Case Study
Informed Regional Housing Frameworks
Location
Regional Western Australia
Client
Department of Communities
Description
The availability, affordability and appropriateness of housing in regional WA remains one of the State’s most significant economic and social challenges. Housing constraints impact the ability of regions to attract and retain workers, deliver essential services and support economic development.
361 Degrees partnered with the Department of Communities to design and facilitate a statewide program of stakeholder engagement to inform the development of Regional Housing Plans across 13 locations in regional Western Australia. Our role included the strategic design and implementation of an engagement methodology capable of capturing region-specific intelligence, identifying common themes and generating actionable insights to inform policy development and investment priorities.
The workshop program was designed to:
- Develop a robust evidence base to inform place-based Regional Housing Plans.
- Identify the unique housing drivers, challenges and opportunities within each region.
- Test assumptions and supplement quantitative data with local knowledge.
- Identify emerging trends and future demand pressures that may influence housing supply and investment decisions.
- Build a shared understanding of the relationship between housing, economic development and community wellbeing.
Project Outcomes
The engagement generated a rich evidence base that directly informed the development of Regional Housing Plans and provided the Department with region-specific intelligence to support future policy, investment and advocacy decisions.
Key outcomes included:
- Identification of the critical factors driving housing demand and supply in each region.
- Improved understanding of the relationship between housing availability, workforce attraction and regional economic development.
- Identification of infrastructure, service and amenity requirements necessary to support future housing growth.
- Validation of existing data and identification of information gaps and emerging trends.
- Regionally specific priorities and opportunities to inform targeted housing interventions and investment.
- Strengthened relationships and shared understanding among stakeholders with an ongoing role in addressing regional housing challenges.
The project demonstrated the value of well-designed, evidence-based engagement to inform policy development and ensure that future housing strategies are grounded in local knowledge, regional realities and stakeholder priorities.
