2021 MN HMIS Data Element Feedback Survey - Tell Us About the HMIS Data You Collect

The 2021 MN HMIS Data Element Feedback Survey is here! Tell us about the HMIS data you collect - we need your voice. The feedback survey closes on June 24nd.

A message from the co-chair of the Policies & Prioritization Committee:

The Annual HMIS meeting in October of 2020 saw its largest audience to date, with over 200 attendees. We asked for feedback during that meeting to inform the direction of the HMIS Governing Board and ICA. The results were loud and clear: You want to know that the data you are collecting has practical meaning and value for the participants you serve and the programs you run. You want to know how that data is being used, and you want any use of data to center the needs and experiences of folks experiencing homelessness.

Data is pivotal to our ability to prevent and end homelessness. It provides an opportunity to see, respond to and correct for inequities that may play out in our homeless response system. Yet the data we collect is the data we see. Inequity, or inefficiency, can play out in the collection of data itself. How and what we ask of the people we serve matters, as a system can only disentangle itself from roots of structural racism by doing so on purpose. This necessitates a regular review of our data collection.

You can influence whether some data is collected or not collected.

One way you can influence the review of data collected in HMIS is through the MN HMIS Data Element Feedback Survey, a joint effort between the Policy & Prioritization (P&P) Committee and ICA. Each year, this survey asks for your feedback on the Minnesota Universal and Program-Specific Data Elements in our HMIS system (which is a subset of all HMIS data that is collected). The survey offers the opportunity to provide your insight as an HMIS user on the data we choose to collect as a state.

Your feedback can inform decisions like:

Are there data elements we should collect but do not?
Are there questions that could be better trauma-informed?
Are there questions that could be or phrased differently?
Are there redundant data elements or questions that are unclear to you?

How is the board and ICA making sure the voices of HMIS users are represented?

As part of the Board and ICA’s commitment to using the feedback from our annual meeting, we are broadening the reach of this survey, and aiming to boost participation by end users. If you attend any of the four user groups around the state or participate in any of the following HMIS committees: Policy and Prioritization, Implementation, or Racial Equity and Data Disparities, part of your May and June meetings are devoted to this data element feedback. If you want a forum to discuss this with others, join one of these meetings (visit the HMIS Governing Board page for committee details).

The Policies & Prioritization Committee will host a virtual meeting in partnership with the Implementation Committee and the Racial Equity & Data Disparities Committee on July 14 from 2 - 4 PM. There, the group will review feedback, deliberate, and hold a vote. To register for the meeting, please click on this link.

I enter HMIS data, someone else at my agency asks clients the intake questions. Should I still participate?

Yes! If you are an end user who works with frontline staff, we want you to get their input. You could add this as a topic of conversation on your next staff meeting, ask them to think about questions they ask during enrollments or intakes in the next few weeks and write them down. Or print out your data collection forms from hmismn.org and discuss them as a group. If you have group feedback, be sure to assign someone from your agency to complete the survey.

Share it with other colleagues and community partners engaged in HMIS, and please reach out with questions to ICA’s helpdesk at mnhmis@icalliances.org.

We collect a lot of data, any advice for how to approach completing the survey?

For those familiar with the data collected in Minnesota’s HMIS, you will likely open the survey link with preconceived feedback. If this is you, take it one question at a time. You will submit one form per question.

If you are not as familiar with the data collected in Minnesota’s HMIS and want to gain familiarity with questions of which we’re providing feedback, we would recommend starting at the Data Elements List, which will contain question text, answer options, rationale, and other pertinent information regarding the data element. The Data Elements List is easy to search and can be filtered several ways.

Data is a vital tool we can wield to serve our direct work with participants and inform programmatic design. It informs policy and legislation that impacts our homeless response system and the lives of people experiencing homelessness. Please take this opportunity to participate in shaping how and what data elements are collected for the state of Minnesota.

How-To: Submitting Feedback for the MN HMIS Data Element Feedback Survey

Open the Feedback Survey Form.
Read instructions at the top of the form. You will submit one form per question.
Follow the prompts and answer the questions in the order they appear.
- This form uses "Conditional Logic." Conditional logic is a set of rules that we've setup behind the scenes to show you the questions you need to answer based on your answers to questions earlier on in the form.
If you are proposing an edit to an existing question, you will be provided links to the "Data Elements List" for your reference as you complete the Feedback Form. Read more about the Data Elements List in the next section.
Once you submit a form, you will be prompted to click on "Submit another response" if you wish to suggest additional new data elements or provide feedback on existing data elements.

The Data Elements List

The Data Elements List is a library of Minnesota’s Universal Data Elements (required by all projects in Minnesota) and Minnesota’s Program-Specific Data Elements (elements created and required by your State program partner). The list contains: Question Text or Name, Universal Data Element or State Program, Answer Options, Rationale, and other contextual information to assist you in providing feedback for the 2021 MN HMIS Data Standards Feedback Survey. Be sure to hover over the (i) of each column name for a description.

The Data Elements List can be filtered several ways and is easily searchable.

An example of how to filter the Data Elements List

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