Posted: 10 May 2023
On 2 December 2022, BioMelbourne Network emailed members, inviting you to complete our 2022 Member Survey which closed on 31 January 2023.
We conduct this survey annually and track the trends year on year, so we can share our results with you and discuss the lessons that we have learned.
Thanks for your valuable feedback which will support us in our journey of continuous improvement as an organisation, to align ourselves and our activities with the needs of the industry.
Survey snapshot
We received feedback across the healthtech sector.
You scored us highly on net promoter score, overall satisfaction, sector importance, events, staff accessibility, networking and clarity of strategy and purpose.
We didn’t score as well in these areas: support for research and commercialisation, advocacy and professional development and training. While we do a lot of work in these areas, the messages are that we need to broaden our scope of work, better leverage the ecosystem to support these activities and improve how we communicate the outcomes.
Some of you mentioned that you are unaware of our advocacy work. While we provide updates on In the Loop and Insider Report, on our website each year, we have also set up a Public Policy and Advocacy community on Wilam with participants from across the sector. Reach out if you wish to know more about how to get involved.
You also want us to make some improvements. These include facilitating connections and collaborations with colleagues locally, interstate and internationally, improving engagement with universities, running events at different locations and times, hosting events for students and reducing event costs for researchers.
We are taking your feedback on board. We are creating Wilam sub-communities for a range of Victorian and national organisations that we believe will address some of these concerns. We are also better tailoring our events program to accommodate your needs. We’ll soon be launching BioResource Hub, our new digital events library, where you will be able to watch our free and pay-to-view events recordings on demand.
Read below for more details about the 2022 Member Survey and our conclusions.
Net promoter score
We achieved a Net Promoter Score of 40 in 2022, which is 3 points higher than for 2021.
A score from 30 – 70 indicates that we are doing a great job and you, our members, are loyal.
We cannot compare our score with other industry organisations as benchmark data isn’t available.
Our strengths
We scored highly for:
- events (92% in 2022, 81% in 2021)
- openness and accessibility of staff (90% in 2022, 87% in 2021)
- networking (88% in 2022, 69% in 2021)
- clarity of strategy and purpose (80% in 2022, 81% in 2021).
We didn’t score as well in these areas: support for research and commercialisation, advocacy and professional development and training. Our 2022 figures are consistent with 2021.
Performance measures
You assessed us on these measures:
- overall satisfaction (85% in 2022, 82% in 2021)
- connectedness (72% in 2022, 68% in 2021).
You cited various reasons why you felt connected to BioMelbourne Network in 2022. You are part of a strong network; value our team, events and regular updates; and are engaged.
However, 4.93% of you didn’t feel connected to us in 2022 compared with 10.64 % in 2021.
You said we could improve connectedness by:
- facilitating connections and collaborations with colleagues locally and interstate
- running events at different locations and in the middle of the day
- improving engagement with universities
- hosting events for students
- reducing event costs for researchers.
Sector advocacy
In 2022, 76.12% of you said that we are a strong sector advocate in 2022 compared with 67.50% in 2021.
Key advocacy themes mentioned were industry support and profile raising in Victoria.
However, many of you are unaware of what we are doing in the advocacy space and the final impact of that work. Our Insider Report published online and our new Wilam community will help us in this area.
Sector importance
In 2022, 91.04% of you said that BioMelbourne Network is important compared with 67.50% in 2021.
Various themes contributed to this view:
- industry support
- single representative voice
- ability to leverage industry connectivity
- strong Victorian focus
- interstate collaboration
- international connectivity
- strong network
- well connected
- strong advocate.
However, a few of you said that we aren’t an important organisation because you are unaware of our impact, want us to improve our translation focus, grow breadth and invest more on connectivity.
Areas of improvement
You want BioMelbourne Network to improve in these areas:
- clarity of focus
- event delivery
- provide more free events for members
- communications
- engagement with researchers
- support for commercialisation
- encouragement of low-cost incubators.
You would like us to make these changes:
- invest in connectivity opportunities
- showcase local industry
- raise awareness of employment opportunities
- actively promote our successes
- reduce EDM frequency.
Communication
In 2022, 86.57% of you said that you’re receiving the right amount of communications in 2022 compared with 77.50% in 2021.
However, 5.97% of you said that you received too much communication in 2022 compared with 5.00% in 2021. We received this feedback from people working in healthcare, consultancy and government/not-for-profit sectors.
Communication that matters
Most respondents found our broad communication beneficial in 2022.
You valued information about:
- networking opportunities (83.58%)
- member news (67.16%)
- updates on trends in sector developments (62.69%)
- grant and funding opportunities (40.30%)
- updates on advocacy activities (37.31%)
- opportunities for promotion and advertising for your organisation (22.39%)
- other (7.46%).
However, people working in healthcare preferred communication about sector development trends and networking opportunities only.
Conclusions
BioMelbourne Network members provided valuable feedback in our 2022 Member Survey.
You highly value us as an organisation and the work we do on events, our clarity of strategy and purpose, and the openness and accessibility of staff.
You also feel connected to us as are part of a strong network; you value our team, our events and regular updates; and are engaged.
About three-quarters of you believe we are a strong sector advocate through our industry support and profile raising in Victoria, but would like to understand more about our advocacy priorities and the results of this work. Please note that we provide regular updates about our advocacy work in the Insider Report on our website. Click here for the latest update.
And 91.04% of you said that BioMelbourne Network is important because of our focus on the Victorian heathtech sector, advocacy work and ability to leverage industry connections in Victoria, interstate and overseas. Through our Wilam platform, we’re bringing the national and international ecosystem together in one place.
Around 86% of respondents said that you’re receiving the right amount of communication while only 5.97% said that it was too much.
You also listed areas for improvements in research and commercialisation support, professional development and training, connectivity, advocacy, and more accessible events.
We are taking your feedback on board. We are creating Wilam sub-communities for a range of Victorian and national organisations that we believe will address some of these concerns – as this platform is encouraging new connections and collaborations between research and industry, and bringing like-minded people together.
We are also tailoring our events program to accommodate your needs. And we will soon be launching BioResource Hub, our new digital events library, where you will be able to watch our free and pay-to-view events recordings on demand. So, if you are unable to attend an event, this resource will shortly be available to you. This will reduce event costs for students and researchers, and ensure that you don’t miss out on the latest information on academia and research, business and financial, commercialisation, medtech and health IT, and pharma and biotech.
Some of you mentioned that you are unaware of the work we are doing on your behalf. We provide updates on In the Loop and Insider Report, on our website, so have a look and reach out if you want more information or want to get involved.
Thanks again for your valuable feedback which will inform our activities this year.
