CDFI Fund Announces Research Projects to be Undertaken Through its Policy Research Initiative

October 3, 2007

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced the selection of twelve research proposals it will fund on a wide range of pertinent topics of interest to the CDFI Fund and those seeking to improve underserved, low-income communities around the nation.

“We are very pleased to announce the research proposals selected under the CDFI Fund’s Policy Research Initiative,” said CDFI Fund Director Kimberly A. Reed. “It is important that we build a strong foundation of knowledge documenting the role, impact, and future possibilities of CDFIs. Across the nation, CDFIs are filling financial service gaps in low-income communities and are at the forefront of innovating responsible financial products and services. This research initiative will highlight these accomplishments and help outline a path for our greater future success.”

The research proposals selected are:

• The Role of CDFIs in Addressing the Subprime Mortgage Market;
• The Role of CDFIs in Home Ownership Finance;
• An Analysis of Successful CDFI Mortgage Lending Strategies;
• Mainstreaming Acquisition Loans for Cooperative Manufactured Housing Communities;
• Evaluating the CDFI Fund’s Investment in Native CDFIs;
• Emerging Trends in CDFI Sustainability;
• Riskiness of Sector-Dependence in CDFIs;
• CDFIs and the Segmentation of Underserved Markets;
• Community Development Venture Capital in Rural Communities;
• Examining the Relationship Between the Small Business Lending Patterns of CDFIs and Mainstream Financial Institutions;
• Assessment of CDFI Support of Supermarket Development; and
• Assessing Community Development Loan Funds’ Systematic Impacts.

Detailed Descriptions of Research Topics (PDF)

The types of research to be conducted include case studies and surveys, quantitative analysis, and analysis of data collected through the CDFI Fund’s Community Investment Impact System. The research projects will be completed by May 2008, and the CDFI Fund anticipates that it will organize and conduct three industry roundtables in the summer of 2008 to present and discuss the findings.

Forty-four research proposals were received through the request for proposals that was issued in July 2007. These proposals were competitively reviewed by three independent readers and scored on the basis of quality, methodology, relevance, and timeliness to the CDFI Fund in particular and CDFIs in general. The Fund contracted with Abt Associates, Inc., an independent research firm, to manage all phases of this research initiative.

The CDFI Fund’s mission is to expand the capacity of financial institutions to provide credit, capital, and financial services to underserved populations and economically distressed communities in the United States.