ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with research, that is, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its predecessors' efforts to gain a better understanding of the intricate problems with which it deals and thus to improve its programs. It discusses HUD's research efforts and the brains it taps. HUD's relatively small research funds compared to those of other departments will lead us back to an examination of Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA) short-lived research program of the late 1940s and the long dry period that followed. The 1948 act authorized the HHFA administrator "to undertake technical research and studies on the development and promotion of standardized building codes and regulations, and standardized dimensions and methods for the assembly of home-building materials and equipment." HUD's research has also received useful support from the Urban Institute. A stable of readily available experts can greatly support a department's research efforts.
