HAWAII INFORMATION CONGRESS 1995
SURVEY SUMMARY

January 25, 1995

As a means of measuring the overall effectiveness of the Hawaii Information Congress 1995, a survey was distributed to all participants. Ninety twocompleted surveys have been returned. The Information Congress received high overall marks: 36% gave an excellent score of 5; 52% with a score of 4; and 9% gave a score of 3 (average). One hundred percent of respondents felt the information was relevant to their profession or business; and 61% said the information presented would have some affect on the way they conduct business. The break out sessions were rated "very effective" by 74% of the respondents. The other components of the Congress received fairly divided ratings between "adequate" and "very effective". Finally, 99% of respondents said they would be interested in participating in future sessions on shaping Hawaii's telecommunications infrastructure.

Respondents were liberal with their comments, citing both the benefits of the Congress as well as providing constructive feedback for improvement. On the positive side, numerous mentions were made about the value of brainstorming, sharing ideas, networking and hearing from different sectors. Toward improvement, several comments were made about lunch being too meat heavy, the need for clarity of what an application is, the desire for more time to mingle and work in break out groups, and the need for hi-tech presentations (group reporting and voting).

The following data are arranged with the numerical rankings first, followed by individual comments.


1. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), please rate the Hawaii Information Congress:

10
20
38 (9%)
448 (52%)
536 (39%)

2. Did you find the information presented relevant to your profession or business?

Yes92 (100%)
No0

3. Was the length of the program (1/2 day) adequate?

Yes65 (72%)
No25 (28%)

4. Will the information your were presented with today affect the way in which you conduct business?

Yes50 (61%)
No32 (39%)

*See item 11 for details comments.

5. How effective were the following components of today's session:

Not very
effective		AdequateVery
effective
Opening panel discussion2 (3%)44 (49%)43 (48%)
Break out groups1 (1%)22 (25%)65 (74%)
Plenary session reports8 (9%)54 (61%)27 (30%)
Lobbying and voting19 (21%)47 (52%)24 (27%)

6. Could we have better prepared you for the day's topic?

Yes32 (39%)
No50 (61%)

*See item 13 for detailed comments.

7. If similar sessions on shaping Hawaii's information infrastructure are offered, are you interested in participating?

Yes81 (99%)
No1 (1%)

8. What was the most valuable aspect of today's program?

Interaction and dialogue among participants.

Break out session. (18)

Info sharing. (16)

Many people wrestling similar issues in isolation. Good beginnings of collaboration.

Seek non-technical individuals opinions.

Bringing various sectors of community together to look at future.

Seeing the wide range of interests represented. (2)

Networking (in a human sense) with other attendees. (8)

Finding out what other sectors of society are thinking and how similar ideas came from all aspects of education.

Meeting and collaborating with professionals from different fields.

People really got a chance to dialogue.

The opening panel. (7)

Video. (4)

All. (3)

Priority list and PUC support.

Interaction, clarifying vision and goals.

Bringing together a very good group of people for the meeting.

Consensus by varied experts.

Learning about possible technology that can and probably will be integrated into society.

Learning different aspects of our info future from other participants here.

Group discussions--both formal and informal.

Overview of information industry from all aspects.

Getting different perspectives on various applications.

The interaction with people who are leaders in technology.

Sharing of information.

Cross industry views.

It was all valuable--lobbying/voting and dialoguing.

Peer interaction.

All phases (panel, break outs, and summations) were important.

Hearing the views of participants during break out groups.

Understanding that public and private investment voting is not and easy task.

Voting/dollars.

The "cross-pollination" discussions of Internet issues affecting many different public/ private sector.

Being able to compare how priorities relate, are similar, and also see the spectrum of priorities.

Hearing different perspectives.

Hearing business concerns relating to info infrastructure and future services.

Bringing the new technology out in the open.

Panel and discussion group and applications.

Mixed audience of business and industry sectors provided a variety of viewpoints.

Better grasp of potential for information; brainstorming of possible applications.

Assembled on a selected basis, some of the most important people in Hawaii. Well organized and informal. I thought this to be one of the best meetings I've been to on this topic in Hawaii. Thanks.

The opportunity to network with other in the same disciplines (but in different businesses) and to gain perspective on how our priorities are viewed by them.

Generating thought process.

Sharing needs and ideas.

The wide range of people present.

Encountering opinions and direction of others in the community.

Voting.

Variety of ideas presented.

Talking to others, hearing different viewpoints.

Meeting other people in this field as well as government officials. Also it was presented in a fun and enjoyable format.

Hearing about technology--current and future.