CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Forum brought together 50 citizen delegates, elected officials and industry experts for a three-day Civic Assembly at the Grappone Conference Center, where participants considered approaches to the state’s housing challenges and approved six housing policy directives.
The New Hampshire Forum is a bipartisan, statewide, citizen-led civic engagement effort that aims to give Granite Staters a direct voice in shaping public policy. Its process includes online engagement and community conversations intended to identify consensus on major issues.
Small group discussions about public policy issues during the New Hampshire Forum community conversation held in Nashua on July 21, 2026. Dan Splaine / Nashua Independent del delegates.
“In New Hampshire, nearly 70,000 people logged on to our website. About 18,000 took an action to identify an issue,” said Donna Soucy, Democratic state co-chair of the New Hampshire Forum. “We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of people come to our community conversations, both in person and online, and the culmination of that is our Civic Assembly.”
Delegates were randomly selected and demographically matched to reflect New Hampshire’s geographic, political and demographic diversity. During the weekend assembly, they heard presentations from independent subject-matter experts on housing affordability, availability and homeownership. They then participated in a series of discussions and small-group sessions led by nonpartisan facilitators to develop potential solutions and priorities that could win majority support.
The assembly approved six housing policy directives, each with at least 70% support. Those directives will be developed into legislative recommendations for New Hampshire lawmakers ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
The six policy goals, listed by level of delegate support, were:
84% support: Expand water, sewer and public transportation infrastructure to increase the supply of affordable housing.
82% support: Increase manufactured and prefabricated homes to expand affordable housing options.
79% support: Increase housing supply and help keep existing housing sustainable and affordable so residents can remain in New Hampshire.
73% support: Expand affordable housing options and access.
70% support: Increase access to housing that meets residents’ needs and financial resources.
70% support: Improve education, access and accountability related to housing stability.
Each directive is supported by more detailed policy actions developed during the assembly. The New Hampshire Forum said those actions will be published soon. The Forum’s bipartisan Legislative Advisory Team will then work to craft proposed legislation for the 2027 session.
Nashua Alderman-at -Large Alicia Gregg is a member of the Legislative Advisory Team,
New Hampshire Forum community conversation at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua on July 21, 2026. Public-policy insights and ideas discussed during the Nashua session helped inform the Civic Assembly held in Concord. Dan Splaine / Nashua Independent
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I got here,” said John DePaulis, a delegate from Nashua. “We all arrived as strangers from different parts of the state but quickly began working together to absorb a lot of information and hear different perspectives. We didn’t always agree 100%, but by the end of three days, I think we came up with some real solutions to hand over to the Legislature. I’m excited to see what they do with them.”
“The process has been both impressive and inspiring,” said Barry Nestor of Milford. “It’s great to see people from all across New Hampshire come together to discuss an important issue like housing that affects all of us in some way. This is the kind of conversation we need more of, and it’s especially meaningful knowing that the work of regular citizens here will help shape an actual piece of legislation.”
For more information about the New Hampshire Forum, to join its mailing list or to read the full delegate recommendations when they are released, visit nhforum.us.
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