Collecting attendee data

Data Collection & Privacy

Privacy is very important to consider when deciding what information to collect during registration. Be sure the information you collect is useful in communicating with the person should something happen (such as inclement weather), brings awareness to a special need and help you provide historical information about your location’s celebration.

Collecting personal information

You cannot get around collecting some personal information during the registration process. Knowing attendee names and email address is important information to have so that you can communicate should an emergency situation arise, such as inclement weather, or to prepare volunteers before and during check-in.

NOTE: You are should always obtain permission before adding attendees to an email distribution list. In addition, we discourage disclosing personal contact information to sponsors without consent from the attendee.

Examples text to obtain consent:

  • “I agree to share my contact information with World IA Day, Inc to receive news and event updates.”

  • “I agree to share this information with our sponsor, [Sponsor Name], so that I can gain access to [ insert perk being offered ].”

Provide a way to communicate special needs

It is important to understand if an attendee has a special need that may require advanced preparation to accommodate. Including space on your registration form for them to indicate any needs is a good way to gain this understanding. As attendees register, reach out to any who communicate a special need and take time to understand how you can best accommodate them.

Special needs could include:

  • Dietary accommodations for people who have food allergies or follow a specific diet, such as a diabetic or vegan.

  • Situations that require special seating arrangements such as:

  • A seat up front for so an attendee can hear better

  • Space for a wheelchair with a nearby seat for a personal attendant

  • A comfortable option for an attendee with a medical condition such as back or spinal concerns, a broken leg or similar condition in which they may be required to elevate a leg or foot.

  • People who rely on assistive resources such as guide animals, real-time captioning (CART) or sign language interpretation.

In some cases, accommodating a special need means having a dedicated volunteer responsible for seeing to these attendees needs are met. Be sure to keep this in mind as you are planning the day-of experience for your celebration.

Collect data that will inform planning year over year

An important objective of the World IA Day global team is to serve to IA communities around the world to help them grow and thrive. Whether your team will continue to host a celebration annually or whether you will pass the torch to someone else in your community, it is important to keep historical information about your location’s celebrations year over year. This information can help you or your successor with planning, fundraising and can even give clues to the health of the local IA community.

A good questions to ask yourself when planning data collection are:

  • Can the data be useful when:

    • creating a marketing strategy?

    • working to secure sponsorship?

    • preparing for the celebration?

You want your registration form to be quick and easy to complete. So make sure the fields you display provide value. This information helps us at the global level too and we hope you choose to share it with us.

USEFUL REGISTRATION DATA TO COLLECT

  • Name (first and last)

  • Email Address

  • Postal Code

  • Attendee Type (employed, unemployed, student, etc.)

  • Name of school (if student)

  • Job Title / Occupation

  • Company Name

  • How did they hear about the celebration?

  • Are there any special needs, dietary or other, that you can accommodate?

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