Homelessness Policy Research Institute

What Homelessness Policy Research Institute does

The Homelessness Policy Research Institute (HPRI) is a non-profit, collaborative research institute established around 2021 and hosted by the University of Southern California's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Price School of Public Policy, with offices at 669 W 34th St, Suite 201, Los Angeles. HPRI convenes a network of over 100 researchers, policymakers, service providers, and experts with lived experience of homelessness to produce and translate evidence-based research aimed at accelerating equitable solutions to homelessness in Los Angeles County. Its core activities are organized into three streams: conducting and facilitating high-impact collaborative research; gathering and translating research on evidence-based approaches for policymakers and service providers; and convening stakeholders including researchers, policymakers, people with lived experience, and culturally specific organizations.

HPRI's product surface is research- and convening-based rather than technology-based. The flagship outputs are the HPRI Research Catalogue — a curated, searchable database of 585+ research items on LA homelessness policies and programs — and the HPRI Research Agenda, a strategic framework identifying knowledge gaps and research priorities. The institute also produces applied reports (e.g., the 2024 "The Work Behind Work" employment-based solutions study, the California Pet Assistance and Support program report with My Dog Is My Home and the ASPCA, and a national street-medicine research agenda) and hosts events such as the March 2026 "Evidence, Experience, and Pathways" convening co-hosted with Stanford SIEPR. There are no proprietary technology platforms; the underlying "infrastructure" is the partner ecosystem (USC, UCLA, RAND, Abt Associates, LAHSA, CSH, Economic Roundtable) and the methodological lead role HPRI plays on the Greater LA Homeless Count.

The organization operates as a non-revenue-charging research institute. All research outputs are distributed free of charge through the HPRI website, partner channels, and academic distribution. Funding comes from foundation grants — primarily the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation as core supporter, alongside the Home For Good Funders Collaborative, Kautz Family Foundation, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles (Michael & Irene Ross Endowment Fund). HPRI is led by Faculty Director Benjamin Henwood (Associate Professor at USC, methodological lead for the LA Homeless Count since 2017) and Managing Director Seth Watson Pickens, supported by an 8–10 person core staff. The organization is not publicly listed, has no equity, no disclosed revenue, and no proprietary technology stack; its "customers" are effectively LA County government agencies, LAHSA, California state offices, and the broader research and service-provider community.

Name

Homelessness Policy Research Institute

Legal name

Homelessness Policy Research Institute

Website

https://hpri.usc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Homelessness Policy Research Institute (HPRI) is a USC-hosted non-profit research collaborative that produces and translates evidence-based research on homelessness policy for Los Angeles County policymakers, service providers, researchers, and people with lived experience, funded primarily by foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB), Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Homelessness policy research
• Social policy analysis
• Housing research services
• Evidence-based convening
• Nonprofit research institute

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Support: Primary funding from foundations including Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Kautz Family Foundation, and Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles. These foundations provide core operational and programmatic support.
2. Collaborative Funding: Funding from Home For Good Funders Collaborative and other institutional partnerships for specific research initiatives and programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HPRI is a collaborative research institute that conducts and facilitates high-impact homelessness policy research, gathers and translates evidence-based research for policymakers and service providers, and convenes researchers, policymakers, people with lived experience, and community organizations. Its outputs include a curated Research Catalogue of 585+ entries on homelessness policy, a strategic Research Agenda framework, research translation services, and stakeholder convenings focused on Los Angeles County homelessness solutions through a racial equity lens.

Product overview

The Homelessness Policy Research Institute (HPRI) is a collaborative research institute, not a software product company. It operates as a unified research and convening organization with three primary activity areas: conducting and facilitating high-impact collaborative research on homelessness, gathering and translating research for policymakers and providers, and convening stakeholders including researchers, policymakers, people with lived experience, and community organizations. The core products include the Research Catalogue (a database of 585+ research items), the Research Agenda (a strategic policy framework), and stakeholder convening services. There are no separate software modules, add-ons, or technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HPRI Research Catalogue A curated, open-access database of 585+ research items (journal articles, reports, policy briefs, op-eds) on homelessness policies and programs in Los Angeles County, made available to policymakers, service providers, researchers, and the public. Users can search by topic, research type, author, or title.
• HPRI Research Agenda A strategic research framework document that identifies critical gaps in homelessness knowledge and advances research priorities to shape local policy and funding priorities in Los Angeles County, with explicit focus on racial equity, families and youth, the aging population, and unsheltered homelessness.
• Research Translation Services Service for assembling and translating evidence-based research on ending homelessness into formats usable by providers and policymakers, including documented examples of how research has been transformed into practice.
• Stakeholder Convening Services Convenes policymakers, researchers, people with lived experience, and culturally specific organizations to support research on ending homelessness in Los Angeles County, including co-hosted events such as the March 2026 Evidence, Experience, and Pathways convening with Stanford SIEPR.

Quantifiable outcome

• 585+ research publications catalogued and made accessible
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered notable and core.

• Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)notableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2026Co-hosted the Evidence, Experience, and Pathways convening on unsheltered homelessness in Los Angeles in March 2026.
• University of Southern California (USC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHPRI is hosted by USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Price School of Public Policy, providing institutional infrastructure and academic research partnership.
• USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional host providing administrative infrastructure, faculty appointments, and research collaboration for HPRI.
• UCLA Fielding School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner contributing faculty expertise in homelessness research, public health, and health disparities from UCLA.
• Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCritical government partner providing data, policy expertise, and service system knowledge for collaborative research on homelessness solutions.
• Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch committee partner providing expertise in supportive housing programs, policy analysis, and housing solutions research.
• RAND CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch committee partner contributing methodological expertise and conducting program evaluations for homelessness interventions.
• Abt AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch committee partner with expertise in housing and homelessness program evaluation across the country.
• Economic RoundtablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch committee partner providing research on employment-based solutions, predictive models, and homelessness intervention outcomes.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Already a research partner of HPRI but also a peer: RAND conducts homelessness program evaluation and policy research and competes for the same government and foundation funding in the homelessness research space.
• Urban Institute: Major social policy research organization conducting housing and homelessness research nationally. Comparable in research/translation function but operates at much larger scale and broader portfolio than HPRI.
• Brookings Institution — Metropolitan Policy Program: Major think tank producing housing and homelessness research and convenings nationally. Comparable research-to-policy function, though operating at broader scale and topic scope.
• Abt Associates: Research and consulting firm conducting housing and homelessness program evaluations. Comparable research-evaluation function but operates at much larger scale across many policy domains.

Emerging players

• PolicyLink: National research and advocacy organization advancing racial and economic equity, including work on housing and homelessness. Comparable equity-centered research/advocacy mission.

Direct peers

• Economic Roundtable: LA-based research nonprofit conducting policy and program research on homelessness, employment, and housing — a direct local peer, and also a research partner of HPRI.
• California Policy Lab at UCLA: UCLA-based policy research organization producing data-driven research on homelessness and housing — a research partner of HPRI and a direct peer in California-focused homelessness research.
• National Homelessness Law Center: National nonprofit using legal advocacy, research, and policy work to address homelessness. Comparable in combining research translation with policy advocacy targeting homelessness.
• National Alliance to End Homelessness: National nonprofit policy and advocacy organization focused on ending homelessness, producing research, convenings, and policy recommendations — highly comparable mission to HPRI's homelessness-focused research and convening model, though at national rather than LA County scope.
• Corporation for Supportive Housing: National nonprofit focused on supportive housing research, policy, and technical assistance — a research committee partner of HPRI and a direct peer in homelessness housing policy research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hpri

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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