A FEW IMPORTANT POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN MAPPING OUT A PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER (PBV) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
ARE WE THERE YET? 
 
A FEW IMPORTANT POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN MAPPING OUT A PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER (PBV) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
 
1.   Developing a PBV project is a collaborative undertaking.  The key stakeholders are (at a minimum):  a public housing agency (PHA) and a developer and often a project sponsor,  a consultant, and a management agent.  Almost always, you can be assured that none of these stakeholders will have a clear understanding of their colleagues’ job requirements and pressures.  
 
2.    The HUD local office and HUD central office in D.C are also almost always indirect partners in this collaboration.    
 
3.    Developing a successful PBV project is like planning for a long trip.  Key steps need to be mapped out and each of the “passenger” stakeholders needs to be clear about how long it will take to “get there.”  
 
4.   DHCD has learned from extensive experience that the most successful PBV projects start out by getting all the key players around a table together before DHCD makes a final commitment of PBVs.  It provides an opportunity for everyone to get to meet one another, to better understand each player’s concerns and deadlines, and to set the stage for respectful and continued dialogue as the project moves to AHAP and then goes under HAP.  It also can identify projects that would not be well served by a “development” PBV commitment. 
 
5.  ARE WE THERE YET???  Unless all the key players understand the PBV 
requirements at the outset of the development process, the process can seem like a car 
filled with whiny kids who lack an understanding of the route and bumps along the way 
and become quickly impatient with the time it takes to arrive at their destination.  FOR 
THE SMOOTHEST RIDE POSSIBLE, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR RESPECTIVE ROLE IN THE PROCESS HAPPENS TO BE, INSIST THAT ALL THE PASSENGERS MEET EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS AND AGREE ON THE “ROUTE” AND LIKELY “TIMELINE”  FOR PROJECT COMPLETION.