Webinar | Housing & Self-Reliance for Displaced Populations: Emerging Evidence Fr. Jordan & Colombia

Adequate housing is a foundational element for self-reliance among displaced populations, yet it remains under-emphasized in both humanitarian and development programs. This webinar featured two recent research efforts from distinct contexts demonstrating how housing programs can affect broader domains of self-reliance, such as psychosocial well-being, safety, integration, and economic resilience: Abdulrazzak Tamim, PhD Candidate in the Economics Department at Berkeley, presented findings from the Syrian Refugee Life Study (S-RLS)’s randomized controlled trial of housing subsidies for Syrian refugees in Jordan and highlighted unexpected results and implications for intervention design. Juan Pablo Franco Jiménez, Country Director of Blumont in Colombia, shared insights from two quasi-experimental impact evaluations on rental support for IDPs and migrants, which involved over 15,000 beneficiaries across multiple intervention rounds in Colombia. Together, these presentations offered a unique opportunity to compare population groups, policy environments, and program designs—while drawing out shared lessons and critical differences.