Survey FAQ

Check here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Minnesota LGBTQIA2S+ Community Needs Survey.

What is the purpose of the needs assessment?

The Minnesota LGBTQIA2S+ Community Needs Assessment is a comprehensive project designed to identify the priorities and challenges facing LGBTQIA2S+ communities through three key components: the Community Needs Survey (gathering individual perspectives), Community Conversations (small group discussions centering underrepresented voices), and the Community Partner Survey (assessing the needs and challenges of organizations serving LGBTQIA2S+ communities). The goal of the project is to use the data to create policy, administrative, and funding recommendations for the Governor, state legislature, and state agencies.
Who are the members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community that we aim to serve?
I identify as a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and I am the parent/caregiver of a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community who is under the age of 18. Which survey should I fill out?

The first question of the survey will ask you whether you are an adult member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community or whether you are a parent/caregiver of a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community who is under the age of 18. How you answer this question will determine which version of the survey you take. If you identify as both a member of the community and as a parent/caregiver of an LGBTQIA2S+ youth, select your answer based on which survey you want to take. You can complete one survey and then return to take the other, if you wish.
I am a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, but I am under the age of 18. Can I take the survey?
What specific needs or challenges are we trying to assess?

We know that members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community experience a number of disparities compared to non-LGBTQIA2S+ communities such as healthcare access, income, safe and affordable housing, mental health challenges, substance abuse, and more. We also know that members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community are more likely to experience violence, discrimination, and harassment. These disparities widen for individuals who hold intersecting marginalized identities. Until now, our data has come from national surveys or smaller data collection efforts in Minnesota that focus on a particular topic. Our Community Needs Assessment will be the most comprehensive analysis of Minnesota’s LGBTQIA2S+ community in the last 30 years. This will allow us to see a fuller picture of how personal experiences may be related to the disparities that we see and give us insight into the most effective strategies to support Minnesota’s LGBTQIA2S+ community.
What methods will we use to gather data?

Our needs assessment has three parts: a community survey, community conversations with under-served and historically underrepresented members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and a survey of community partners. Our two surveys are online and will be shared widely by community partners across Minnesota. Most of the questions are multiple choice; however, there are a few open-ended questions at the end of the survey. We will also be working with community partners to organize community conversations and recruit participants. The relationship with community partners is incredibly important, especially as we seek to connect with under-served and historically underrepresented members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
How has MNQT prioritized cultural competency and inclusivity in the assessment?

Throughout our planning process, we have engaged with community members and LGBTQIA2S+ serving organizations to develop survey instruments that are inclusive and culturally competent. We have held one-on-one conversations, information sessions, and shared a draft of our survey with community partners for feedback that we incorporated into the final survey draft.
What languages will the survey be available in?
How can MNQT ensure confidentiality and privacy in data collection?

Your survey responses are confidential and anonymous. To ensure data security, we have partnered with Minnesota Management Analysis and Development (MAD), a state agency with legal protections that allow them to handle data with extra privacy measures. Unlike most state agencies, MAD’s research data is exempt from public records requests, meaning individual responses remain protected. Additionally, we have carefully designed survey questions to reduce privacy risks, including limiting demographic data collection and ensuring regional data remains non-identifiable. Our priority is protecting the safety and privacy of LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans while gathering meaningful insights. For a more detailed explanation on privacy, please visit our privacy page.
How will MNQT analyze the data?

After the survey is closed, we will go through the responses to “clean” the data and remove any responses that have likely come from bots. We’ll then use different statistical and mathematical techniques to look for patterns, relationships, and trends in the data. Some of these techniques will be more basic (the percentage of folks who identity with a specific sexual orientation, for example), but others will be more complicated. We want to be able to visualize our results in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. Essentially, we want to be able to tell people a story with this data.
What actions will be taken based on the findings?
How can MNQT ensure ongoing engagement and feedback from the LGBTQIA2S+ community?

We will continue to be transparent with the community as we collect data, analyze responses, and ultimately share results. We recognize that the government has traditionally extracted data from the community without allowing community members to participate or benefit from the knowledge collected. Once the data is collected and we ensure that all identifiable information about respondents has been removed, the results will be made available to the community. We hope that community partners will be able to use this knowledge to improve services and advocacy for Minnesota’s LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Can organizations share this survey?
Will the data collection run through Pride month?

This is something that we considered carefully. Unfortunately, we will not be able to extend our data collection through Pride month. The funds we’ve allotted for this project expire June 30, 2025. Analyzing the data will take significant time and effort, and with funds expiring in June, we will need to use that time to analyze and report our results.
What stops someone from taking the survey twice?

Nothing, except maybe the length of the survey. It’s possible to create a mechanism to ensure only one submission per unique IP address, but that would prevent people from the same household and device from completing the survey (queer couples, roommates, etc.). Our worry about duplicate surveys, which is minimal, does not outweigh the issues we’d have with IP address restrictions.
Many queer and trans youth don't have safe family connections. How can you include these voices without parental presence?

We are legally unable to survey people under 18, and we recognize that many youth do not have a supportive caregiver who could/would take the parent survey on their behalf. As part of the Community Needs Assessment, we will be surveying organizations that serve LGBTQIA2S+ communities, and our hope is that by surveying organizations who serve queer and trans youth, we will get insights into needs, concerns, and challenges. We understand this a limitation and are committed to improving direct youth engagement in the future in a legal and culturally competent way.
I’m LGBTQIA2S+, but I am not publicly out. Can I still take the survey?
Do I have to complete the survey all at once or can I stop in the middle and return later?
I don’t live in Minnesota. Can I take the survey?

This project is limited to Minnesota residents. If you live in another state, we encourage you to reach out to your elected representatives and/or LGBTQIA2S+ serving organizations to share your concerns, access resources, or plan a needs assessment project.

If you are interested in moving to Minnesota or travelling to Minnesota for healthcare, you can complete a survey through the Minnesota Trans and Intersex Network here:

Minnesota Trans & Intersex Resource Network
I live in Minnesota only part of the time. Can I take the survey?
Do I have to answer all of the questions?
There are a number of terms in the survey that I am unfamiliar with. How can I find out what they mean?
Here are some of the terms that are used in our survey, as well as a description of each. If there is another term that you are unfamiliar with, GLAAD has compiled a longer glossary of terms, and you can see that here: Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ | GLAAD
- Bisexual+ or M-spec: shorthand for members of the multi-sexual spectrum, or multi-gender attraction spectrum, that describes a wide variety of bisexual+ identities including people who identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, biromantic, polysexual, or sexually fluid.
- Two-Spirit: The term Two-Spirit is a direct translation of the Ojibwe term, Niizh manidoowag.“Two-Spirited” or “Two-Spirit” is usually used to indicate a person whose body simultaneously houses a masculine spirit and a feminine spirit. The term can also be used more abstractly, to indicate the presence of two contrasting human spirits.
- Queer: an umbrella term for people who do not consider themselves heterosexual or cisgender
- Asexual: individuals who do not experience sexual attraction in the way typically defined by society; there are many ways to experience asexuality including (but not limited to) experiencing little to no sexual attraction, or only experiencing sexual attraction after forming a deep emotional bond
- Non-binary: a gender identity that does not fit the male/female binary; there are many ways to identify outside of the binary including but not limited to not identify with either binary gender or identifying with both.
- Intersex: individuals who are born with one or more traits that do not fit into an exclusively male or female (binary) sex classification
- Polyamorous: a relationship in which one or more of the participants are involved romantically or sexually with more than one individual at a time. Each person involved in the relationship consents to the situation and is aware of the non-monogamous nature.
- Neurodivergent: a non-medical term that describes people whose brains process, learn, or behave differently than what is considered “typical.” There are many types of neurodiversity including but not limited to autism, ADHD, OCD, Down Syndrome, and dyslexia.
- PrEP: PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. It is a medication for people who are HIV-negative but have a higher risk of contracting HIV through sex. Taking PrEP as prescribed before being exposed to HIV, significantly reduces an individual’s chances of contracting the virus.
- Chosen family: sometimes referred to as “found families,” this is a group of people in a person’s life that satisfies the typical role of family as a support system.
- GSA: historically this stood for “Gay-Straight Alliance” but, to be more inclusive of gender-diverse members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, it increasingly stands for “Gender-Sexuality Alliance.” These are student-run organizations (typically in a school setting) that unite LGBTQIA2S+ youth and allies to build community and organize around issues impacting their lives.