Summary
About 78% of respondents have been in the section for more than one year. Based on the high-level feedback that was possibly received by about 30% of ~111 (on average) primary members and ~37% of the 68 members that renewed in 2017 and 2018, we can see that there is an interest in engaging with other members of the section. This is captured as both networking (73%) and collaborating with colleagues (90%). Professional development opportunities are next on the list (67%).
Regarding the annual member meeting, about 72% of survey respondents have been to 1 or fewer meetings over the past 3 years. Reviewing abstracts (76%) and being involved with a specific mission or campaign (52%) were the top activities members were interested in participating in. This was followed by event planning for webinars or conference calls, and planning for the annual meeting (38% for each).
This is enough information for me to start thinking about some short and long-term goals I may be able to set in order to provide value to members. Don’t forget that these goals must be implemented using limited resources, such as funding, and with the understanding that most members (including those serving in leadership roles) are generally paying to show up to networking opportunities and the like… They are not necessarily paying to put these events together themselves. This reality will be revisited in a future post.
-Dr. S Anyatonwu