b'Collective impact models are used to address complexSince its inception, Home For Goods organizationalWhile the development of a common agenda createdfor researcher use on approved projects, along with a full-social problems like homelessness, where a single organizationstructure and activities have met the criteria for a collectivea unified set of research priorities for the committee,time staff to answer questions and reduce error in complex or sector cannot create any meaningful change on its own. impact initiative. However, even though its numerous partnerchallenges arose when the research committees plandata analyses. The accelerator will give researchers a The collective, cross-sector commitment is distinct fromorganizations span the private and public sectors, thedid not fully align with the research priorities previouslycommon starting point across projects and will promote simple collaboration or partnerships and involves five keyinitiative initially lacked a sustained, collective research voice,developed by the Home For Good Policy Table. To addressknowledge sharing on the use of HMIS data in a secure components:which prevented it from maximizing its impact. In 2017, Homethis challenge, HPRI formed a working group that collectivelyenvironment. HPRI will pilot the accelerator with HMIS 1) a common agenda or shared vision For Good helped launch HPRI as the much needed researchreframed the research agenda to meet the needs of bothdata for one year with the prospect of linking additional voice for its work to end homelessness in Los Angeles County.policymakers and the research community. In this way, HPRIadministrative datasets (such as the Enterprise Linkages 2) a shared measurement system Shortly after HPRIs inception, the need for a collectiveworked to develop a common agenda both within its ownProject) in the future. 3) mutually reinforcing activities research voice to end homelessness was highlightedcollective of researchers and within the larger Home For nationally through a National Academies of SciencesGood collective impact model.Mutually Reinforcing Activities 4) continuous communication (2018) report on the health impacts of permanent housingCollective impact initiatives entail collaboration 5) a backbone support organization interventions for people experiencing chronic homelessness.Shared Measurement System between diverse groups of partners and encourage The report recommended that federal health and housingUniform access to data and consistent measurementeach participant to engage in the activities that it does HOME FOR GOOD: agencies support the convening of subject-matter expertsstrategies across participants in a collective impactbest in a manner that supports and complements the COLLECTIVE IMPACT TO END initiative ensures the alignment of efforts and allowsefforts of the other participants (Kania & Kramer, 2011). HOMELESSNESS IN LOS ANGELES to assess how research and policy could be used to facilitate access to permanent supportive housing and ensure theparticipants to hold each other accountable andBy design, HPRI excels at producing, translating, and Launched in 2010 by the United Way of Greater Los Angelesavailability of needed support services (p. 6). learn from each others successes and failures (Kaniasharing research in the form of policy briefs, literature and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Home& Kramer, 2011).reviews, and symposia. These activities produce products For Good is a collective impact initiative comprising overHPRI AND THE COLLECTIVE IMPACTThe Homelessness Management Information Systemthat are actionable and policy-relevant, which reinforces 200 partners across sectors who have the common agendaFRAMEWORK (HMIS) is an administrative dataset that documentsthe work of the Home For Good collective impact network. of ending homelessness in Los Angeles County. In 2011, theWhile HPRI is part of Home For Goods collective impactthe use of various homeless service programs and is aAdditionally, HPRI responds to specific requests from initiative piloted a shared, centralized system called themodel, the Institute is also guided by the collective impactkey data source for research on ending homelessness.funders, service providers, and policymakers, and bases Coordinated Entry System (CES), which matches peopleframework itself. The following section details the ways inHowever, members of the research community faceits activities in part on the priorities of the Home for Good experiencing homelessness with appropriate housing basedwhich HPRIs work, activities, and organizational structureseveral important challenges with accessing and usingPolicy Table. Further, HPRI hosts an extensive research on their unique needs and circumstances and has sincealign with the collective impact framework. HMIS data for research purposes. First, each researchcatalog on its website that includes the latest research been adopted countywide. Home For Goods mutuallyorganization must individually contract with the localproducts from HPRI partners and other researchers around reinforcing activities include the formation of the Home ForCommon Agenda homeless service authority to obtain and use HMIS datathe country, in addition to HPRI policy briefs and literature Good Funders Collaborative, which aligns and coordinatesParticipants in a collective impact initiative must have afor research, a process that can often take a numberreviews. This catalog serves as a centralized resource for over 70 funding sources from public and private partnerscommon vision for change, a mutual understanding ofof months to complete. Additionally, HMIS data is anstakeholders to access relevant research and information across the county (Home For Good, 2017). Additionally, Homethe problem at hand, and an agreed upon set of actionsadministrative dataset whose primary purpose is for publicrelated to homelessness in Los Angeles County. For Good convenes public and private policymakers at thethat they will take to jointly solve the problem (Kania &administration rather than research. As a result, once eachThe early stages of HPRIs communication challenges Policy Table to facilitate communication and informationKramer, 2011). researcher obtains HMIS data, he or she must individuallyaround policy goals and the research agenda led to activities sharing in the creation of policies around homelessness.HPRIs research committee spent the first several monthsclean and restructure the complex administrative datasetthat were not necessarily mutually reinforcing. Home For The partner organizations within the initiative have differentof its existence developing a common agenda through afor research use, which adds additional time to a researchGood and HPRI addressed this challenge by ensuring that at yet complementary roles, which they coordinate throughshared vision, values, and goals document. This documentproject and can easily lead to error if done incorrectly. least one representative from HPRI attends all Policy Table working groups like the Funders Collaborative and the Policydefined the committees agenda and established agreed uponTo address these data use issues and solidify itself asmeetings, reducing communication barriers and allowing Table, regular meetings, and continuous and consistentactivities, namely producing timely, actionable research fora sustainable long-term resource for the policy community,HPRI to better support Home For Goods priorities with its communication. Additionally, Home For Good has athe homelessness policy community.HPRI is creating a research accelerator that will house aresearch activities.dedicated staff separate from its partners that constitutes thesecure, pre-cleaned, regularly-updated copy of HMIS data initiatives backbone organization (Lynn et al., 2018). 2 3'