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A Brief History: International Field Directors and Technologies (1993-Present)
Field Technologies (1989-1992), and Field Directors (1951-1992)* In 1968, John Scott wrote a memo, A Suggestion for a Conference on Field Problems in Survey Research (see the message board). As a result, a conference held later that year began an annual tradition of meetings of survey research personnel. The attendance page shows locations and organizers over the years. These meetings continued for 21 years, and were called just "Field Directors." They were one and a half days long and very informal. The procedures were maintained solely through oral tradition and common agreement at each year’s conference. From the beginning, the membership was limited to academic, government, and nonprofit organizations. By the mid-1980s, the allowed number of persons attending per organization had grown from two to four (two plus two more if they were on the conference program). The focus has always been practical and problem solving; finished papers are not required; works in progress are encouraged. Attendance was in the 30s-60s, and through 1987 all sessions were plenary—everyone sat around one table. Before the mid-1980s, most of the conference discussions were about interviewer and field administration concerns. Then the newly emerging world of CATI began to dominate the conference program. The 1987 Raleigh and 1998 Toronto conferences were the turning points. In Raleigh, there were very few discussions on traditional Field Directors concerns, and in Toronto there were very few sessions on CATI. The following year, Bill Nicholls and seven others organized a new conference called "Field Technologies." Field Technologies’ first meeting was in St. Petersburg in 1989. From 1989 through 1992, Field Directors and Field Technologies had separate programs, organizers, and registration. Field Technologies was held right after Field Directors, with one overlap day on which joint sessions were held. Participants could register for either or both programs. The Field Technologies Charter, adopted at the first meeting, allowed for eight persons from each organization (four plus another four if they were on the conference program). At the 1993 meeting in Chicago, the two conferences merged and adopted a common charter. "International" had become part of the title in the mid-1980s, in recognition of members from around the world. Thus, the title of the merged organization, "International Field Directors and Technologies Conference." The new charter allowed for 16 per organization (four + four Directors, and four + four Technologies). The first joint FD/FT meeting in 1989 had about 120 attending, almost double the numbers from the previous few years. Growth has continued, with a peak of 255 in 1999. From 1998-2001 approximately 50% of the attendees were first-time attendees, until 2002 when this declined to about 40%, and has averaged between 35% & 40% consistently since then. An average of 70 organizations are represented. *This history was written hastily at the 1998 St. Louis meeting, and reflects the collective memory of the organizers present. Any misinterpretations or omissions are my responsibility; **General updates have been made to the last paragraph.
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