2023 MN HMIS Data Element Feedback Survey - Tell Us About the HMIS Data You Collect

The 2023 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 May 4th, 2023.

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

The MN HMIS data element survey is a great way for end users of HMIS to positively influence changes to data collection that are specific to Minnesota. What data is most needed to inform our collective approach to ending homelessness? What needs adjustment, removal, or addition? These decisions should be informed by those responsible for collecting this data, and the experience of those sharing their data. We encourage you to complete the survey and join us in discussing the proposed changes to Minnesota’s universal data elements on May 10th!

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. Every two years, 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?

The Policies & Prioritization Committee will host a virtual meeting on May 10th from 1-3 PM. There, the group will review feedback and deliberate. P&P will vote to adopt additions, edits, or removal of MN Universal Data Elements at the June meeting. To attend this meeting, please click the registration link and complete the form. If you have trouble completing the registration form, please email john.ward@icalliances.org.

All state program-specific data element feedback will be summarized and shared with those programs directly. Any decisions regarding changes to state program-specific data elements will be made by the state programs.

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.

Can I incorporate feedback from those with lived expertise?

Yes! Individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability can provider invaluable feedback to the data collected in HMIS. We encourage you to gather and include that feedback in your responses.

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 and you may submit as many forms as you would like!

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 2023 MN HMIS Data Standards Feedback Survey. Be sure to hover over the (i) of each column name for a description.

Note: The HUD Universal Data Elements are not included in the Data Elements List. HUD gathered community input on those data elements through the end of 2022 (refer to ICA's October 13, 2022 newsletter article for more details). Once changes to the FY 2024 HUD HMIS Data Standards are published, we will communicate those changes via the HMIS Newsletter and the hmismn.org website.

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

An example of how to filter the Data Elements List