Evidence has been central to the development of Housing First across the world. In Europe, the evidence base demonstrates that Housing First can be effective in countries with very different welfare and housing systems, cultural contexts, and levels of economic prosperity. 

Strong evidence has played a vital role in persuading governments, charities and service providers to adopt Housing First. In the United States and Canada, federal government regarded it as a proven model of effectiveness.  In France, following successful pilot projects, Housing First has been scaled up across the country and is central to the national homelessness strategy.

Housing First is the most evaluated and studied approach to homelessness.  Project and programme evaluations provide service providers, funders and policy makers with evidence of what is working and what needs to be improved.

We know that evidence can play a dual role: it is essential for demonstrating effectiveness, securing funding and ensuring the sustainable growth of Housing First, yet it can also expose limitations and will not always convince funders or policymakers. 

The Housing First Europe Hub developed a framework for evaluating Housing First, which can be used and adapted to your local context.  It can be found below.

We have also collected several important examples of HF evaluations (in our resource section). 

Evaluation Framework

To support researchers and service providers seeking to assess Housing First services, the Research group of the Housing First Europe Hub has developed an Evaluation Framework template for Housing First programmes in Europe.

The framework proposes two different configurations:

• Extended version: A version comprising different standardised and validated instruments per each area of the evaluation. This version would need a greater allocation of resources for its administration and ideally would be conducted by external researchers.
• Reduced version: A selected list of core indicators in any Housing First programme. The main idea is that this version can be easily administered by Housing First services and that it does not require a high resource allocation.

Download the framework here: Housing First Europe Evaluation Framework Template

We invite any researcher, organisation or Housing First service to freely use this evaluation framework. We only ask that you let us know when you are using the framework so that we can stay up to date on which services have undergone evaluation using this template – this is helpful to know when comparing data and outcomes from different services across Europe.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Saija Turunen (saija.turunen@ysaatio.fi), Researcher at the Housing First Europe Hub, for further guidance on its use.

We hope you will find this template helpful and welcome your feedback and suggestions for improvement!

Housing First in Europe – An Overview of Implementation, Strategy and Fidelity

This overview of the development of Housing First in 19 countries in Europe was designed to take a snapshot of how quickly Housing First is being adopted, the extent to which it is present in local, regional, and national strategies and homelessness programmes, as well as to provide a broad overview of fidelity to the model and the scale of service provision.

Comparative research drew on a standardised questionnaire to homelessness experts and specialists in Housing First in 19 countries. In several instances, the respondents held senior positions in Housing First programmes, including at national level. The countries were Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The report attempts to capture developments up to the end of 2018 and, to some extent, look forward to commitments entered into at that time.

Read the report summary here or download the full report here.

If you want to learn more about process evaluation, what to measure, and how to measure you will find detailed information in this document.

It gives an overview of how to effectively evaluate Housing First (HF) programmes. It distinguishes between process evaluation—which examines how a service operates and how closely it aligns with the core principles of Housing First (fidelity)—and effectiveness evaluation, which looks at what the service achieves for its users. Effectiveness evaluation focuses on outcomes such as housing sustainment, health and well-being, and user perspectives.

It outlines what to measure and why. Key areas include housing sustainment (length of time housed, stability), health and well-being (mental and physical health improvements, reduced substance use), and social integration (social networks, community participation, self-esteem). The document also addresses cost-effectiveness, examining whether HF achieves better results at the same or lower cost compared to other homelessness interventions, and whether it generates cost savings in related systems (e.g. health, justice, welfare).

Several evaluation approaches are presented. Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies offer rigorous evidence, while observational evaluations can provide valuable, though less robust, insights. The choice of method should reflect the size, resources, and goals of the programme.

The document emphasises proportionality and context: larger, well-funded programmes might justify complex RCTs, whereas smaller services may rely on simpler methods. Independent evaluation tends to be more influential, though high-quality in-house studies can still inform policy and practice. Meaningful evaluation of HF combines fidelity checks, outcome measurement, user involvement, and cost-effectiveness analysis to build a strong evidence base for scaling and sustaining Housing First approaches.

You can find the document here.