Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Cheng, Lingwei, Kim, Saerim, Sullivan, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07354
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866917321994403840
author Cheng, Lingwei
Kim, Saerim
Sullivan, Andrew
author_facet Cheng, Lingwei
Kim, Saerim
Sullivan, Andrew
contents When governments mandate collaboration, shared data systems can serve both as tools for coordination and instruments of control. This study examines U.S. homelessness service networks, where Continuums of Care (CoCs) coordinate service providers through the federally mandated Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). With client consent, providers enter data into HMIS and access cross-provider service histories to support coordinated care. At the same time, HMIS embeds standards and governance rules that shape who can collect, access, interpret, and act on data, and thus who holds decision authority. Using qualitative interviews with six experts, we show that standardization can facilitate collaboration and shared learning. However, unequal resources, analytic capacity, and authority limit equitable participation and often shift some participants toward compliance-focused roles. We contribute to public-interest design research on civic data infrastructures by illustrating how mandated data sharing can simultaneously enable coordination and accountability while reproducing power asymmetries in data interpretation and decision-making.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_07354
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Collaboration by Mandate: How Shared Data Infrastructure Shapes Coordination and Control in U.S. Homelessness Services
Cheng, Lingwei
Kim, Saerim
Sullivan, Andrew
Human-Computer Interaction
When governments mandate collaboration, shared data systems can serve both as tools for coordination and instruments of control. This study examines U.S. homelessness service networks, where Continuums of Care (CoCs) coordinate service providers through the federally mandated Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). With client consent, providers enter data into HMIS and access cross-provider service histories to support coordinated care. At the same time, HMIS embeds standards and governance rules that shape who can collect, access, interpret, and act on data, and thus who holds decision authority. Using qualitative interviews with six experts, we show that standardization can facilitate collaboration and shared learning. However, unequal resources, analytic capacity, and authority limit equitable participation and often shift some participants toward compliance-focused roles. We contribute to public-interest design research on civic data infrastructures by illustrating how mandated data sharing can simultaneously enable coordination and accountability while reproducing power asymmetries in data interpretation and decision-making.
title Collaboration by Mandate: How Shared Data Infrastructure Shapes Coordination and Control in U.S. Homelessness Services
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07354