The Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH) launched the first Vanguard Cities cohort in 2017 with key global strategic partners, pioneering work in 13 cities across six continents. Each city made a commitment to significantly reducing or ending homelessness within its local context. The initiative is designed to support and uplift local expertise and innovation while fostering the benefits of both community and global exchange. IGH has since expanded its work by creating the Vanguard Network, a global platform for sharing knowledge on homelessness programs, policy, and research.
With the Vanguard Program, IGH builds on its core work—supporting leadership, exchanging knowledge, creating global infrastructure, and advocating for change—to make a meaningful impact on homelessness in cities worldwide.
Vanguard Program: Ways to Engage in the Global Movement to End Homelessness
Vanguard Cohort
In the program, IGH partners with communities on strategy, measurement, and program implementation, helping them make both quantitative and qualitative progress toward their homelessness reduction goals. Through its global network of homelessness experts, IGH provides targeted technical assistance to address the unique challenges each city faces in ending homelessness. The Vanguard Program is expanding to work with additional cities, regions, and countries that are leading on their homelessness strategies. These Vanguard partnerships further elevate each city’s efforts by supporting comprehensive plans to end homelessness, fostering stakeholder coalition-building, and sharing lessons with an international network.
Vanguard Network
The Vanguard Network brings together homelessness practitioners, government leaders, people of lived experience, and researchers to exchange knowledge and evidence in an international community of practice. If you lead a homeless organization, work for a city, regional, or national government, or represent a collaborative group working on homelessness, we invite you to join the network. Members will attend meetings bridging research to practice, including policy round table discussions, cohort calls, and technical sessions. They will also be invited to engage in United Nations advocacy campaigns and contribute to IGH events and publications.
Vanguard Program Overview
Vanguard Program Expression of Interest Form
Vanguard Partners
Vanguard Cities: International Comparative Study
Heriot-Watt’s Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) and GISS Bremen, have produced an Evaluation of the Institute of Global Homelessness “A Place to Call Home” initiative which works with Vanguard Cities across the globe to set targets and support them in their efforts to end street homelessness.
Funded by the Oak Foundation this international comparative study explores the approaches of the first 13 vanguard cities in their efforts to tackle street homelessness. The research found both successes and systematic failures and established a set of recommendations on what works and what does not in addressing street homelessness.
Access the Report: English – Español
Map of Vanguard Partners
