Hi there! I hope that you are all well.
Focus groups can be very helpful to your synagogue. They can assist in directing the trajectory of your programming. They can aid in capital campaigns. They can even play in role in addressing how to choose a new synagogue location, if the opportunity should arise.
Here are some practical strategies when forming focus groups:
Focus Groups primarily serve to: gather attitudes and opinions regarding a particular issue, test hypothesis or assumptions, foster discussion, provide opportunity for broader discussion.
Before the focus group: define the objective, plan a timeline, identify your participants, generate questions, develop a script, identify a facilitator, and choose location.
Rules of operation: set the tone and allow your participants to feel relaxed and engaged, make sure everybody is evenly heard, get full and clear answers, monitor time closely, keep the discussion focused.
Creating a report: After the focus group has been questioned and the discussion has reached its allotted time, the facilitator and/or committee culls the information in order to generate a report.
Summarize each meeting + Analyze the summaries + Write the report
Survey Monkey: Should I use an email survey format for the focus group? On one hand it is more quantifiable and on the other hand it doesn’t foster exciting and healthy discussion.
See you around,
Shlomo Einhorn
Rabbi of West Side Institutional Synagogue - www.wsisny.org
Director of WINGS – A OU Synagogue Consulting Group – http://www.ou.org/synagogue_services/wings
Email: wings@ou.org
