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SCB MEMBERSHIP POLL COMPLETE

• Summary of Results
• Conclusion

Michael O'Connell

In September, SCB completed its first-ever comprehensive membership survey with help from The Kitchens Group, a professional polling firm in Orlando, Florida. Using a new hybrid methodology, pollsters surveyed SCB members via telephone and a special web page.

The response was overwhelming and far beyond expectations. The poll collected 907 responses, 17% of the total SCB membership. The huge response allowed use of a standard correction factor to reduce the margin of error on individual questions to +/- 2.9% with a 95% confidence level.

Respondents were highly representative of the diversity of SCB members. The sample was well-balanced in all membership categories and geographic affiliations. This allowed pollsters to cross-tabulate responses to questions based on a number of different variables such as geographic affiliation, length of time as a member, job type, and income range (a rough measure of career stage). The full results of the poll, including cross-tabulations, are available on the SCB website at http://conbio.rice.edu/scb/survey/.

Summary of Results

People join SCB for two main reasons, to receive Conservation Biology and to stay informed about the profession. These are the same reasons they renew their membership from year to year. More than 96% of members plan to renew their membership, 90% to continue receiving the journal and 76% to keep up with what is going on in the profession. Members are quite satisfied with SCB overall. Fifty-nine percent said that they were very satisfied and 34% were somewhat satisfied. Only 4% were dissatisfied with SCB.

SCB members are employed in diverse positions. Forty-two percent work for universities or colleges. Government staff at the federal, state, or local level comprise 22% of the membership. Ten percent are students. Only 9% work for non-profits, divided evenly among large (>100 staff) and small (<100) organizations. Five percent are in private consulting, and 4% are self-employed.

Professional interests of members are not quite as diverse. Research is the primary work of 42% of members. Eighteen percent primarily teach, and 13% manage species or ecosystems on the ground. Eleven percent focus on conservation planning and policy. Members' areas of interest are concentrated on terrestrial systems, vertebrate species, and landscape ecology (54%, 49%, and 41% respectively), while 18% are interested in social sciences, 20% in botany, and 29% in aquatic systems--freshwater and marine combined.

Members define "conservation biology" very consistently. Seventy-three percent say it is "Application of scientific principles and knowledge to conservation problems." Only 7% believe that conservation biology is "The science arm of the conservation movement," and less than 3% think it is "Scientists translating their work into public policy." European respondents were far more likely than any other group (27%) to define conservation biology as "Research into the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss."

Perhaps the most interesting and important findings from the survey were how members perceive the role of SCB in policy, their enthusiasm for increased SCB activities, and their willingness to pay for those activities. More than 78% of members believe that SCB should take an advocacy role in national, international, and global public policy debates about conservation issues. Only 11% say it should not, while 11% remain undecided. Support is very strong among all subgroups, and is particularly strong with international members.

There is support for all activities SCB currently pursues, including publishing the journal and the new magazine Conservation Biology in Practice, sponsoring targeted research, the newsletter, and the website (while 95% say the website is important, only 57% visit it. It is most popular among students). More than 40% have never been to the annual meeting, but it is well-liked among attendees.

Members clearly want SCB to become more active, both in policy and in other areas. Fifty-four percent say SCB should definitely be more involved in policy debates and 87% favor this activity overall. Increasing international membership is supported by 95% of the members, while 64% believe that creating geographically-based "sections" for each of the continents is worthwhile. Members also support creation of an expert database, publishing journal abstracts in several languages, and expanding the website, in addition to maintaining all the current activities of SCB.

When it comes to paying for these activities, support exists but it is not as strong. Seventy-nine percent of members believe that current dues ($US75) are "about what they would expect," while 15% think they are too high. Expanding SCB to include activities favored by members will undoubtedly require additional funding. A sizeable majority of members would be willing to consider $US25 more in dues (22% definitely yes and 39% probably yes), but 33% say they are not so inclined and might drop their membership if dues were increased. Importantly, when the increase is tied explicitly to activities they favor, members' willingness to consider higher dues grows substantially. A $US50 increase appears too much, however. Forty-three percent of members say they are not willing to pay that much (8% definitely not), even when the increase would go directly to activities they support. Interestingly, students and newer members most strongly favor an expanded society (87%) but are least willing to increase their dues.

Conservation Biology is the crown jewel of SCB. Ninety-seven percent of members join in part to receive it, 99% read it, 98% renew to keep up with it, 61% rate it excellent, and 43% percent say there isn't a single thing they would change about it. Members like the journal for its range of topics covered, its relevance to their work, and for its scientific rigor.

Conclusion

The full report of the poll on the SCB website contains expanded details about all these topics and much more information about member demographics and attitudes. The survey also covered member involvement with SCB, personal activities in conservation biology, publications, research, and much more. Cross tabulations, also found on the web, contain results stratified by several important subgroups. Thanks to all who took the time to participate in the survey. It is an invaluable baseline of information that will enable SCB to accurately represent its membership as it continues to grow.

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