The October edition of the ITE Journal has a one page summary of the member survey results. Here are the facts listed in the summary article:
- 3,912 surveys completed, representing a 14.1% response rate.
- Top 3 Reasons Current Members Belong
- Stay current on information about their profession
- Network and build professional relationships
- Obtain professional development
- Six Key Drivers of ITE Membership Value
- Member benefits
- Membership dues
- ITE annual meeting and exhibit
- ITE website
- Headquarters staff
- Professional development programs
- Only 2% reported a problem with ITE, which is below industry range of 4-6%
- Top 4 Reasons Members did not Renew
- Could not afford the membership dues
- Did not receive employer reimbursement for dues
- Low value for their membership
- Changed jobs and no longer needed/valued the membership
- 16% of lapsed member indicate they are likely to return
- 57% of lapsed members would recommend ITE membership to others
- Four Key Areas for Improvement
- Website
- Professional development
- Annual meeting and exhibit
- Communication of member benefits and resources
The above takeaways were based on the report prepared by Association Metrics, who were hired to conduct the survey.
I’m disappointed with this summary, but I’m not surprised. Why isn’t the full report at ite.org? Why isn’t the raw data available? Are they concerned we can’t interpret statistics?
The ITE Transportation Consultants Council conducted a survey in 2012 and shared the full results here. My local section has also conducted surveys and posted the results.
I’m going to give ITE staff and leadership the benefit of the doubt and assume they are not actively trying to hide something. This is just another case study in ITE’s lack of transparency and why I chose to post a Summary of ITE’s Finances (over which I caught flak at the ITE annual meeting in Boston, but that’s another story).
