The MemberWise Network was launched in 2008 and is the leading free network for association and membership professionals. Our circa. 8,000 members enjoy access to a range of practical tools, resources, networking and learning opportunities. You can see how we have developed and what we have delivered in our impact statements below.
2022In 2022 the network grew to 8,000 active members representing 2,500 membership organisations and associations.
We held two of the sector’s largest national conferences and exhibitions (DX 2022 and MEMX 2022), relaunched our online community – MemberWise Connect, hosted two dedicated Tech Insight days, broadcast 50 MemberWise Webcasts, updated the Influence 100 List and launched our Influence 100 Financial Benchmarking Report (2022).
MemberWise Connect launched the sector’s first online professional network for membership body CEOs and welcomed 200 Founding Members and onboarded our second cohort of MemberWise Ambassadors representing the key specialisms within membership.
We welcomed new Official Partner, Wattle, and our Recognised Supplier Directory grew to 180 leading sector providers. A busy year when activity felt like it was getting back to some kind of ‘normal’ following the COVID-19 Pandemic.
2021In 2021 the network worked smarter and harder than ever before by providing practical help/support to over 7,500 professionals working for over 2,000 membership organisations and associations.
We launched 12 best practice guides, hosted 60 MemberWise Webcasts, delivered 10 high profile membership consulting projects, curated 90+ on-demand learning modules/courses via MemberWise Learn (the networks online learning platform) and launched our first comparative Influence 100 Financial Benchmarking Report.
The network hosted the first post-pandemic conference, MEMX 2021, and welcomed 500 delegates/suppliers for what many termed ‘The Reunion Conference of the Year”. We welcomed our 7,500th member and 160th MemberWise Recognised Supplier.
We also launched our first paid-for on-demand training courses that covered new topics including improved member retention and data protection.
2020In 2020 the Membership and Association Sector experienced a negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. The network stepped up whilst many stepped back.
Our website traffic doubled, membership numbers increased by 2,000 in less than 2 months and requests for practical help/advice and consulting services were responded to immediately.
In Q2 the network broadcast 60 best practice webinars and launched a new online mentoring programme. By Q3 we responded to the requirement for more member retention help/advice by hosting a dedicated Online Summer School (on the topic) that featured lectures and online networking to ensure membership/association professionals were ready to optimise this critical activity immediately.
By Q4 the network launched Membership OnTrack, an ambitious 5 month structured online learning programme. Over 900 professionals registered with over 5,000 live/on-demand visits/views. We published The Ultimate Guide to Retaining More Members and launched a new Influence 100 Financial Benchmarking Report.
2019In 2019 our phrase was ‘Go Big or Go Home!’. It was aligned to a more sophisticated strategy of planned development and growth. We welcomed 1,850 new Membership and Association Professional Members (taking our total membership up to 6,250), conducted a number of high profile membership focused consulting projects and focused on a segmented approach to optimise new member acquisition/engagement.
We created more new resources including the Digital Excellence 2019 survey summary report and an exciting new series of MemberWise Verified Case Studies. We grew our popular programme of conferences and exhibitions by over 33% and facilitated 15 (+6) best practice seminars (attended by over 1,500 professionals). The network further increased capacity by welcoming James Roberts as the network’s new Associate Director of Development.
We strengthened our relationship with leading sector suppliers by offering more targeted promotional opportunities and grew our community of MemberWise Recognised Suppliers by 15%. Our online community, MemberWise Connect continued to go from strength to strength and this was further enhanced by developments to the MemberWise Network App.
2018In 2018 the MemberWise Network welcomed it’s 4,500th member and focused on helping membership organisations and associations to better communicate and provide member value. This activity culminated with the launch of the popular and co-curated resource, The Member Value 2025 Project, that also focused on exceeding next generation member rxpectations. This resource can be found on the Member Value & Engagement Hub.
The network increased delivery capacity via the recruitment of a new Associate Director for Member Engagement and an Associate Consultant that enabled the network scale-up activity and reach. As a result 9 free educational seminars and 2 national conferences (attracting over 1,000 membership/association professionals) were delivered and the network’s online community, MemberWise Connect welcomed its 3,000th subscriber.
We were proud to report that 97% of members who attended our network events return to the office and change/develop at least one member focused activity.
2017In 2017 we published our Digital Excellence 2017 research summary report – It highlighted member engagement as our key goal/challenge. In response we launched our Member Engagement Toolkit and the Member Engagement Hub (providing the sector with a structured approach to this critical area).
During the year we delivered 2 national conferences (MEMX and DigitalX) that attracted approximately 1,000 delegates. Over 100 expert speakers represented 90 high profile organisations including CAMRA, The National Trust, Royal Pharmacuetical Society, Caravan and Motorhome Club, CQI, YHA (England and Wales), Royal Society of Chemistry and 90+ other leading membership organisations and associations. 97% of delegates confirmed they would return to the office and change/develop at least one activity as a direct result of attending.
The network’s popular programme of educational workshops included 4 software selection seminars, 2 Lunch and Learns, 2 Member Engagement Seminars, the sector’s first GDPR seminar and 2 Social events at Home House London. These events were delivered free of charge thanks to the support of Silverbear, Cantarus, Fonteva, Kingston Smith, ASI Europe and Latcham Direct.
In 2017 we launched MemberWise Connect, the association sector’s ‘go to’ online professional community, which has achieved an incredible 1,300 conversations and is available free of charge thanks to our Online Communities Partner, Higher Logic.
2016In 2016 our network stepped up a gear. We conducted a full network rebrand and launched a new website in response to member demand. MemberWise Founder, Richard Gott, conducted a full restructure of the Relationship Management department at The Law Society and delivered a number of advisory projects for other leading membership organisations and associations.
In July the network welcomed it’s 4,000th member and published high profile resources including, Harnessing the Web 2016 research summary report, How Associations Can Achieve Membership Growth and Increase Member Engagement via Events research summary report and the Member Engagement Toolkit (located on the Member Engagement Hub). Network conferences and events welcomed record delegate numbers with Membership Excellence 2016, Harnessing the Web 2016 and our Lunch and Learn events attracting over 1,000 delegates.
2015In 2015 we focused on improving the quality of support. We worked in partnership with an independent market research agency (Research by Design) to deliver our annual Harnessing the Web survey summary report, delivered a restructure of the Membership Relations department at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, launched a dedicated Data Protection focused advice sheet (in response to demand).
Our 2 national conferences (Membership Excellence and Harnessing the Web) both grew by 20% and for the first time attracted over 300 delegates.
We also delivered consultancy projects and away days for a number of leading membership bodies (including the Royal Academy of Dance, Royal Society of Chemistry and Equality Challenge Unit).
2014In 2014 our network doubled in size to 3,000 members and our professional networking group welcomed its 1,000th member.
Key activity included 6 free-to-attend lunch and learn sessions, 3 MemberWise Meets and 2 national conference (Membership Excellence 2014 and Harnessing the Web 2014). We launched our 2nd annual Harnessing the Web research summary report and the Perfect Membership Scheme? advice sheet.
The network launched the Membership Sector Blog and by December this new resource had been visited over 2,800 times.
From June Network Founder, Richard Gott, dedicated 1 day per week to the network so this has enabled increased activity/progress
2013In 2013 our network continued to grow and we welcomed our 1,400th member and 900th professional networker. Key activity included 4 free-to-attend lunch & learn sessions, 2 national conferences, 4 training courses, 1 CRM Breakfast Briefing, our competency framework was endorsed by HM Treasury, ACEVO became our second Official Partner (alongside TAF), we launched our first web benchmarking report at the RSA (completed by 316 membership bodies) and launched the MemberWise video channel.
2012We held a dedicated member recruitment and retention conference, gained endorsement of our professional framework for membership and association professions by the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (via the Heseltine Review), held the sector’s first dedicated web conference that attracted over 200 delegates and introduced free-to-attend ‘Lunch and Learns’ on a number legal and membership related topics. We also launched our dedicated job website, membershipjobs.com.
2011We coordinated the bienniel UKIPG CPD Forum conference, delivered the largest governance conference within the membership sector (Embedding Sound Governance During Challenging Times), facilitated two free ‘Social’ events and in the final quarter launched a monthly eUpdate. We also welcomed our 1,000th member.
2010The MemberWise website hosted its 15th good practice advice sheet and we welcomed our 700th member. We were proud to hold the sector’s first dedicated event on Getting to Grips with Paperless Direct Debits.
2009 Rich started to facilitate good practice presentations at various high profile sector conferences and events. The network started to grow and quadrupled within only 18 months to 400 members and 50 Recognised Suppliers.
2008Membership Professional, Richard Gott, set-up the network in his spare time with the support of 100 ‘keen’ association and membership professionals and 10 established/reputable suppliers. He joined the Trade Association (TAF) Good Practice Awards Judging Panel and the PARN Steering Group.