This is a case study of a multi-stage collaborative process spearheaded by Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation from 1995 to 2001 to address the lack of high quality and reliable information about the homeless in Canada. The community-based collaborative efforts and ground-up process used to develop the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) are detailed, as are some of the obstacles and difficulties encountered in attempting to achieve consensus over the design, intent and purpose of the tool. HIFIS was built on a series of broad-based coalitions which included: government officials, university researchers, service providers, front-line workers and the homeless themselves. HIFIS is an administrative tool designed to assist shelter providers to collect longitudinal, multi-location, standardized data about consumers, with the goal of improving service coordination, program development and public policy. The primary concerns identified throughout the collaborative process were client anonymity and confidentiality, as well as control and ownership of the information collected. Finally, the positive outcomes and challenges associated with creating and sustaining a nation-wide effort to build capacity in the homeless service providing community are discussed. (abstract from http://www.questia.com)