Areas of Focus
We believe that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for housing affordability. Each year, we award three Ivory Prize winners - one from each of our three areas of focus. The housing industry faces a wide range of challenges, but together, these organizations comprise a portfolio of solutions as diverse and varied as the problems they are intended to solve.
Our Ivory Prize areas of focus are as follows:
Finance
The last great innovation in housing finance was the modern 30-year mortgage which emerged in 1957. New tools are needed as the next generation of homeowners faces a unique set of constraints. These constraints range from higher personal/student debt and a growing number of careers with regular job changes to a longer timeline for family formation, and rapid urbanization. The Ivory Prize recognizes that new financial contracts must be negotiated to provide this generation the same opportunity to build wealth through home-ownership.
Construction & Design
Innovative construction and design play a critical role in bringing down the cost of housing and improving building performance. The Ivory Prize award will focus on approaches for both new construction and rehabilitation. Participants may advocate the new materials or practices which provide improved efficiency in home building or use. Areas of interest include material production and use sustainability, income generating opportunities such as power generation or mixed-use spaces, and the potential of emerging smart devices and use of data.
Policy & Regulatory Reform
From local building codes and zoning laws to federal materials and appliance standards, the housing space is subject to more regulatory oversight and intervention than virtually any other industry, placing a unique burden on innovators in the housing space. The Ivory Prize recognizes teams which demonstrate competency in using policy to their advantage with a particular focus on supporting new, scalable, approaches to improve housing policy.
Areas of Consideration
In addition to recognizing organizations working on solutions in the areas of focus above, the Ivory Prize also considers the following areas during the evaluation process.
Years of systemic oppression have lead to a serious inequality in housing, leaving minorities disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. Redlining, the discriminatory practice of denying loans or other financial services to residents of certain areas, usually based off of ethnicity or race, still poses an issue years after it was made illegal. Ivory Innovations seeks to recognize solutions across all areas of focus that address this inequality, and encourages organizations with diverse leadership to apply for the Prize.
Racial Inequality
Building operations and the construction industry account for almost 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions. To improve environmental sustainability and outcomes, many innovators are working on new ideas, methods, materials, and approaches. The Ivory Prize seeks to recognize solutions across all areas of focus that address this issue.
Environmental Sustainability
Past Areas of Consideration
The COVID-19 crisis created unique challenges and dynamics in the housing sector. Despite turmoil across many sectors of the economy, the housing market remained relatively strong, and home prices did not drop as they did during the last recession. Instead, COVID-19 slashed incomes and left many without the ability to make rent. The pandemic thus exacerbated already-existing inequities, created deep challenges in addressing issues of evictions and homelessness, and compounded many other issues affecting housing affordability.