Highlights from the 2022 TAC Conference & Exhibition Feedback Surveys

The 2022 TAC Conference & Exhibition saw a high level of participation with about 1200 people registered to attend in person. More than 62 companies exhibited, and the Conference offered a full program of 87 technical sessions, panels, and workshops across multiple tracks and 12 technical tours were offered. 27% of people who registered for the conference were 35 years old or younger and 48% of attendees were from private sector businesses; 25% from municipalities; 21% from federal or provincial departments of transportation; 6% were from other types of TAC member organizations.

The Conference also saw many firsts, including our foray into live-streaming of major events like the Opening Plenary Session and programmed lunches. Recordings of these events are now available for free. A 2022 TAC Conference & Exhibition online photo album is now available.

Recordings of the conference technical sessions are also available. If you'd like to purchase the 2022 TAC Conference & Exhibition session recordings, visit our website. Access to the recordings on the conference event portal continues until the end of March 2023.

Conference attendees were encouraged to provide feedback through an online survey.

Highlights from the 2022 Attendee Survey

Response Rate: 20% or 255 responses

Attendees enjoyed their participation at the 2022 TAC Conference & Exhibition, providing an average score of 8.2/10 for their overall experience.

Survey observations – general:

• 51% of the people who completed the survey had never attended an in-person TAC conference before.
• The highest-rated parts of the conference were the Exhibition, the technical sessions and tours, and the onsite badge pickup.
• The lowest-rated parts of the conference were the lunches and Monday Night event. The main issues were access to the food due to lineups or programming.

73% of delegates felt that the value for money of the registration feel was Good or Excellent, while 20% of delegates felt neutral about it. Only 7% of delegates felt that the value for money of the registration fee was poor or had no opinion.

The 2022 Conference included several new features, including being TAC’s most sustainably-planned event ever. Our approaches to planning and hosting the event conserved and reused resources, reduced and recycled waste, and reduced and offset carbon emissions. 75% of respondents rated TAC’s sustainable approaches favourably.

Survey observations – new features:

• Positive: The reduction of printed materials, giveaways, and other changes to minimize waste was noticed by many
• Neutral: People appreciated the coloured dots on name tags to indicate comfort with proximity to others, but felt they could have been bigger to be easier to see
• Negative: Many weren’t aware that there was free, public livestreaming of the major events

The technical presentations, panel discussions and workshops covered a broad range of expertise, projects, and innovations. The Technical Sessions were rated Excellent or Good by 92% of the respondents. A few delegates commented on availability on the Technical Tours and not being able to register to participate. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to provide enough Technical Tours to have seats for everyone, however we’ll look into improvements to tour registration and communication for 2023.

94% of delegates rated the Exhibition favorably. Some mentioning they would appreciate more time to visit the exhibits.

“The exhibition was the highlight - great to see so many vendors out and such a wide variety too - unique to TAC - nothing like it in Canada.”

“Exhibition space was large, diverse, well designed. Good mix of vendor types.”

“I think the Exhibition is always the BEST part of the TAC Conference. I learn so much from the vendors and I can connect with meaningful resources post meeting.”

Survey observations – Exhibition and Networking:

• Positive: Exhibition space and floor plan was large, well designed, and good for encouraging moving around to network
• Neutral: Some loved the refreshment break food, some felt that healthier options should be made available

The Monday Night event and lunches were rated less favorably than usual, with the main negative comments being about lineups for food and needing to wait until after programming to eat. Some attendees felt that the improv comedy on Monday Night didn’t suit the event. Other comments referred specifically to the Tuesday Lunch being vegetarian, which received mixed reviews. TAC will look into ways to avoid long food lineups and programming adjustments for 2023.

Survey observations – Events and Activities:

• Positive: The Welcome Reception was well done. Great to see the exhibition and good food
• Negative: Monday Night Event food lines were long; it was difficult to hear the improv group
• Negative: The programming/talking at lunch felt too long and people didn’t enjoy waiting until it was over to eat
• Neutral: People either loved or didn’t love the vegetarian lunch served on Tuesday

84% of attendees who rated the Conference App, rated it favorably. Some respondents commented that developing tutorials or tips for more effective use of the App’s features would be helpful.

Survey observations – Communications and Services:

• Positive: Most people thought the App was suitable, but could use a few adjustments
• Neutral: Some people felt the printed summary brochure wasn’t adequate and some felt no printed program was needed
• Negative: Several people commented that the App would be better if it permitted saving sessions that conflict with each other, to keep as options or move between presentations at different sessions

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to the survey!

This feedback will be used to inform planning and adjustments for the 2023 TAC Conference & Exhibition being held in Ottawa, September 24-27. Information about the event, including details about the Call for Conference Submissions for authors and presenters, will be posted soon on www.tac-atc.ca. Registration for delegates opens in spring 2023.