaints, theories of discrimination, and case conciliation and
evidence.  The recipients of technical assistance provided through the
Office of Housing*s Outreach and Technical Assistance Grants are tenants
living in federally subsidized properties affected by mortgage
restructuring through the Mark- to- Market Program. The providers of
technical assistance are small or large community- based organizations
that focus on improving tenants* ability to understand the restructuring
of their Section 8 property. In Columbus, Ohio, we observed a meeting
between

the potential new owners of a HUD property that was scheduled to undergo
financial restructuring and two organizations representing the tenants who
lived there. The purpose of the meeting, coordinated by a technical
assistance provider, was to give tenants a role in the restructuring
process and to keep them apprised of potential changes to their building.
Topics discussed at the meeting included rent stabilization, building
renovations, security systems, and modifications

for handicapped accessibility.

 The recipients of technical assistance provided through the Office of
Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control*s Technical Studies Programs include
state, local, and tribal governments; private property owners; and
individuals who are maintenance and renovation workers. The providers of
technical assistance include academic, for- profit, and nonprofit
organizations and state and local governments. We observed a technical
assistance provider conduct mandatory classroom training for

about 50 owners and workers of federally subsidized properties at a
Philadelphia housing authority maintenance facility. The recipients hoped
to become qualified to remove lead- based paint hazards from their HUD-
assisted properties by learning safe work practices at the training. The
course covered such topics as lead exposure and maintenance work, lead
safety, and quality assurance.

HUD Selects Most HUD selects technical assistance providers both
competitively and

noncompetitively. 1 Sixteen of the 20 technical assistance programs used a
Technical Assistance

competitive selection process. Since Congress specifies by statute that
the Providers through a organizations are to provide the technical
assistance under three of CPD*s

Competitive Process programs, HUD distributes the funds for those programs
noncompetitively. The fourth noncompetitive program, the Fair Housing
Assistance Program, is noncompetitive because the funds, including those
for technical

assistance, are distributed through a formula grant to all eligible state
and local fair housing enforcement agencies. The process for obtaining an
award also varies by funding instrument. HUD has a set policy explaining
the policies and protocols for using the various funding instruments
(contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements). Funding for Technical
When HUD selects technical assistance providers competitively, it awards

Assistance May Be Awarded funding through contracts, grant agreements, and
cooperative agreements.

Competitively or HUD refers to these three award mechanisms as funding
instruments. The Noncompetitively

following text provides descriptions of these mechanisms:

 A contract is used when the principal purpose of the award is the
acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter of property or services for the
direct benefit of the government. According to the Director of the Office
of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight, contracts are the

award instrument that gives HUD the most control because HUD simply
directs the contractor to do a specific task. For example, a program
official in the Office of Native American Programs told us that her office
retains decision- making authority by issuing contracts that enable her to
control the technical assistance providers* use of funds and outreach to
recipients.

 A grant agreement is used when the principal purpose of the relationship
between the awardee and HUD is the transfer of money or property for a
public purpose and substantial federal involvement is not anticipated.

1 Although some of HUD*s major programs, such as the Housing Opportunities
for Persons With AIDS and the Community Development Block Grant, are
noncompetitive, the technical assistance components of these programs are
competitive.

 A cooperative agreement*s 2 purpose is similar to a grant agreement*s
purpose but is generally used when the awarding agency anticipates the
need for close federal involvement over the life of the award. The
cooperative agreement stipulates the nature, character, and extent of the
anticipated involvement. A HUD official told us that a cooperative

agreement generally gives HUD less control than a contract, but more
control than a grant agreement. HUD*s Office of Departmental Grants
Management and Oversight provides basic guidelines on when to use a
contract, grant agreement, or cooperative

agreement. According to HUD, a program office, when selecting the
appropriate funding instrument to be used, should first look to the
program*s authorizing legislation for authority to enter into a contract
or other type of arrangement. Noncompetitive awards are specified by
statute or based on a formula. Specifically, Congress appropriates
technical assistance funds

noncompetitively for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the
Enterprise Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Youthbuild USA under the
Community Development Block Grants Fund; these funds are administered by
CPD. 3 The Housing Assistance Council also receives noncompetitive funds
appropriated by Congress under the Community

Development Block Grants Fund; these funds are administered by CPD and
HUD*s Office of Policy Development and Research. Congress also
appropriates noncompetitive funds for the National American Indian Housing
Council technical assistance programs; these funds are administered by the
Office of Public and Indian Housing and the Office of Policy Development
and Research. In addition, HUD*s Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity uses a formula to distribute Fair Housing

Assistance Program funds. These noncompetitive, technical assistance
programs totaled $50.1 million in fiscal year 2001, which was about 25
percent of the technical assistance funding for that year; they totaled
about $54.5 million, or 30 percent of the fiscal year 2002 technical
assistance funding.

2 Cooperative agreements for CPD are usually for 3 years and may be
extended for an additional year. 3 The Local Initiative Support
Corporation and the Enterprise Foundation administer the funding for,
among other purposes, the National Community Development Initiative under
Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993, as amended.

Processes for Obtaining For a contract, prospective technical assistance
providers respond to a Competitive and HUD request for a proposal; for a
grant or cooperative agreement, Noncompetitive Funding providers respond
to a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). In practice,

Vary HUD has issued the funding notices for the majority of its grants and

cooperative agreements, including its technical assistance funding, in a
single notice called the SuperNOFA (Super Notice of Funding Availability).

Applicants submit contract proposals, or grant or cooperative agreement
applications, to HUD staff who use a deliberative decision- making process
that is based upon established evaluation criteria contained in a formal
request for proposal or SuperNOFA to make the final selections and
announce the awards. Contract proposals are managed through HUD

headquarters or designated contracting offices, while applications for
grants or cooperative agreements for some technical assistance programs
are submitted to both headquarters and the field office in which the
applicant is seeking to provide services.

During the course of our review, HUD officials and technical assistance
providers commented on the length of the competitive cooperative agreement
awards process, particularly in CPD. The comments typically dealt with the
time needed for technical assistance providers to negotiate with HUD field
offices to complete the additional steps that CPD requires. The Director
of HUD*s Office of Departmental Grants Management and

Oversight told us that she knew of instances in which contracts and
grants, as well as cooperative agreements, had taken 1 year or more to
complete. An assessment of this issue was beyond the scope of this review.

Any award, regardless of the type of funding instrument, has a fixed
performance period. The contract request for proposal or NOFA will
stipulate the proposed period of performance and whether additional

funding can be provided beyond the period of performance without further
competition.

Although Program The five offices that administer technical assistance
have basic oversight

Offices Have Oversight procedures in place. Such procedures usually
include monitoring the technical assistance provider*s performance by
reviewing payment Procedures in Place, requests and financial reports and
the recipient*s written evaluation of the

HUD Does Not Require technical assistance provider*s performance. Most
program offices require

Impact Measures for technical assistance providers to submit quarterly,
annual, or close- out

reports* or a combination of these reports* on the status of their
Technical Assistance technical assistance programs, which are to be
reviewed by HUD program staff. Headquarters or field office staff may be
directly responsible for oversight, depending on which office administers
the technical assistance, although headquarters offices are ultimately
responsible for ensuring that the appropriate oversight is conducted. HUD
does not offer any central guidance on, or require its program offices to
directly measure, the impact or outcomes of the technical assistance

programs that they administer. The Government Performance and Results Act
of 1993 (GPRA) requires that program officials develop performance
measures and track performance relative to the goals in their strategic
and annual plans. However, according to the Director of HUD*s Office of
Departmental Operations and Coordination, this requirement does not apply
to the related technical assistance programs. 4 In his view, if the
technical assistance supports the program and the program is doing well,
then the technical assistance is having a positive impact. However, GPRA

emphasizes the importance of establishing objective and quantifiable
measures at each organizational level that can be linked to the overall
agency program goals. Without specific measures on the impact of its
technical assistance, HUD cannot demonstrate the incremental value of the
assistance.

The Director of the Office of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight
told us that her office is not planning any initiatives to coordinate how
program offices are measuring the impact of their technical assistance
programs because her office does not have jurisdiction over program policy
in the establishment of technical assistance criteria. An official from
HUD*s Massachusetts CPD told us that without this guidance, it is unclear
4 CPD, through the SuperNOFA, requires that its technical assistance
providers develop methodologies to be used for measuring the success of
their programs. However, according to the Director of CPD*s Office of
Technical Assistance and Management, CPD is collecting

the data needed to measure program impact but does not have the capacity
to do anything with the information.

how the impact of these services should be measured. We found a wide range
of HUD processes for measuring the impact of technical assistance, ranging
from CPD*s Section 4 capacity building organizations that document
detailed evaluations of their accomplishments; to CPD*s Rural Housing and
Economic Development Program that collects annual outcome data; to the
Public and Indian Housing*s Resident Opportunities and Self- Sufficiency
Program, which has no established process and measures on a grant- by-
grant basis. While some program officials have said that it is difficult
or not even possible to measure the impact of technical assistance, other
program offices do have impact measures in place.

 A Public and Indian Housing field official from the Office of Native
American Programs told us that he has seen nationwide training courses
that he believes are inefficient and expensive. While he believes that
local one- on- one training would be more productive, he does not believe
he could measure whether attendees are retaining the information

received at the nationwide training courses or whether one- on- one
training would be more effective. By contrast, a Public and Indian Housing
official said that the office conducts evaluations after the technical
assistance for drug elimination is provided and then followsup

with a 6- month evaluation to measure recipients* retention of
information. We also spoke with a technical assistance provider who
administers multiple questionnaires to measure recipients* retention of
material taught at homeless training programs.

 Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity field officials in San Francisco said
that they measure the success of their program* to educate state and local
organizations on fair housing procedures* by the number of cases they have
to send back for more information. They also said that the reduction in
the number of cases sent back to local organizations from 42 in 1998 to 3
in 2001 after training was provided indicates that the technical
assistance is working. Similarly, staff from HUD*s Chicago CPD reported
that they measure the success of technical assistance programs aimed at
teaching local groups how to apply for federal grants by the number of
grantees that submit proper paperwork.

Conclusions HUD spends millions of dollars each year on technical
assistance, distributing the funding through several types of instruments
to a wide variety of providers and recipients for a wide variety of
purposes. Yet, HUD

does not require its program offices to measure the impact of this
technical assistance, has not developed guidance for its program offices
to measure the impact of the assistance, and has no plans to require its
program offices to develop such guidance. Even though some officials
maintain that they cannot measure the impact of technical assistance,
other officials have developed and are using measures that seem to be
reasonable indicators of

the impact of their technical assistance programs. Although such measures
may not be practicable for every program, HUD cannot demonstrate the
effectiveness of its technical assistance without some indication of its
impact. Furthermore, without such measures, HUD cannot (1) ensure
accountability for the over $100 million that Congress sets aside each
year for technical assistance or (2) demonstrate the incremental value of
its technical assistance* that is, how much more its programs are
achieving

with the technical assistance than they would have achieved without it.
Finally, since technical assistance is an important means through which
HUD oversees and influences expenditures of program funds* which are about
100 times greater than expenditures of technical assistance funds* it
would seem logical for each of its program offices to develop guidance to
ensure that the technical assistance programs are producing the intended

results. Recommendations for

To determine whether HUD*s technical assistance programs are helping
Executive Action

HUD programs to meet their goals, we recommend that the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development require the program offices that provide
technical assistance programs to determine the practicability of measuring
the impact of these services and, where appropriate, establish objective,
quantifiable, and measurable performance goals. In addition, we

recommend that the Secretary provide guidance to the program offices on
how to establish such impact measures.

Agency Comments and We provided the Secretary of the Department of Housing
and Urban Our Evaluation

Development with a draft of this report for his review and comment. In a
letter dated September 25, 2002, HUD*s Director, Office of Departmental
Operations and Coordination, said that the department would take the
necessary steps to implement the report*s recommendations. He also
provided four observations for our consideration. First, the Director said
that our draft did not clearly define capacity building programs before
combining them with technical assistance. We

added more detailed definitions of technical assistance and capacity
building to this report.

Second, he said that although both the Fair Housing Assistance Program and
the Fair Housing Initiatives Program contain technical assistance
components, they are not primarily technical assistance programs. We
recognize that these programs contain functions that go beyond technical

assistance and capacity building. The funding levels that we list in this
report for these programs were supplied by HUD program staff on the basis
of their best estimates of the percentages of the budgets that supply
technical assistance and capacity building. Third, he said that the
department*s performance- based funding instruments provide HUD with the
means to measure performance and, in some cases, quantify the impact of
its programs. We agree that HUD

requires performance- based reporting. We state in this report that the
five offices that administer technical assistance have basic oversight
procedures in place, and that the procedures generally ensure that an
activity was performed before payment is made. However, there is a
difference between, for example, reviewing payment requests and reports to
ensure that a funded activity took place and measuring the impact of that
performance. Our draft report pointed out that while some HUD offices
assess the impact of their technical assistance, others do not. Thus,
while

HUD*s performance- based funding instruments may provide the means to
measure performance, HUD*s offices do not always do so. Fourth, he
believes that impact measures, such as improvements in a participant*s
proficiency in administering programs, could be difficult and expensive to
develop and implement for many technical assistance programs. We agree
that there are cases where measuring the impact of technical assistance
may not be practical. We acknowledge that in this report; we recommend
that HUD determine the practicability of measuring the impact of the
services and, where appropriate, establish measurable performance goals.
However, we do not believe that HUD should downplay

the importance of measuring the impact of the technical assistance it
provides. As stated in our report, technical assistance is an important
means by which HUD can influence how billions of dollars of federal
program funds that HUD passes through to other public and private
organizations are spent. By measuring the impact of its technical
assistance and demonstrating that the assistance is producing the intended
impact, HUD can show that it is positively influencing the expenditure of
program funds.

Also, HUD staff suggested technical corrections to the draft. In
particular, HUD staff said that the Office of Housing*s Housing Counseling
Program should not be included as a capacity building program. Although
HUD could award grants to build the capacity of local, nonprofit housing
counseling organizations, the program officer said that HUD does not use
the program to increase the administrative capabilities of the counseling
organizations. She said that HUD requires that the counseling
organizations be in operation for at least 2 years before receiving funds
and only allows the funds to be used for direct service delivery. We
agreed to remove Housing Counseling from our list of technical assistance
programs. We made other technical corrections where appropriate. The full
text of HUD*s

letter appears in appendix II. Scope and To determine how many technical
assistance programs Congress has Methodology

authorized and how much they cost, we reviewed agency and congressional
budget documents that identified technical assistance programs HUD
provided between fiscal years 1998 and 2002. The data included each
program*s funding authorization during the 5- year period;

whether the services were to be provided through a contract, grant
agreement, or cooperative agreement; and whether the award mechanisms were
competitive or noncompetitive. To determine why HUD provides technical
assistance programs and who receives and provides them, we reviewed
documents that included the notices of funding availability, congressional
justification estimates, HUD*s technical guidance memorandums, public
laws, and other documents that described the purpose of the technical
assistance programs and eligible providers and recipients. We interviewed
officials in five HUD program

offices in headquarters and four regional field offices to determine HUD*s
guidance on how the funding could be used. We also visited seven sites
across the country to observe the provision of technical assistance

programs. To determine how HUD selects technical assistance providers, we
reviewed applicable laws and HUD notices of funding availability. We
obtained data related to HUD*s selection process and were able to
determine which programs HUD awards competitively and

noncompetitively. For competitive awards, we discussed the scoring process
and the length of time involved. We also identified the types of
organizations that generally receive competitive awards for each of the
programs in our review, such as nonprofit organizations. For

noncompetitive awards, we discussed the award process and identified the
eligible recipients of funds, such as Indian tribes and other
organizations. We did not evaluate the extent to which HUD complied with
the applicable contracting statutes, regulations, and policies.

To assess how HUD oversees the programs and measures their impact, we
reviewed applicable laws, interviewed HUD officials at headquarters and in
the regional field offices to document impact measurement processes, and

observed technical assistance providers during our site observations. We
obtained information from technical assistance providers on how they
adhere to HUD*s reporting requirements and measure the impact of the
technical assistance. Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier,
we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days after the
date of this letter. At that time, we will send copies of the report to
interested congressional

committees and Members of Congress; the Director, Office of Management and
Budget; and other interested parties. We will also make copies available
to others on request. In addition, the report will be available at no
charge on the GAO Web site at http:// www. gao. gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512- 7631. Key contributors to this report were Elaine
Boudreau, Bess Eisenstadt, Andy Finkel, Diana Gilman, Julia Roberts, and
Kathy Trimble.

Sincerely yours, Stanley J. Czerwinski Director, Physical Infrastructure

Issues

[This page intentionally left blank.]

Appendi xes Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building

Appendi x I

Program Details HUD program/ initiative Program description Purpose
Recipients A. Office of Community Planning and Development

1. HOME Investment Provide formula funds to states and

Technical assistance training Participating jurisdictions and

Partnership Program local governments (participating improves the ability
of participating their subrecipients, including jurisdictions) to
implement local jurisdictions to effectively design

community housing housing strategies designed to and implement HOME
strategies. development organizations increase the supply of housing for
low- income persons. 2. Section 4, Capacity Provide assistance to develop
the

Technical assistance training, and Community development Building capacity
and ability of community capacity building funding are used

corporations, community development corporations and to enhance the
administrative housing development community housing development

capabilities of community organizations, Habitat for

organizations to undertake development corporations and Humanity, for-
profit and

community development and community housing development nonprofit
organizations

affordable housing projects and organizations. programs.

3. Section 107 Provide grants to metropolitan cities, Technical assistance
training Participating jurisdictions and

urban counties, consortia, and improves the skills, knowledge their
subrecipients, including states for technical assistance,

management, and administration community housing program management, and

practices of participating development organizations analytical support.

jurisdictions. 4. Youthbuild Program Provide disadvantaged young adults
Technical assistance training is

Public or private nonprofit with education and employment used to teach
agencies how to agencies, public housing skills through rehabilitating and
help youths learn housing

authorities (PHA), state and constructing housing for low- income
construction job skills and local governments, and Indian and homeless
people.

complete their high school tribes

education. 5. Housing Assistance Increase the availability of decent

Capacity building funding provides State and local governments, Council
and affordable housing for rural, local housing organizations with
nonprofits, for- profits, and rural low- income people.

seed money and technical PHAs assistance training to teach the skills
needed to improve communities. 6. Homeless Assistance Fund projects that
will fill gaps in Technical assistance training

Nonprofit organizations, locally developed systems to assist

promotes the development of government agencies, and other

homeless persons move toward housing and supportive services homeless
providers self- sufficiency and permanent

as part of the *continuum of care* housing. approach. 7. Rural Housing
Build capacity at the state and local Capacity building funding is used
Local rural nonprofit

Capacity Building level for rural housing and economic to carry out
functions, including the organizations, community development and support
innovative hiring/ training of staff, purchasing

development corporations, and housing and economic development software,
obtaining expertise from Indian tribes activities in rural areas. outside
sources, and developing

accounting systems and strategic plans.

Technical assistance and/ or capacity building Providers Funding
instrument How service is provided Oversight method

States and local governments, Cooperative agreement Workshops, training,
one- on- one On- site monitoring and review of

nonprofits and for- profit (competitive) assistance, and operating
monthly, quarterly, and annual professional and technical assistance

reports service companies National Community Grant and cooperative
Workshops, training, one- on- one Review of quarterly and annual
Development Initiative, Local

agreement (noncompetitive) assistance, and operating reports Initiatives
Support Corporation,

assistance Enterprise Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Youthbuild USA

States and local governments; Grant, contract, and cooperative Workshops,
training, and one- On- site monitoring and review of

nonprofits; colleges and agreement (competitive) on- one assistance
monthly, quarterly, and annual universities; and for- profit reports
professional and technical service companies

Public or private nonprofit Contract (competitive) Workshops, training,
and Determined on a case- by- case

organizations one- on- one assistance basis Housing Assistance Council
Cooperative agreement

National conference, regional Review of quarterly and annual headquarters
and field office (noncompetitive) training sessions, and reports staff
one- on- one assistance

States and local governments, Cooperative agreement Training sessions On-
site monitoring and review of

nonprofits, colleges and (competitive) monthly, quarterly, and annual
universities, and for- profit reports

professional and technical service companies Local rural nonprofit

Grant (competitive) Direct funding On- site monitoring and review of
organizations, community quarterly and annual reports development corps,
and Indian tribes

(Continued From Previous Page)

HUD program/ initiative Program description Purpose Recipients

8. Housing Opportunities Provide housing assistance and Capacity building
funding is used to States and local

for Persons with AIDS supportive services to address the train communities
to create

governments, and needs of persons living with HIV/ AIDS comprehensive
housing strategies nonprofits and their families.

and responsive area programs in sound management practices.

B. Office of Public and Indian Housing

9. Office of Troubled Coordinate and support the recovery Technical
assistance training is Troubled PHAs with Agency Recovery of troubled
PHAs, thereby ensuring

used to help troubled PHAs and PHAs identified deficiencies and

the provision of decent, safe, and with identified deficiencies to develop

PHAs in receivership affordable housing for all public and implement
solutions to improve housing residents, and provide

performance. support to the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) regional offices for nontroubled PHAs with identified or suspected

deficiencies. 10. HOPE VI Urban Replace and revitalize severely Technical
assistance trains PHAs and

PHAs Revitalization distressed public housing with

their residents by assessing the needs physical, management, and

for resident services and planning for social and community service

community and economic improvements.

development. 11. Resident Opportunities Link public housing residents with
Technical assistance training and

Public housing resident and Self- Sufficiency supportive services,
resident capacity building funding increases groups, tribes, and
empowerment activities, and

resident participation in housing nonprofits

assistance in becoming economically development management decisions.
self- sufficient.

12. Drug Elimination Provide grants for antidrug and Technical assistance
training combats PHAs, tribes, tribally anticrime efforts. a drug abuse
and related crime in public designated housing and Indian housing
communities. entities, and resident

organizations 13. Native American Support the inspection of Indian

Technical assistance training provides Tribes or tribally (Indian) Housing
Block housing units and assist in the

contractual services to tribes or tribally designated housing Grant
training, oversight, and management

designated housing entities. entities

of Indian housing and tenant- based assistance. 14. National American

Provide culturally relevant, decent, Technical assistance trains in Tribes
or tribally Indian Housing Council safe, sanitary, and affordable housing

specialized areas of Indian housing designated housing

for native people in American Indian management, finance, and budgets.
entities

communities and Alaskan native villages. 15. Capital Fund Program Provide
grants to PHAs for capital Technical assistance training ensures

HUD offices and PHAs improvement and management

effective implementation and activities, including modernization

monitoring of the Capital Fund and development of public housing. Program
and assists in the delivery of services to eligible PHAs.

Technical assistance and/ or capacity building Providers Funding
instrument How service is provided Oversight method

States and local governments, Contract and cooperative Training,
conferences, and Quarterly reports and submission and nonprofits agreement
(competitive) leadership events of all products for review Contractors and
Troubled

Contract and cooperative Guidance and training Review of expenditures and
Agency Recovery Center staff agreement (competitive) monitoring
contractor*s

deliverables and compliance with HUD requirements

Consulting groups, universities, Contract and cooperative Training,
project design, project

Review of expenditures and and national and

agreement (competitive) inspections, and program monitoring of
contractor*s community- based organizations

evaluation deliverables and compliance with HUD requirements

Resident organizations, tribes, Grant (competitive) Group training, one-
on- one Monitoring and reviewing of nonprofits, and national and

assistance, and conferences payment requests community- based
organizations

Consultants, PHAs, and tribally Grant and contract Training conferences
and

On- site monitoring and designated housing entities (competitive)
workshops evaluations Contractors Contract (competitive) Courses,
workshops, Monitor provider*s work and conferences, and other support
performance and review payment

services requests

National American Indian Contract (noncompetitive) Training courses and

Monitor courses and review Housing Council staff scholarships training
material, reports, and payment requests For- profit organizations and the
Contract, interagency Training sessions, construction Track fund
obligations and Army Corps of Engineers agreement, and cooperative
inspections, and capital fund expenditures agreement (competitive)

program implementation review

(Continued From Previous Page)

HUD program/ initiative Program description Purpose Recipients 16. Housing
Choice Voucher Allow low- income families to Technical assistance trains
PHAs to PHAs Program (Section 8) choose and lease or purchase safe,
improve voucher program decent, and affordable privately administration
and management. owned rental housing.

C. Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

17. Fair Housing Assistance Encourage state and local fair Capacity
building funding is used to

State and local fair housing Program housing enforcement agencies to

build enforcement capacity of enforcement agencies assume a greater share
of the existing and new state local fair governments, and general
responsibility for administration and

housing enforcement agencies to public enforcement of their fair housing
enforce the rights granted under the laws and ordinances. Fair Housing
Act. 18. Fair Housing Initiative

Program (a) Education Outreach Assist projects that inform and

Technical assistance training Public or private, profit and Initiative
educate the public about their

increases the number of referrals to nonprofit organizations; civil rights
and obligations under the HUD of fair housing complaints and

rights groups; special Fair Housing Act and substantially other
information regarding interest groups; and equivalent State and local fair
discriminatory practices. faith- based organizations housing laws.

(b) Fair Housing FHOI establishes new fair housing Capacity building
funding increases

Fair Housing Organizations Enforcement enforcement organizations in the
number of referrals to HUD of fair and Qualified Fair Housing underserved
areas and provides housing complaints and other

Organizations (1) Fair Housing

support to newly established fair information regarding discriminatory
Organizations

housing enforcement practices from new fair housing Initiative (FHOI)

organizations. PEI provides enforcement organizations. (2) Private
Enforcement

funding to private fair housing Initiative (PEI) organizations for
activities related to enforcing the Fair Housing Act and substantially
equivalent state and local fair housing laws.

D. Office of Housing* Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance
Restructuring

19. Mark- to- Market Program

(a) Intermediary Technical Supports the Mark- to- Market Capacity building
funding provides Nonprofit organizations

Assistance Grants program that restructures HUD*s predevelopment grants to
nonprofits

multifamily housing Section 8 to purchase Mark- to- Market

properties by lowering their rents properties with the aim of getting to
market levels and reducing their

more nonprofits into property mortgage debt if necessary to

ownership and management. permit a positive cash flow. (b) Outreach and
Technical Same as above description. Technical assistance training is used
Tenant groups, nonprofits, Assistance Grants to educate Mark- to- Market
property managers, community tenants about the restructuring leaders,
states and local

process, how it may affect them, their governments, local social rights,
and what they can do to service agencies, participate in the process.
coalitions, and legal aid

Technical assistance and/ or capacity building Providers Funding
instrument How service is provided Oversight method

Small contractors and Contract (competitive) Review procedures, identify
Review of monthly and final

nonprofits weak processes, prepare action reports, telephone plan,
streamline procedures, correspondence, and on- site and conduct training
sessions

technical assistance HUD field office staff, b public Cooperative
agreement- formula One- on- one assistance,

Review quarterly reports and and private individuals, and driven
(noncompetitive) in- person visits, regional and

on- site inspection organizations carrying out fair multiregional training
programs, housing activities

and national conferences States, nonprofits, units of Grant (competitive)
One- on- one assistance, On- site inspection and review of general local
government,

in- person visits, and an quarterly, annual, and final resident
organizations, colleges educational seminar

reports and universities, and for- profit professional technical service
companies Fair Housing Organizations and Grant and cooperative One- on-
one assistance,

On- site inspection and review of Qualified Fair Housing

agreement (competitive) in- person visits, educational quarterly, annual,
and final Organizations that carry out fair

seminars, and conferences reports housing goals, nonprofits, and

colleges and universities Nonprofit organizations Grant (competitive)
Direct funding, meetings, Review quarterly and annual workshops, site
visits, and by reports telephone

Small and large community- Grant (competitive) Tenant meetings Review
quarterly and annual

based organizations, nonprofits, reports and public entities

(Continued From Previous Page)

HUD program/ initiative Program description Purpose Recipients E. Office
of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control

20. Lead- Based Paint Hazard Evaluate and reduce leadbased Technical
assistance training

State and local governments, Reduction paint hazards, especially and
capacity building funding private property owners, paint

in housing rented or owned by help recipients evaluate and inspectors and
maintenance low- income families.

control housing- related, lead- workers, community housing based paint
hazards, and

agencies, and rehabilitation provide outreach and education specialists
activities.

Technical assistance and/ or capacity building Providers Funding
instrument How service is provided Oversight method

Nonprofit or for- profit Grant and contract Classes, individualized and

Review monthly and quarterly organizations (competitive) group meetings,
and delivery reports and on- site inspection and discussion of evaluative
reports

a Program discontinued in fiscal year 2002. b HUD staff only use technical
assistance funding for travel expenses.

Source: GAO analysis of HUD data.

Comments from the U. S. Department of

Appendi x II Housing and Urban Development

(541013)

GAO*s Mission The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of
Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability of
the federal government for the American people. GAO examines the use of
public funds; evaluates federal programs and

policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to
help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions.
GAO*s commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of
accountability, integrity, and reliability.

Obtaining Copies of The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO
documents at no cost is through the Internet. GAO*s Web site (www. gao.
gov) contains abstracts and fulltext GAO Reports and

files of current reports and testimony and an expanding archive of older
Testimony

products. The Web site features a search engine to help you locate
documents using key words and phrases. You can print these documents in
their entirety, including charts and other graphics.

Each day, GAO issues a list of newly released reports, testimony, and
correspondence. GAO posts this list, known as *Today*s Reports,* on its
Web site daily. The list contains links to the full- text document files.
To have GAO e- mail this list to you every afternoon, go to www. gao. gov
and select *Subscribe to daily E- mail alert for newly released products*
under the GAO Reports heading.

Order by Mail or Phone The first copy of each printed report is free.
Additional copies are $2 each. A check or money order should be made out
to the Superintendent of Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard.
Orders for 100 or more copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25
percent. Orders should be sent to:

U. S. General Accounting Office 441 G Street NW, Room LM Washington, D. C.
20548

To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512- 6000 TDD: (202) 512- 2537 Fax: (202)
512- 6061

To Report Fraud, Contact: Waste, and Abuse in

Web site: www. gao. gov/ fraudnet/ fraudnet. htm E- mail: fraudnet@ gao.
gov

Federal Programs Automated answering system: (800) 424- 5454 or (202) 512-
7470

Public Affairs Jeff Nelligan, managing director, NelliganJ@ gao. gov (202)
512- 4800 U. S. General Accounting Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149

Washington, D. C. 20548

a

GAO United States General Accounting Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Technical Assistance is an important means through which the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can influence how its program funds
are spent; this assistance can range from training workshops to one- on-
one assistance. GAO was asked to determine how many HUD technical
assistance programs Congress has authorized and their cost; why HUD offers
technical assistance programs and who provides and receives the services;
and whether HUD program offices are overseeing and measuring the impact of
their technical assistance programs as required.

October 2002 HUD MANAGEMENT

The full report, including GAO's objectives, scope, methodology, and
analysis is available at www. gao. gov. For additional information about
the report, contact Stan Czerwinski at (202) 512- 7631.

Highlights of GAO- 03- 12, a report to the Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Housing and Community Opportunity, Committee on Financial Services, House
of Representatives. Impact Measurement Needed for

Technical Assistance

What GAO Recommends

To determine whether HUD*s technical assistance programs are helping HUD
programs to meet their goals, GAO recommends that the Secretary of HUD
require the program offices that provide technical assistance programs to
determine the practicability of measuring the impact of these services
and, where appropriate, establish objective, quantifiable, and measurable
performance goals. In addition, GAO recommends that the Secretary provide
guidance to the program offices on how to establish such impact measures.

United States General Accounting Office

What GAO Found

HUD administers 20 technical assistance programs through five program
offices. Between fiscal years 1998 and 2002, the annual funding for HUD
technical assistance ranged between $108 million and $181 million. The two
offices that administer the largest number of programs have the largest
share of the overall technical assistance budget. The following figure
lists HUD*s five program offices* number of technical assistance programs
or initiatives administered, each program office*s definition of technical
assistance, their 5- year average total technical assistance funding for
fiscal years 1998 through 2002, and the percentage of overall technical
assistance funding.

Technical Assistance Programs and Funding

Program/ Initiative 5- year average

(millions) Percentage of

total funding

Office of Community Planning and Development: Eight programs help
organizations successfully access and utilize HUD*s programs and resources
to help them accomplish local community development goals. $68. 9 45.0
Office of Public and Indian Housing: Eight programs help public and Indian
housing agencies and residents improve their management, planning, and
monitoring practices and resident services. 50.6 33.1 Office of Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity: Two programs help organizations reduce
housing discrimination and provide an open and free housing market. 16.2
10.5 Office of Housing* Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance
Restructuring: One program to help educate and assist tenants who are
living in buildings that are undergoing financial restructuring to make
meaningful decisions about their housing. 10.3 6. 7 Office of Healthy
Homes and Lead Hazard Control: One program is designed to help recipients
evaluate and control housing- related lead- based paint hazards and
provide outreach and educational activities. 7.2 4. 7

Total $153.2 100

Source: GAO analysis of HUD data.

The general purpose of HUD*s technical assistance is to help program
participants carry out HUD program goals. Technical assistance providers
could be HUD officials; state or local governments; community- based, for-
profit, and nonprofit organizations; or resident service organizations.
Recipients of technical assistance could be states and units of local
governments, public or Indian housing agencies, community- or faith- based
organizations, or the public.

Although all five HUD program offices are overseeing technical assistance,
HUD does not require them to measure the impact of technical assistance,
has not developed guidance for its program offices to measure the impact
of the assistance, and has no plans to develop such guidance. HUD cannot
demonstrate the effectiveness of the assistance without some indication of
its impact. G A O Accountability Integrity Reliability

Highlights

Page i GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Contents

Contents

Page ii GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 1 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management United States General Accounting Office

Washington, D. C. 20548 Page 1 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

A

Page 2 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 3 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 4 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 5 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 6 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 7 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 8 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 9 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 10 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 11 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 12 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 13 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 14 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 15 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 16 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 17 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 18 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 19 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 20 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 21 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 22 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 23 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 24 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 25 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 26 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 27 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 28 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix I Technical Assistance/ Capacity Building Program Details

Page 29 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Page 30 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

Appendix II

Appendix II Comments from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development

Page 31 GAO- 03- 12 HUD Management

United States General Accounting Office Washington, D. C. 20548- 0001

Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300

Address Service Requested Presorted Standard

Postage & Fees Paid GAO Permit No. GI00
*** End of document. ***