IUSSP membership survey: preliminary results and clarifications
From June 17th to August 21st, the IUSSP sent out a general survey to 5,658 current and past members as well as contacts in the IUSSP data base. The objectives of the survey were to consult the membership at a time when the Union needs to reassess its priorities and activities, understand membership renewal behaviour and dynamics, seek feedback and suggestions on how to improve communication and services, and expand its membership, especially by attracting young demographers.
We would like to thank all the members and former members who took time to respond and provide invaluable feedback and suggestions, including some we hope we can implement soon… and some which are unfortunately out of reach for the moment but which we would like to keep in mind for the future.
Response rate A total of 1,537 current and former members responded including 590 current members, 72 current students, 594 former members, 247 former students and 34 individuals who never actually finalized their membership. The response rate for current members was 51% and for current student associates 44%; for former members and students it was 20%. The overall analysis of respondents shows that 119 members and 106 students whose membership expired more than 6 months before the survey believe they are current members but since the survey is anonymous, we cannot identify the respondents who completed these questionnaires.
The questionnaire could be answered in English or in French: 76% responded in English and 24% in French.
Preliminary results We were reassured that most (self-declared) members receive the IUSSP Bulletin (sent to members by email every 3 months) and the news articles from N-IUSSP (sent every week). An important percentage of members indicate, however, that they do not receive these emails. Those members should check their membership status or their email spam and “promotion” boxes. Most respondents consider the number of emails they receive from IUSSP as “just about right”.
Most members answered that they were satisfied (58,1%) or very satisfied (24,8%) with the IUSSP Bulletin. Similarly, most members answered that they were satisfied (47,2%) or very satisfied (23,9%) with the N-IUSSP articles sent every week.
Based on the open-ended questions in the survey, we note a number of things that should be improved on the website, in particular access to resources and content, some of which is already online – working papers, access to other website resources such as databases, training materials – but which may not be easy to find.
The survey contains a wealth of information on other topics ranging from other population associations to which members belong to topics members consider high priority for the future. We hope to share a full report within a couple of months.
Clarifications:
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