UNDERSTANDING DIVISION UNDERSTANDING DIVISION MEMBERSHIPMEMBERSHIP

JOHN WESTEFELD, PHDCOMMITTEE ON DIVISION/APA RELATIONS

2011 APA Annual ConventionWashington, DC

Agenda

• Membership Trends (APA & Divisions)• Recruiting to Divisions• Retaining Division Members• Targeting ECP and Students• Cross-Divisional Opportunities

2011 Data Not

Complete

2011 Data Not

Complete

Trends in APA Members

• Average age is > 50 years and is increasing

• Average number of years post-degree is 20 and is increasing

• Majority of APA members are female, and this is increasing

• Most have a PhD but percent with PhDs is decreasing and percent with PsyDs is increasing

Trends in Division Members

• Less than half of APA members belong to a division; percent who do is decreasing*

• APA division members differ from non-division members in important ways:– Division members are older with more years post-degree– More likely to be male– More likely to self-identify as White– More likely to have PhDs and less likely to have PsyDs

Trends in New APA Member Characteristics

• Average age is > 40 years; most are 10 years post-degree

• More likely to be female; this trend is increasing

• Most decline to self-identify race or ethnicity; this trend is increasing

• Most have a PhD but the percent with a PsyD is increasing

• Few (< 12%) join a division

Recruiting New Members

• Free Memberships– Barbara Keeton, Division 38

Recruiting New Members

• Creating a Membership Campaign– Jim O’Neil, Division 51

Recruiting New Members

• Other Ideas?– Incentives– How do you place “value” on dues?–Marketing approaches– Tips for outreach–Material provided on Web sites

Retaining New Members

• APA Communities–Micheline Meyers, Division Services

Office

Retaining New Members

• Other ideas?– How do you welcome/introduce

members?– How do you keep members engaged?– How do you “reinstate” members who

have left the division?

Characteristics of ECP APA Members

• Most are in their 30s; most are 3-4 years post-degree

• More likely to be female• Most decline to self-identify race or

ethnicity• Most have a PhD but a third have a PsyD • Only 20-25% are division members

Top 5 ECP Divisions in 2009

Division Number of ECPs

ECP % of Division Membership

14. SIOP 324 14.1

38. Health Psychology 405 15.6

40. Clinical Neuropsychology 565 13.4

53. Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

358 19.5

54. Pediatric Psychology 329 26.6

What Do These Divisions Offer ECPs?

• Free first-year dues: 38 and 40• ECP award: 14, 40, 54• Grants: 14, 54• Mentoring program: 40, 54• ECP on Executive Committee: 40, 54• Listserves: All• Social Networking (Facebook, Linkedin): 14,

38, 54• Resource: www.apa.org/about/division/activities/for-early-

career.aspx

Targeting ECP and Students

• Mentoring– Debbie Nolan, Division 17

Cross-Divisional Marketing

• Division 42 Experiences– Jeff Zimmerman, Division 42

• Results of Spring Promotion– Sarah Jordan, Division Services Office

• Winter Promotion– Chad Rummel, Division Services Office

Spring 2011 Promotion

• APA members who did NOT belong to a division and who graduated after 1989 (33,326 recipients)

• 1.7% of recipients joined a division (560 new Division members)

2012 Division Membership Campaign

• Email Marketing Campaign– Using APA’s New Email Blast Platform– APA Members NOT in a Division– Broken into two groups for better

targeting• ECP vs. Non-ECP

– Three blasts• Awards/Grants (February)• Journals(March)• ??? (April)• Division-Specific Incentives (June)

2012 Division Membership Campaign

• Follow-Ups Based on Click-Throughs– Follow-ups will further narrow down

which division they may be interested in; can send membership information

• Testimonials (based on Target Group)

• Links to Specific Areas of APADivisions.org– Further Targeting