What is OneCPD?

The OneCPD Integrated Practitioner Assistance System (OneCPD) was first authorized under HUD’s Transformation Initiative, contained in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Appropriations Act of 2010. OneCPD represents a fundamental change in the way CPD structures and delivers technical assistance. The new model recognizes that grantees layer resources from various programs to achieve community goals: development and preservation of affordable housing, operation of housing and services for special needs populations, economic and community development and creation of jobs. This new approach represents an evolution from the manner in which TA was previously delivered which was specific to a single program and often not coordinated with other available TA.

OneCPD provides technical assistance that is comprehensive, needs-based and cross-program to address five specific objectives:

1. Improve grantees’ ability to assess conditions in the affordable segment of their local housing markets and commercial real estate markets, business and employment trends and other public and private investments known to be underway in their areas.
2. Improve grantees’ ability to design, implement, and leverage housing and community and economic development programs based upon an accurate assessment of their local markets and investment landscape.
3. Assure timely and effective performance by grantees and their partners, as well as effective project tracking and monitoring
4. Improve grantees’ understanding of, and compliance with, statutory and regulatory requirements.
5. Foster innovation in housing and community development program design and finance.

OneCPD will coordinate and often integrate the various CPD TA programs that currently serve a wide variety of grantees and program partners.

These TA programs include:

1. CPD’s “legacy system” TA which provides TA to CPD grantees in the following programs: CDBG, HOME/CHDO TA, SNAPs and HOPWA.
2. Section 4 Capacity Building provides funding to Habitat for Humanity, LISC, and Enterprise to build capacity of non-profit organizations.
3. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) TA provides technical assistance to neighborhood stabilization program grantees.

Ultimately, the OneCPD model will develop capacity and address technical assistance issues in a truly place-based manner that is tailored to local market conditions, rather than conforming to a one-size-fits-all approach. In the process, OneCPD will promote innovation in communities across the country and foster replication of what works. And OneCPD will allow grantees to demonstrate their accomplishments by measuring not only the outputs of this technical assistance and capacity building but community outcomes and impacts as well.

What is OneCPD Technical Assistance?

OneCPD TA employs a cross-program approach to build sustainable grantee management systems and organizational capacity. OneCPD TA provides simultaneous support for all applicable CPD programs within a community. Instead of concentrating on a single CPD program, OneCPD TA will support grantees through a comprehensive approach to technical assistance that will optimize each grantee’s ability to establish and manage efficient and effective projects.

The following are the eligible OneCPD TA activities:

• Comprehensive Needs Assessments to determine the nature and scope of TA and/or capacity building needed. Needs assessments will involve the use of multiple types of information collection and analysis to develop custom analytics, to quantify the impact of community and economic development engagements, to improve foreclosure response analysis, and to identify local market conditions so that program resources may be better targeted and leveraged.
• Direct TA and Capacity Building in one-on-one settings with grantee staff through in-person and remote communications. Direct TA engagements will be prioritized based on need and categorized depending on the extent of the TA.
• Development of Tools and Products to assist CPD grantees and other program partners to understand complex program statutes and regulations as well as other program requirements. The tools and products will take several forms such as web-based training and model documents.
• Self-Directed and Group Learning Sessions will increase the capacity and close competency gaps of participants by enabling them with the necessary program knowledge and skill sets needed to administer and manage CPD programs. These sessions may include:
• In-person and long distance learning opportunities
• Problem Solving Clinics
• Program certifications
• Learning Communities/Peer-to-Peer Networking
• Core Curricula for Skills Based Training. CPD is also launching “Core Curricula” which supports the development and delivery of training courses and seminars to improve grantee skills in the areas of development finance, energy efficiency/green building, environmental review and compliance, asset management and preservation, and construction and rehabilitation management.