UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative

Name

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative

Legal name

UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative

Website

https://homelessness.ucsf.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Science Research / Homelessness Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Evaluation & Health Technology Assessment (Public Programs) (HLAJANAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fair Housing, Compliance & Housing Program Oversight (FSALAKAN)

Keywords

• Homelessness research
• Policy-oriented research
• Housing research
• Health equity research
• Evidence-based policy

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Funding: Originally funded by a generous gift from Marc and Lynne Benioff. The organization operates as a research initiative within UCSF, supported by foundation grants and donor contributions.
2. Foundation Grants: Funded by California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), Blue Shield of California Foundation, and other research grants for specific studies and reports.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BHHI is a university-based research center that conducts rigorous, mixed-methods policy-oriented research on the causes, consequences, and solutions to homelessness. It disseminates findings through flagship research studies (notably CASPEH), specialized topic reports, policy briefs, practical toolkits, and educational webinars free of charge to local, state, and national policymakers, practitioners, and the public.

Product overview

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative (BHHI) is a university research center that produces evidence-based research, policy reports, toolkits, and educational webinars rather than a traditional software product. Their core offerings include the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) - their flagship comprehensive research study - along with specialized topic reports on health & homelessness, behavioral health, racial equity (Black and Latine experiences), older adults, and intimate partner violence. BHHI also develops practical toolkits including the Encampment Resolution Guide, Encampment Prioritization Tool, and Lived Expertise Partnership Toolkit. They host educational webinars and produce academic research publications. These products serve policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working to prevent and end homelessness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CASPEH (California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness): The largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s, examining the characteristics, experiences, and pathways into homelessness for thousands of Californians.
• HOPE HOME (Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age)

Products and services

• California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) The largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s, providing comprehensive data on causes and consequences of homelessness in California through nearly 3,200 questionnaires and 365 in-depth interviews across eight regions.
• Toward Thriving: Understanding Health & Homelessness Comprehensive report examining the relationship between poor health and homelessness, including chronic disease prevalence, barriers to care, and policy recommendations for coordinated housing, healthcare, and social service responses.
• Behavioral Health and Homelessness Report Report examining the relationship between homelessness, substance use, and mental health, providing insights for policymakers and healthcare systems on behavioral health challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness.
• Toward Equity: Latine Experiences of Homelessness Report examining Latine Californians' experiences of homelessness, highlighting how structural anti-Latine racism, housing exclusion, and administrative barriers shape pathways into homelessness.
• Toward Equity: Understanding Black Californians' Experiences of Homelessness Report examining Black Californians' experiences of homelessness, addressing the overrepresentation of Black communities in the homeless population due to systemic policies and practices.
• Toward Dignity: Understanding Older Adult Homelessness Report exploring who experiences homelessness in late life, how they lost housing, their experiences during homelessness, and barriers to regaining housing among older adults.
• Toward Safety: Understanding Intimate Partner Violence and Homelessness Report analyzing the intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and homelessness, including how violence creates conditions leading to homelessness for survivors with limited financial resources.
• Encampment Resolution Guide Strategic guide focused on connecting unsheltered individuals to stable housing rather than displacing them, employing evidence-based practices to prevent re-encampment.
• Encampment Prioritization Tool Tool designed to help communities allocate limited resources equitably by balancing urgent encampment response needs with housing and shelter resource shortages and health/safety considerations.
• Creating Authentic, Effective Partnerships Toolkit Guide for forming and sustaining meaningful partnerships between organizations and people with lived expertise of homelessness, resulting from a two-year partnership with a Lived Expertise Advisory Board.
• Unsheltered Homelessness Topic Brief Brief examining who experiences unsheltered homelessness, how they lost housing, their experiences during homelessness, and barriers to regaining housing, with recommendations for evidence-based strategies.
• Pregnancy and Homelessness Topic Brief Brief reviewing pregnancy experiences during homelessness, including how participants lost housing, their experiences while homeless, and barriers to regaining housing.
• City of Berkeley Encampment Resolution/RV Buyback Program Interim Evaluation Interim evaluation of the City of Berkeley's Encampment Resolution/RV Buyback Program, assessing outcomes including encampment closure, participant housing transitions, and program effectiveness.

Quantifiable outcome

• Encampment resolution program resulted in 29 of 32 vehicle owners accepting buybacks and 41 of 54 eligible residents moving into shelter
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Lived Expertise Advisory Board (LEAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard of 10 people with current or past experiences of homelessness from across California who serve as trusted collaborators through every step of the research process from framing questions to interpreting findings.
• Learning Collaborative Advisory BoardmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresentatives from each of the eight Continuums of Care where the CASPEH survey was conducted, lending expertise to support survey design and community engagement.
• Policy and Practice Advisory BoardmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners from local, state, and national government agencies and service providers working on homelessness and housing issues. Members include representatives from HUD, California Health & Human Services Agency, National Alliance to End Homelessness, and various Continuums of Care.
• City of BerkeleymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity requested BHHI conduct an independent scientific evaluation of Berkeley's Encampment Resolution/RV Buyback Program to understand what works and how future programs can better support people moving from encampments into shelter and housing.
• California Health Care FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on health and homelessness research, with CHCF staff participating in webinars and providing resources on street medicine and medical respite programs.
• National Alliance to End HomelessnessmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided endorsement of BHHI's Behavioral Health report, emphasizing the connection between homelessness and behavioral health challenges and supporting the report's recommendations.
• Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided endorsement of BHHI's Behavioral Health report, noting that individuals with behavioral health challenges can flourish in affordable housing with supportive services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• RTI International: Nonprofit research institute conducting survey research, program evaluation, and policy analysis across health and social programs. Comparable in mixed-methods research scale and federal/state-government customer base.
• Westat: Employee-owned research firm providing statistical survey design, program evaluation, and policy research to federal agencies. Comparable in operating large-scale survey-based studies (CASPEH analog) for government clients.
• Urban Institute: Nonprofit research organization producing evidence-based research on housing, homelessness, health, and economic mobility in the U.S. Directly comparable along business model (philanthropy-funded research institute) and overlapping study portfolio (homelessness, health equity, housing policy).
• Abt Associates: Research and evaluation firm working across health, housing, and social policy for federal agencies including HUD. Comparable in delivering large-scale program evaluations, survey research, and policy analysis on homelessness and supportive housing.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Major social policy research firm conducting rigorous program evaluations and policy analysis for federal and state agencies. Comparable as a contractor of large-scale program evaluations (e.g., Berkeley encampment evaluation) and mixed-methods research methodologies on social safety-net programs.
• RAND Corporation: A leading nonprofit policy research institution producing rigorous empirical research on social policy, health, housing, and homelessness. Comparable to BHHI in operating model (university-adjacent, mixed-methods policy research on social issues) and in serving federal/state policymakers as the primary customer.
• Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC): Nonprofit social-policy research organization known for evidence-based program evaluations using randomized designs. Comparable in producing rigorous evaluations of interventions for vulnerable populations, including housing and supportive-services programs.

Broad incumbents

• Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH): National nonprofit focused on advancing supportive housing solutions for vulnerable populations. Comparable in mission, frequent policy partnership with BHHI (report endorsements), and as a homelessness/housing system-change intermediary.
• National Alliance to End Homelessness: The leading nonprofit policy and advocacy organization focused on homelessness in the U.S., producing national reports and policy recommendations. While not a research institute, NAEH is the most prominent comparably-positioned organization in the homelessness space and an explicit endorsement partner of BHHI.
• Brookings Institution: Major public-policy research organization producing high-visibility research across domestic policy including housing and homelessness. Comparable in policy-research brand, federal-level engagement, and emphasis on evidence-based recommendations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ucsfbhhi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UCSFBHHI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ucsfbhhi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative