Discussion groups for rough sleeping user event
1. Standardised data fields
2. Sharing across organisations
3. Population of database
These discussions will overlap but each table has a different focus to their questions.
For each one we are asking you to consider what is realistic to aim for over 1 year and 3 years? And what is the ideal?
What needs to be done to achieve consistency across data on rough sleepers/people in hostels?
Different organisations want different things from data collected on rough sleepers and people in hostels depending on their objectives. Even within organisations, data needs can vary enormously. However, we think there is a need for some consistency in data collection in order to provide joined up support to homeless people, make commissioning decisions that are effective across homelessness organisations and different service areas (i.e. health, police), and inform government policy decisions on single homelessness.
For this discussion we are asking you to consider
· Which fields can be and need to be standardised across databases for organisations working with people in hostels or sleeping rough?
· What are the barriers to bringing in standardised fields and how can they be overcome?
· What are the barriers to standardised data recording (i.e. everyone recording data in the same way) for these fields and how can they be overcome?
· Is there a standardised way of recording homelessness status that should be used by non-homeless organisations (e.g. health, police)?
· What is the infrastructure needed to achieve this? i.e. can/should fields be added on to existing databases?
Please consider what it is realistic to achieve in 1 year and 3 years and what the ideal might be.
Who needs to share/access data on rough sleepers/people in hostels and how can this be facilitated?
Rough sleepers and people in hostels are likely to come into contact with many different local organisations. In order to provide them with a joined up service and ensure their needs are met effectively it makes sense to share data. Data sharing and a better understanding of the different needs of people in hostels and sleeping rough develops our understanding of where the costs of single homelessness fall and where savings can be made, enables co-commissioning across service areas (e.g. health and homelessness) as well as across homelessness services, and facilitates joint working on the ground.
For this discussion we are asking you to consider
· Which organisations need to share data on single homeless people?
· Over what geographic areas should data be shared?
· How should data be shared? i.e. shared database/parts of database shared/view only/reports provided? How will the extent to which data is shared differ across different organisations/type of organisations?
· What are the key barriers to sharing data and how can these be overcome?
· What infrastructure is needed to share data across organisations?
Please consider what it is realistic to achieve in 1 year and 3 years and what the ideal might be.
Who needs to be included in this data?
The aim of this event is to discuss how to improve data on rough sleepers and people in hostels. However, this is not necessarily a simple population to define. Developments in policy and central funding opportunities are becoming more and more focused on the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping. Therefore it might be necessary to capture people’s data before they become homeless in order to assess the effectiveness of prevention activities and better understand how rough sleeping can be prevented. It is also important to consider the role of non-homelessness services (e.g. health/services for NEETs) in capturing data both in relation to the prevention agenda but also in addressing the needs of homeless people more effectively and understanding where costs fall and savings can be made.
For this discussion we are asking you to consider
· At what stage should people appear on a database used to inform services/commissioning and policy decisions about rough sleepers and homeless people?
· For how long should people’s information be updated? What are the outcomes that need to be covered?
· Which organisations should be capturing experiences of homelessness/rough sleeping and how can they share that information?
· What are the key barriers to achieving comprehensive data and how can they be overcome?
Please consider what it is realistic to achieve in 1 year and 3 years and what the ideal might be.
Discussion questions
1. What needs to be done to achieve consistency across data on rough sleepers/people in hostels?
2. Who needs to share/access data on rough sleepers/people in hostels and how can this be facilitated?
3. Who needs to be included in this data?