Automate Your External Data Collection: Power Automate and Microsoft Forms

In the fast-paced world of nonprofits, efficiency is key. With limited resources and time, automating routine tasks can free up valuable hours for more impactful work. One area ripe for automation is data collection. By leveraging tools like Power Automate and Microsoft Forms, nonprofits can streamline their data collection processes, ensuring accuracy and saving time. (Please note that this process is applicable to both internal and external members using Microsoft Forms. For a simplified process that works exclusively for internal members, please refer to this blog: Simplify Internal Data Collection with Microsoft Lists Forms | Microsoft Community Hub)

Why Automate Data Collection?

Nonprofits often rely on data to make informed decisions, track progress, and report to stakeholders. However, manual data collection can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Automation offers several benefits:

• Efficiency: Automating data collection reduces the time spent on manual entry, allowing staff to focus on mission-critical tasks.
• Accuracy: Automated processes minimize human error, ensuring that data is consistent and reliable.
• Real-time Insights: With automated data collection, information is available in real-time, enabling quicker decision-making.

Today, we will develop a Power Automate flow to capture form responses and automatically send a thank-you email. Let's begin by creating the form.

Getting Started with Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is a powerful tool for creating surveys, quizzes, and polls. It's user-friendly and integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 applications. Here's how to get started:

1. Log in to your Microsoft 365 account by going to https://www.office.com/ , select apps, then select all Apps and navigate to Microsoft Forms.
   
   

    

2. Choose the appropriate form type for your needs.

    

   

    

3. Select a template to begin your form creation.

    

   

    

4. Tailor your questions and style to fit your specific requirements.
5. Once your form is ready, Click on Collect Responses share it with your audience via a link, email, or embed it on your website.
   
   

Automating with Power Automate

Power Automate allows you to create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services. Here's how you can use it to automate data collection from Microsoft Forms:

1. Log in to https://make.powerautomate.com/ and click on "Create" to start a new flow. Choose between "Automated flow" to trigger actions based on specific events or "Scheduled flows" to run at predefined times or intervals. In this example we will work with Automated flows.
   
   

    

2. Set Up Triggers: Write a flow and Select "When a new response is submitted" in Microsoft Forms as your trigger. This will initiate the flow whenever someone submits a form response.
   
   

    

3. Pick a Form: Click on the trigger and search for the form. If the form does not appear, save the flow and refresh the page.
   
   
   

    

4. Define what happens next: For example, you can add an action to save the form responses to an Excel file, send an email notification, or update a SharePoint list. For this example, we will send an email. To Send an email, we have to first get the email address from the responses.
5. Add Action: Click on the plus sign and select "Add an action."
   
   

    

6. Get Response Details: Select get response details.
   
   

    

7. Select Form: Choose the form, click on "fx" to access the Dynamic content, select "Response Id," and click "Add."
   
   

    

8. Send Email Action: Add an action and select "Send an email (V2)." Switch to Advanced Mode.
   
   

    

9. Use Dynamic Content: Use Dynamic content to add the email address and the name of the user in the email body. Click on "fx" to add dynamic content. 
    
   

    

10. Save and test: Save and Test your flow to ensure it works as expected. A green checkmark shows that there are no issues with your flow.
    
    

     

Real-World Applications

Here are a few examples of how nonprofits can use Power Automate and Microsoft Forms:

• Volunteer Sign-Ups: Automate the collection and organization of volunteer information, making it easier to manage and communicate with your volunteers.

• Expense Approvals: Simplify the form submission process for expenses and reimbursements by implementing an approval workflow, ensuring that all expenditures are reviewed and authorized by the appropriate personnel.

• Project Proposals: Implement a form and approval workflow for new project proposals to ensure they align with the organization's mission and strategic goals. Once approved, a workflow can be initiated to create the project in a Planner board.

Conclusion

By automating data collection with Power Automate and Microsoft Forms, nonprofits can enhance their efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making capabilities. These tools not only save time but also empower organizations to focus on what truly matters – making a difference in their communities.

Additional resources

1. Microsoft Power Automate – Process Automation Platform | Microsoft
2. Get started with Power Automate - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn
3. Microsoft Forms help & learning