Community at the Helm: Shaping Minnesota’s Future Health Data Landscape

By Greg Hanley, Chairman of the Board; and Liz Cinqueonce, President and CEO

Strengthen and expand partnerships across all community partner segments in the health care ecosystem to drive measurable improvements in quality, equity, and value—while modernizing the business model and financial framework to sustain and accelerate our mission.

This priority reflects an ambitious but necessary evolution: to reimagine what partnership looks like in an era where trust, transparency, and shared action are more essential than ever. Minnesota’s health care ecosystem is a tapestry of health systems, primary care clinics and specialty practices, health plans, public health and human service agencies, employers, researchers, community organizations, and—critically—the patients and communities we all serve. Each brings unique insight, data, and power to the table. Our goal is to create the conditions where every voice is heard, and every sector is aligned toward common outcomes.

A Shared Vision for Better Outcomes

MNCM is building deeper, more intentional relationships across this diverse landscape. We are listening and learning from our partners about what matters most—whether that’s closing persistent gaps in care, making data more usable at the point of decision-making, or accessing more complete information to understand and address the root causes of disparities. By aligning our work with the real-world challenges faced by our partners, we are ensuring that MNCM’s measurement and data infrastructure continues to support relevant, timely, and actionable insights.

This shift also demands that we modernize the way we do business. Sustaining and accelerating our mission means rethinking how our work is funded, structured, and governed. It means pursuing new collaborations and innovative funding models that allow MNCM to stay nimble, responsive, and independent—while remaining rooted in community purpose. We’re embracing opportunities to co-design solutions with our partners, to pilot and scale data-sharing initiatives that reduce burden and increase value, and to ensure our shared work reflects the lived experience of the communities we seek to serve. As part of this work, we are aligning with national standards for measurement and interoperability where possible to enhance scalability and comparability—while continuing to innovate in areas where existing standards and measures fall short of addressing community-defined needs.

A Call to Collective Leadership

We know that meaningful improvement in health care quality and equity can’t be achieved in silos. That’s why MNCM is inviting new and existing partners alike to be part of shaping what comes next. Together, we can build a modern health data landscape that’s community-centered, trusted, and sustainable—one that supports bold action to close disparities, improve outcomes, and ensure accountability across the system.

The road ahead will require innovation, courage, and deep collaboration. But we are confident that with the community at the helm, Minnesota will continue to lead the way.

What Community Partners Can Do

Every organization in the health care ecosystem—regardless of size, role, or resources—has a stake in and a contribution to make toward this shared future. Here’s how you can engage:

• Share your priorities. Let us know what data, insights, and supports would help you most in your work to improve health outcomes, equity, and value. Reach out to us through support@mncm.org.
  
• Collaborate on innovation. Partner with us on pilot projects or new models that reduce burden, close gaps, and strengthen system-wide learning. Special notices to partners are announced to those who subscribe to receive updates.
  
• Join the conversation. Volunteer to participate in MNCM workgroups, advisory committees, and strategic planning inquiries—your voice shapes the direction of our collective work. New opportunities are announced to those who subscribe to receive updates.
  
• Invest in the mission. Consider joining as a member or supporter, and reach out to explore opportunities for partnerships that leverage MNCM data and data services to help advance your goals focused on improving quality, equity, and value. For more information email support@mncm.org or donate online.
  
• Uplift community perspectives and stories. Help MNCM showcase community examples of how data is being used to drive meaningful change and share best practices. If your organization has a an improvement initiative that you feel is important to share with the community, please submit information via our online form.

If we are to achieve the goals we share—better quality, greater equity, and more value across Minnesota’s health care system—it will take all of us. We look forward to working alongside you to continue building a health data landscape that is aligned to meet the needs of our community.