Senior Research Fellow, Center Research and Innovative Solutions

The Center for Housing Research and Innovative Solutions

The Center for Housing Research and Innovative Solutions (CHRIS) at the University of Denver is the first center of its kind in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West — an interdisciplinary hub for housing research, data, policy evaluation, and education. Bringing together expertise in real estate, land use law, public policy, and social sciences, CHRIS produces rigorous, nonpartisan research spanning the full housing continuum — from deeply affordable to market-rate, rental to home ownership — with a focus on production and preservation, affordability, and resilience.

CHRIS applies innovative research methods, policy tools, and technologies, including in emerging areas like industrialized construction, to expand whats possible for how housing is built, financed, accessed, and preserved. Through policy evaluation, comparative research, and market analytics, CHRIS translates evidence into practical, forward-looking solutions for policymakers, practitioners, and communities, while building regional data infrastructure that strengthens housing decision-making across Colorado and the region.

CHRIS also advances the next generation of housing leaders through research training, applied learning opportunities, and executive education for practitioners and policymakers.

Housed in the Office of the Provost, CHRIS provides central leadership, infrastructure, and accountability while drawing on faculty expertise from across the University, including the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, the Sturm College of Law, the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, and the Graduate School of Social Work. The Center partners closely with governments, nonprofits, philanthropy, and the private sector to evaluate housing policies, analyze market dynamics, and identify evidence-based solutions.

The Senior Research Fellow will serve as a senior applied researcher and strategic thought partner to the Executive Director during CHRIS’s startup and growth. The fellow will help shape CHRIS’s research agenda, identify emerging policy and market questions, develop partnerships and funding opportunities, and directly lead and execute policy-relevant research on housing production, affordability, and access, and translating findings into practical tools and recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, and practitioners.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Senior Policy Fellow will lead applied research on sponsored, grant-funded projects; play a central role in developing new research and funding opportunities for CHRIS; and build CHRIS’s capacity to produce both long‑term rigorous research and timely analysis responsive to urgent market and policy questions.

Initially, the Fellow will support CHRIS’s sponsored research, grant development, market analysis, policy evaluation, external engagement, and other emerging priorities. As CHRIS adds staff and its research portfolio develops, the Fellow is expected to provide leadership in housing market analysis, development feasibility and financing, and policy simulation and application.

This is a one-year, fixed-term position with the expectation that this position can be extended based on program needs and funding. This position is suited to a senior researcher with substantial experience applying economic analysis and rigorous quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method research to housing policy and practice.

Length of position is dependent on gift/grand funding availability.

Strategic Leadership and Organizational Development:
Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Executive Director and contribute to the development of…