POST CONGRESS
2013 CONGRESS SURVEY SUMMARY PREPARED BY CALVIN TIENGWE
Introduction One of the key aims of the CPS is to provide a platform where Cameroonian and African professionals can forge robust networks and partnerships that seek to fundamentally transform their communities within and without the United States. To achieve its objectives, the CPS organizes seminars and symposia that serve as a medium for exchange of meaningful, progressive and productive ideas that are valuable and beneficial to self and to society. In order to assess and understand the needs and expectations of the community that they serve, to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of CPS programs and policies, and to assess opinions about a way forward, a survey was carried out at the 2013 Distinguished Congress in Baltimore on July 26 - 27, 2013. Objectives 1.
To collect demographic data about all 2013 Congress attendees
2.
To capture the needs and expectations of CPS Congress attendees
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To evaluate the outcomes and impacts of CPS programs
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To assess opinions about a way forward
Methodology Attendees at the 2013 Congress completed either an online or a hardcopy questionnaire; responses were collected and analyzed with Survey Monkey analysis toolkit and MS Excel. The results and conclusions are presented below. Results: Overall response rate All 46 individuals invited to take part in the survey responded to question 1 of the survey by providing their names. Out of the 46 individuals, 35 responded to all 20 questions. The overall response rate for all 20 questions in the survey was 78%. This implies that at least 78% of CPS congress attendees want to see the organization continue its program, improve on the current status quo, or in general, have a vested interest in the organization’s activities. In line with this observation, it is clear there are high expectations from these attendees to see more action from the CPS leadership post the 2013 Congress. Gender diversity of attendees The actual gender diversity of congress attendees showed a relative balance as depicted in Figure 1. The column chart (Figure 1) shows that out of the 35 attendees, who responded to question 2, 57% (20) were males and 43% (15) were females. The gender balance indicator might serve as a trigger to target more females at subsequent CPS events.
Figure 1: Distribution of gender of attendees
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In general, age diversity is an important indicator since it can reflect different experiences and perspectives to the organization. People in various age groups have different challenges, different resource needs and different expectations. Figure 2A shows that 83% of all attendees were between the ages of 21 – 49 years, indicating clearly a high representation of a currently active working age population. The stacked column chart (Figure 2B) shows that 80% of all female attendees were between the ages of 21 – 39 and 80% of all male attendees were between 21 – 49 years of age.
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Age diversity of attendees
B
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Figure 2: (A) Age diversity of attendees; (B) Percentage of attendees in each age group based on their gender
Primary industry of affiliation of attendees No specific trend could be observed for affiliation of attendees to specific industrial sectors. Industries of affiliation of attendees ranged from healthcare/medical, academia, information technology and telecommunications, diplomacy, to Oil and Gas. In summary, most major sectors that constitute a modern society (except the Arts) was represented at the Congress and this indicates a strength that the CPS can leverage as a resource to expand its outreach. Primary residence and location of work The data collected indicate that location of work and residences were the same for all attendees. Out of the 46 attendees, 24 resided and worked in Maryland. Locations covered 14 states across the United States: New York, Arizona, Atlanta, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Boston. Outside Maryland, New York and Atlanta had 3 attendees each and all other states had a single attendee. There were also 2 attendees from London, United Kingdom and 3 attendees from Cameroon. These data indicate how wide the CPS is recognized and represented, both nationally and internationally. This is a strength that can be leverage to widen brand recognition. These data can also serve to champion the novel idea of CPS hubs across the United States of America. Email and Phone Contact: All 46 attendees provided their names and email addresses. This can serve as great resource for setting up a database or for updating current databases, if the CPS already has one. Out of the 46 names and email addresses provided, 42 attendees also provided contact phone numbers. These data are available on the Survey Monkey database. Level of education of attendees As shown in Figure 3, 85% (39) of congress attendees have graduated from college or have completed some or all courses at graduate level. The data indicate that there is a strong correlation between level of education and an interest in CPS programs or activities. The data also reflect a gap between non-professionals and non-college graduates in CPS programs. Given a general trend between the extent of higher education and benefits to society, these data highlight the need for CPS programs to attract non-college graduates as part of its activities. 0%# 11%#
High#School#Diploma#(GCE)#
2%#2%#
1#year#of#college# 24%#
2#years#of#college# 3#years#of#college# Graduated#from#college# Some#graduate#school#
46%# 15%#
Completed#graduate#school# Completed#PhD/Doctoral# Program#
Figure 3: Distribution of attendees by level of education
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Figure 4 shows a distribution of congress participants according to the role played at the 2013 congress. Professional attendees (37%) and volunteers (20%) constituted the majority of the population at the congress. Only 9% of attendees were sponsors. If the CPS is to attract more funding for subsequent congresses and symposia, more sponsors must be attracted to its events. One way to convince donors to attend such events may be to encourage congress attendance turnout. This is a feasible recommendation since all 46 (100%) respondents of the survey indicated that they were willingly to recommend the CPS to a friend or colleague.
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Primary role at Congress
Figure 4: Distribution of attendees by primary role played at congress Regions of interest One key objective of the CPS is to empower society. The data indicate that attendees were mostly interested in two major regions: Cameroon and the USA. Congress attendees were interested in multiple regions across Africa as well outside Cameroon and USA. The data (Figure 5) provide an indication of the extent to which CPS activities could be disseminated.
Figure 5: Distribution of attendees according to region of interest in CPS programs Area of professional interest
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The overall distribution of areas of professional interest from congress attendees is shown in Figure 6. Taken together there is an almost even distribution across attendees by areas of professional interest.
Figure 6: Distribution of attendees according to areas of professional interest Attendance at previous CPS event Out of the 46 individuals who responded to this question, 37% (17) had attended one or more CPS events in the past while 63% (29) were first-time attendees (Figure 7A). It is important to re-visit the data to initiate and establish a relationship between all first-time attendees to ensure that they return to subsequent CPS events. Of the 26 attendees who indicated that they had attended a previous CPS Congress, the distribution of those who attended in 2010, 2011 and 2012 is shown in Figure 7B.
A
B 2010" Yes$ 37%$
5" 1"
No$ 63%$
1" 4"
2012"
13"
1"
7"
2011"
Figure 7: (A) Pie chart shows the percentage of attendees who had attended a previous CPS event; (B) Venn diagram depicts number of 2013 congress attendees who attended CPS events in 2010, 2011, or 2012.
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The topics suggested for future CPS congresses and symposia clearly mirrored areas of professional interest of attendees. In fact, most suggested topics were broad subject areas of interests rather than specific topics. While the data is available in the Survey Monkey database, a few specific topics were suggested and it is worth highlighting some in this report: “(1) Investments and the Cameroon Labor Market; (2) Insurance as a wealth building trust; (3) CPS Policy Framework to the Cameroon Government; (4) Private sector development in Cameroon; (5) Taking agriculture/agribusiness to the next level & the rise of
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Topics suggested for next congress by attendees
financial services in Cameroon for a sustained development; and (6) Conflict resolution approaches, particularly in respect to inter and intra community, tribal differences with a focus on transformative theory of conflict management.� Intention to speak or moderate at next congress Out of 32 individuals who responded to this question, 24 agreed to speak or moderate at the next congress. Areas of expertise of prospective speakers could be matched with topics suggested from the survey database. This will serve as a great tool when brainstorming for next years’ speakers and topics. Attendees interested in becoming members/volunteers/panellists All 35 who responded to this question indicated an interest to become a CPS member, partner or volunteer. Unfortunately, the question was not structured to indicate in what category these attendees would preferentially want to render services to CPS. However, in a time when we are moving towards increasing membership count, it is recommended that these attendees be contacted individually to subcategorize their intentions and encouraged to become paid members, if they so wish. Comments about congress The unedited comments from attendees are listed below. Some of these comments could serve as highlights in CPS social media pages. All comments are anonymous for the purpose of this report but specific names could be matched to each comment if the need arises. 1.
CPS to organize conference in Cameroon
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Absolutely great conference. This conference had a very good level of speakers and addressed critical issues. Great job to the team and I look forward to conference 2014.
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Keep Moving Forward
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Un seul mot - Continuer!
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Keep the good work up.
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More determined outreach to the government and private sector in Cameroon. They must be represented.
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Time, Time, Time Focus. Make Speakers Keep Time.
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Job well done. It only gets better from here
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Brilliant Organization. Could easily become a real engine of change in Cameroon
10. Increase Awareness 11. Reconsider a more affordable membership price 12. Delegation to Meet Head of State (Cameroon) 2) Elevate CPS to US / International Recognition 13. Great Job, Very Inspiring! 14. This year's session has been phenomenal. CPS is getting better by the year! 15. Great Job!! 16. Let's Showcase Results, Solutions that Stem from Discussions at the Congress. 2) Very Enriching/Empowering 17. Well Done - Take us to Cameroon in 2015 18. I would recommend having interpreting services because I have learnt many things and the importance of educational purpose to improve our society life in Cameroon. 19. I just want to commend the CPS on the wks they are doing so far. I sincerely had a gr8 time .but I miss the. Gala. I am going to support the course because I believe in what they doing. Keep it up guys... 20. I AM ON BOARD AND WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO
23. As a former registered member, CPS is a great Organisation.
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22. After attending the next one.
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21. Less talking, more doing. Other than the congress, what else is cps as a group working on.
24. Keep doing the great work!!! 25. Hello, I am very interested in supporting this event as a volunteer and in any other capacity as required. I recently separated from the US Army as a Captain; served two tours in Iraq and my last assignment was at the Pentagon as a liaison officer for Latin America. I am very interested in initiatives related to building leadership capacity among the youth in Cameroon and feel that I am well suited and prepared given the Conclusions and remarks: It is important to note that this needs assessment cross-sectional survey does not include a rigorous statistical analysis. In the future, it will be necessary to carry out a longitudinal survey for congresses over periods of time in order to develop trends across cross-sectional surveys.
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Nevertheless, the story told by the indicators in this survey is that there is a general interest in CPS programs from both male and female graduate level Cameroonian between the ages of 21 – 49 years. One recommendation is that CPS should design activities and programs that include and encourage non-college level Cameroonians and Africans to be part of its nucleus.
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Sponsors: