IARU Survey Insights
When the University of Cambridge began its tenure as Secretariat of IARU, one of its first actions was to launch an online survey to engage the IARU membership on specific questions about their involvement with the Alliance. The summary of the survey was presented at the Senior Officers’ Meeting in October 2021.
Several key themes emerged from the responses, outlining the factors that contribute to group productivity, considering what support working groups and networks need, and sharing opinions on the opportunities and challenges that IARU will face in the future.
The Secretariat’s proposals at the Senior Officers’ Meeting were directly informed by this feedback and included the launch of a newsletter to help members stay better informed about IARU activities and the work of other groups, improving communications more generally and looking at how research collaborations might be fostered.
The survey responses also supported the idea of the Secretariat providing some generalised written guidance to assist groups in the form of a IARU Group Handbook. Rather than instituting changes to how groups are run, the Handbook is intended to distill best practice from established groups, provide some continuity of knowledge and processes for groups with departing members, and to offer guidance on setting up new groups.
As the Handbook develops, the Secretariat will be in touch with group leads and members to gather their thoughts on which topics would be useful for the guidance to cover. If any members wish to contact the Secretariat directly about the Group Handbook, we would be delighted to hear from you on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .