Stakeholders' perspective on collaboration barriers in low-income housing provision: a case study from Pakistan

The global housing shortage affects over 20% of the world's population, with a significant need for affordable housing among low-income groups. Effective collaboration among stakeholders is crucial for addressing this need. However, various barriers hinder this collaboration, particularly in developing countries. This research addresses a knowledge gap by investigating stakeholder collaborations in the low-income housing sector in Pakistan, a country where a significant portion of urban households live in informal settlements lacking basic infrastructure. The study focuses on Lahore, Punjab, due to its high population density and existing low-income housing projects like the Ashiana Housing Project (AHP). The research explores the experiences and perspectives of stakeholders from the state, market, and civil society sectors to identify key obstacles preventing effective partnerships and project delivery.

Existing literature highlights several barriers to stakeholder collaboration in affordable and low-income housing globally. These barriers include government capacity limitations, complex institutional structures, insufficient political will, inadequate policies, and unfavorable environments for collaboration. Studies in other contexts have pointed to factors like fiscal constraints, cultural barriers, market limitations, knowledge gaps, legislative obstacles, and technological challenges. In Pakistan, previous research on housing has focused on various aspects like finance models, urban sprawl, housing inequalities, public housing institutions, and market dynamics but has not specifically addressed the collaboration barriers in the low-income housing sector. This study aims to fill this research gap.

This study employs a qualitative case study approach to explore stakeholder experiences and perspectives in Lahore and Islamabad. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for in-depth interviews, including representatives from state (government authorities), market (developers, banks, consultants), and civil society (NGOs) sectors. Thirty interviews, 12 from Lahore and 18 from Islamabad, were conducted, each lasting an hour or more. The interviews focused on barriers to collaboration in low-income housing provision, exploring issues related to land acquisition, infrastructure, finance, policy frameworks, and stakeholder engagement. Thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 12, involving initial, focused, and theoretical coding to identify key themes and patterns. The researcher used reflexivity to control for bias.

The findings reveal five overarching categories of collaboration barriers, synthesized as "GLIPP": 1. **Government Capacity:** This category includes issues of accountability and transparency, poor coordination among government departments, limited fiscal funds and mortgage facilities, shortage of human capital, poor efficiency in project execution, and a lack of trust in government institutions. Key issues identified were the lack of clear project planning, slow administrative processes, inadequate infrastructure development, and the insufficient mortgage facilities available for low-income earners. The weak performance of institutions such as the Housing Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) and the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) was highlighted. 2. **Institutional Complexity:** Significant challenges stemmed from procedural delays in land acquisition, bureaucratic inefficiencies, lengthy legislative processes, and overlapping jurisdictions among various housing authorities, resulting in duplicated efforts and confusion. 3. **Incompetent State Legislation:** This encompasses the poorly regulated real estate sector, widespread corruption within government departments, weak policy enforcement, and the negative impacts of weak foreclosure laws. 4. **Absence of Political Will:** Vested interests of political leaders, constant shifts in government management leading to inconsistent policies and project execution, and a lack of trust in government initiatives were identified as significant hurdles. The influence of political agendas on project delays and decision-making was evident. 5. **Poor Environment for Collaboration:** This includes a limited culture of collaboration within the housing sector, inadequate acknowledgement of technical expertise, a poor sense of civic responsibility, and a lack of proactive engagement from stakeholders. This manifested as biased stakeholder selection in government projects, underpayment or non-payment of consultants, and limited volunteer participation in civic responsibility activities. Additionally, significant policy and practice gaps were identified, including a lack of comprehensive housing policies that address the housing backlog, inadequate frameworks for targeting low-income groups, and weak housing finance policies.

The findings highlight the interconnected nature of the barriers to stakeholder collaboration in low-income housing provision in Pakistan. The GLIPP framework effectively captures the complex interplay of institutional, political, economic, and social factors hindering the effective delivery of affordable housing. The study underscores the need for systemic changes, including institutional reforms, policy improvements, and fostering a more collaborative and transparent environment. The prevalence of corruption, lack of coordination, and insufficient political will are critical factors undermining efforts to provide adequate housing for low-income populations. The identified limitations in government capacity and inadequate housing finance policies severely restrict the availability of affordable housing options.

This study contributes to the understanding of collaboration barriers in the Pakistani low-income housing sector by introducing the GLIPP framework. The findings emphasize the need for organizational restructuring within government institutions, promoting stronger public-private partnerships, and cultivating a stronger sense of civic responsibility among all stakeholders. Future research could focus on in-depth case studies of specific projects to further understand how these barriers manifest in practice, and to evaluate potential solutions.

This study is limited to a case study of Lahore and Islamabad, potentially limiting the generalizability of findings to other regions of Pakistan. While the sample size is relatively large, it may not fully capture the diversity of experiences and perspectives within each stakeholder group. The reliance on self-reported data from interviews may also introduce biases in the findings.