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THF 2015 Survey Results

Each year The Haiku Foundation conducts a survey to determine how you think we’re doing, from our most basic principles to our broadest programs. Of course we hope that you like everything we do, but we know we can always do better. The survey is your opportunity to let us know what we can improve upon, what else we might consider offering, and what you think our successes have been. Since we have limited time, personnel, and resources, we can’t do everything we’d like to do, nor can we always do things exactly as we wish we could, but we use the survey to help us aim our efforts into the future.

Personal responses to our survey are tendered in private, and we honor that in reporting the results to you. This is why individual replies are not published below.

We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to give thought to our efforts, and responded to our survey throughout the year. We will be conducting a survey again beginning in March 2016, and we hope you will continue to provide us feedback.

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Each year The Haiku Foundation conducts a survey to determine how you think we’re doing, from our most basic principles to our broadest programs. Of course we hope that you like everything we do, but we know we can always do better. The survey is your opportunity to let us know what we can improve upon, what else we might consider offering, and what you think our successes have been. Since we have limited time, personnel, and resources, we can’t do everything we’d like to do, nor can we always do things exactly as we wish we could, but we use the survey to help us aim our efforts into the future.

We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to give thought to our efforts, and responded to our survey throughout the year. We will be conducting a survey again beginning in March 2016, and we hope you will continue to provide us feedback.

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March 4, 2015: THF Mission Statement

6 respondents

While the overall response to our mission statement is extremely positive (from which I gather that the general impetus of our activities and direction are viewed favorably), two respondents suggested edits to our wording that we will take up at our January 2016 Board of Directors meeting. Both suggestions have considerable merit and may well be adopted.

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March 11, 2015: THF Touchstone Awards

1 respondent

Hard to assess from a single response, but the overall feel I get from the community is that the Touchstones are considered to be the best award in the genre, and all have indicated eagerness to participate in the programs when it is brought to their attention. Bruce Feingold, chair of the Touchstones committee, has streamlined the process and added several innovations to make it more inclusive and effective.

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March 18, 2015: THF Bibliography

1 respondent

Again, hard to make a general assessment based on the limited response. The bibiography (last updated by its creator, Charlie Trumbull, in 2009 with a new update in the works) seems to be a specialty item that is very nice to have when you need it (I find I use it every couple of weeks) that is otherwise largely unnoticed.

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April 1, 2015: Book of the Week

8 respondents

Book of the Week is one of the best-received and most-loved programs the Foundation runs, and this is reflected in the broad and universal favor it commands in the haiku community, and among our respondents. Its intent is to give a second life to books that might easily disappear from view. We also seek to offer a variety of styles and talent levels, and thus to survey the entire range of haiku activity as it is manifested through its most characteristic product, the chapbook.

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April 8, 2015: THF Contests

2 respondents

Several people indicated their disappointment that the contests were being discontinued, though all said they could understand the decision. Perhaps this feeling will be mitigated by our adoption of the United Nations Children’s Haiku Contest beginning in 2016.

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April 15, 2015: THF Digital Library

3 respondents

Another widely admired and appreciated program throughout the community, again mirrored in the comments of respondents. The Digital Library houses several of the Foundation’s chief features and archives, such as World of Haiku, Essays, Poetry Archives, along with books and journals. Digital Librarian Garry Eaton has been instrumental in helping to realize the library’s full potential, and Kyle Flak has expertly managed additions to the Poem Archives.

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April 22, 2015: THF Education Wall

6 respondents

The educational resources of the Foundation have grown a great deal in the past couple years, and consequently activity in that domain has greatly increased. Everyone who has responded has found it valuable. Our challenge is to increase its outreach. New co-chairs Brad Bennett and Jeanne Martin have followed on the strong contributions of predecessor Ellen Olinger, and so we feel this is in good hands.

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April 29, 2015: THF Forums

13 respondents

This is the survey topic that generated the most feedback. While most of that feedback is positive, at least some of our respondents feel that activity is slow. This may have changed over the past couple months, however, as Alan Summers has taken over as Chief Moderator and there seems to be a growing number of participants in several threads at present. Forum activity may tend to run hot and cold, but since the bulk of the attention given to the Foundation by its officers and volunteers occurs on the site proper, it’s difficult to be certain to what degree this is the case, and also what to do about it. We are open to suggestion.

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May 13, 2015: THF Haiku App

4 respondents

The Haiku App will be updated in January 2016, and the corrections to detected errors will be made at that time, addressing one respondent’s issue. Otherwise, response to the app tends to be positive, if muted. Luke Bradford coded our initial app and all subsequent updates.


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May 20, 2015: The Haiku Registry

7 respondents

The Haiku Registry remains our most active program, and receives unadulterated praise from all respondents. Billie Wilson has been overseeing it from its inception, with uniformly excellent results.


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March 25, 2015: Troutswirl, the THF Blog

2 respondents

The blog is our chief platform for delivering our other features, including renku, cartoons, the World of Haiku, the Haiku Registry, Juxtapositions, and much more, but it may remain somewhat invisible for that reason: it is seen as the means of discovering and delivering programs, but isn’t itself considered a program. This may account for the relatively small response, though all respondents grade it as excellent.


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May 27, 2015: THF Hard Copy Library

1 respondent

The Foundation hard copy library is, in our estimation, the largest such library in the world. It is our ongoing process to digitize as much of this library as possible, so as to make more of its content more generally available, but we feel the preservation and archiving of these physical objects is just as important. Respondent opinion of the library is unwaveringly positive.


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June 3, 2015: International Haiku Poetry Day

3 respondents

International Haiku Poetry Day, which began as National Haiku Poetry Day, is an international celebration of haiku. It consists mainly of three features: HaikuLife, our haiku film festival; Earthrise Rolling Haiku Collaboration, in which poets from around the world share poems on the theme of the day; and local meetings and gatherings organized in various cities throughout the US and elsewhere. All our respondents have been enthusiastic.

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June 17, 2015: Per Diem, THF Daily Haiku

8 respondents

All graded this excellent, though one respondent indicated some concern that continued integration of per diem with world of haiku might change the feel of the feature, which is a good point. However, we have made that commitment through the end of 2017, so we’ll find out. Stella Pierides manages the program for the Foundation, along with all social media outlets that carry and disperse it.


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June 24, 2015: THF Publications

3 respondents

Again, nothing but positive response to this. Interestingly, people included JUXTA in their remarks here, even though JUXTA had its own survey question. With the addition of the new Raymond Roseliep biography people will have even more to like.


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July 1, 2015: THF Video Archive

Curiously, not a single person responded to this survey question. Perhaps it is not distinguishable from the THF Dedicated YouTube Channel, or else from HaikuLife?

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July 8, 2015: THF Dedicated YouTube Channel

1 respondent

Again, a very scant response to a video program. We might consider featuring our video holdings more prominently.

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July 15, 2015: THF Website

2 respondents

The THF website underwent a redesign at the beginning of 2015, and while the response to it was universally positive, I’m a bit surprised that so few people actually responded to the survey question. The website, implemented by Dave Russo with customization from Rich Agnew, is the home of the Foundation. Perhaps, as with the blog, the structure that provides the content is invisible. Perhaps, too, we should consider this a plus.


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July 22, 2015: THF World of Haiku

3 respondents

Very positive feedback to this feature, which is a bit of a departure from our origins (our mission statement clearly indicates our emphasis on English-language haiku) but seems to be welcomed by the haiku community as a whole. I know that participant countries are very enthusiastic in being recognized by the Foundation, and keen for their work to appear under our auspices. One of our biggest successes of 2015.


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July 29, 2015: Juxtapositions

8 respondents

Juxtapositions is our second-most visited feature (behind the Haiku Registry), which I would not have expected. Feedback has been universally positive, and a few people have indicated their interest that this become hard copy as well as online, which is something we’ll consider (perhaps in a print on demand context). A surprise hit. Juxta has its own staff, separate from the rest of the Foundation, led by Senior Editor Peter McDonald, and including editors Stephen Addiss, Randy Brooks, Bill Cooper, and Ce Rosenow. Jim Kacian is Managing Editor. 


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August 5, 2015: THF Planned Projects

1 respondent

It’s hard to comment on speculation, and we received only a single response, which encouraged us continue to bring new programs to fruition just as we have with previous planned projects like JUXTA and Montage: The Book. This boost toward the future is appreciated, and no doubt we will do as we have been urged to do, continue to expand our offerings.

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Overall assessment: It would seem nearly everyone thinks we’re doing a good job engaging our mission as well as following through with projects and products that have good reach within the haiku and academic communities and beyond. Immediate issues for discussion include the wording of the mission statement, and the status of the forums. Everything else receives high grades, which would indicate we should continue as we have been operating in these areas. We have a core of respondents who will have the greatest impact on our thinking through their suggestions to our survey, and hope this number will grow in 2016. Our 2016 survey will begin in March, on the blog. Thanks again to all those who have helped us to shape our thinking about the future of The Haiku Foundation.

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Please consider making a donation to The Haiku Foundation during our Fundraising Drive, November 26 – December 6, and help the Foundation continue its important work. And visit our Gift Shop to get cool haiku gifts in return for making your donation. Thank you.

 

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2015 Fundraiser Schedule

 
 
 

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