First, 6 months is probably too short a timeframe to measure conference impact—many of my most valuable changes in behavior (e.g., starting new projects/collaborations, or providing (and getting) support/advice) occurred years after the conference where I met someone for the first time.
Possibly, though there is a trade-off here. We also hear in our 3–6 month follow-up surveys that people don’t really remember conversations from the event. Maybe that’s just a sign that nothing super valuable occurred but if you attend lots of events, questions about an event that occurred >6mo ago can be difficult to answer even if it was impactful. If we ask straight after the event, and 3–6 months later and a year later, I’d worry about survey fatigue.
Fair. Perhaps during the post event survey you could ask people who have attended previous events if they want to report any significant impacts from those past events? Then they can respond as relevant.
Possibly, though there is a trade-off here. We also hear in our 3–6 month follow-up surveys that people don’t really remember conversations from the event. Maybe that’s just a sign that nothing super valuable occurred but if you attend lots of events, questions about an event that occurred >6mo ago can be difficult to answer even if it was impactful. If we ask straight after the event, and 3–6 months later and a year later, I’d worry about survey fatigue.
Fair. Perhaps during the post event survey you could ask people who have attended previous events if they want to report any significant impacts from those past events? Then they can respond as relevant.